Direct Hiring of Professional/Skilled Workers

Under Philippine Laws, no employer may hire a Filipino worker for overseas employment except when provided authorization. This authorization must be applied with the Secretary of the Migrant Workers through the Migrant Workers Offices. (Art. 18, Labor Code of the Philippines)

Who are eligible to apply for exemption?

1. Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
2. International organizations (e.g. UN, WTO, EU, WHO, IMF);
3. Heads of stage and government officials with the rank of at least deputy minister; or
4. Other employers as may be allowed, such as:
   1. those provided in c. who bear lesser rank, if endorsed by the Migrant Worker's Office
   2. Employers not accredited with DMW and hiring for the first time - and hiring Professionals and skilled workers, not exceeding five (5);
   3. Workers hired by a relative/family member who is a permanent resident of the host country, except domestic workers.

Employers with previous or current accreditation with any licensed Philippine recruitment agencies (PRA) shall not be allowed to directly hire workers. Employers with previous accreditation with PRAs may be allowed to directly hire workers after the lapse of one (1) year from the cancellation/revocation/expiration of its accreditation or registration with a PRA.

How to apply for exemption

If the applicant is an eligible employer, they may submit their application with the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Singapore.

Documentary Requirements

1. ORIGNAL Filled-up Application Form
2. Letter Request for Exemption from the Direct Hire Ban
   Request shall be signed by the employer (or if a company, the company's authorized representative) and addressed to:
           
   Haney Lynn G. Siclot
   Labor Attaché
   Migrant Workers Office
   Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Singapore
   
   NOTE: MWO does not provide or prescribe a format for the letter request.
3. ORIGINAL Signed Undertaking and PDPA Consent Form
4. ORIGINAL Employment Contract signed by the Authorized Representative of the Company (do not need to be signed by the EMPLOYEE at this stage)and attested to by a Notary, which should have the provisions below: 
   1. Complete name and address of the employer/ company;
   2. Position and worksite;
   3. Basic monthly salary (which should be the same as declared in the IPA);
   4. Food, Accommodation and Inland Transportation
      1. General rule: provisions for food, accommodation and in-land transportation should be provided by the employer. This may be provided in-kind or as a fixed allowance;
      2. Employer may also comply with this requirement by providing a general fixed allowance (not explicit), have the allowances inclusive in the basic monthly salary, or another monetary offsetting benefit, provided:
      3. if the provisions are included in the monthly basic salary, it must be explicitly state under the Basic Monthly Salary provision and that the net salary offered is high enough to comfortably cover these living costs at the prevailing rates of the host country while still leaving the worker with a competitive net wage.
      4. If the provisions are provided as a fixed allowance, it must be commensurate to the prevailing rates in the host country.
   5. Commencement and duration of Employment contract;
   6. Airfare from the Philippines should be provided by the employer;
   7. Regular number of work hours/days per week;
   8. Overtime pay rates;
   9. Annual Leaves;
   10. Sick and Hospital Leaves;
   11. Medical Insurance;
   12. Termination clauses; 
   13. Dispute settlement and other grievance mechanism;
   14. Repatriation clauses, where cost is borne by the employer in cases of:
       1. imminent danger to the life and safety of the worker in cases of war, calamity, pandemic or other analogous circumstances;
       2. illness, injury, or medical condition resulting to the termination of the employment (Medical Repatriation);
       3.  the death of the worker during the duration of the employment. This includes the remains and personal belongings (Repatriation of Human Remains);
       4. Other cases not due to the fault of the worker;
5. If employer is a COMPANY, a COPY of the ACRA Registration with the complete list of directors and shareholders not older than three (3) months;
6. COPY of Employer Profile with brief company background, industry, number of years in operation, and number of workforce (local and foreign);
7. COPY of Proof of Financial Capability (this includes latest Financial Reports, Company Bank Statements, or other allowable proof of operational feasibility)
8. COPY of the Worker's valid passport (must be valid for at least six (6) months from date of intended departure;
9. COPY of the approved In-Principle Approval (IPA) from MOM;
   - the IPA must at least be a S Pass to be considered under the exemption standards
10. ORIGINAL Affidavit from worker of the circumstances of his/her recruitment, signed and attested by a Philippine notary;

Process on Application

1. Documents must be arranged as listed, and stored in an envelope without staples (except for the notarized documents);
2. Requirements must be submitted by the Employer personally or through an authorized employee of the company;
3. If submission is through a authorized employee, they must present a Letter of Authorization signed by the Director (or any officer listed in the ACRA registration), or in the case of HR Executives/Officers, documentation that they may transact due to the nature of their position. The authorization must be supported by their ORIGINAL and PHOTOCOPY of their company ID and NRIC/FIN;
4. Other parties authorized by the Employer and are not employed by the company, such as employment agencies, consultants, brokers, must first apply for Accreditation as a FOREIGN RECRUITMENT AGENCY to be recognized by MWO;
5. Worker applicant may also request direct family members who are already in Singapore to submit, with authorization from the Employer;
6. Submissions are made by appointment only, and scheduled by booking through:
   http://sched.mwosingapore.online/

Please be advised that MWO Singapore will not entertain nor process any applications that are found to be incomplete, unauthorized, or otherwise in non-compliance with the aforementioned regulations. Adherence to these standards is mandatory to ensure the integrity of the recruitment process.

Fees and Charges

The fees are charged per transaction at:

SGD 60.00

At the moment, MWO Singapore only accepts CASH payments paid during submission. All payments are non-refundable nor transferrable, even when the application is denied.

Process Period

Our office maintains a standard processing turnaround of two (2) business days, contingent upon the submission of a complete and compliant documentary set.

MWO SG will inform the applicant through e-mail for any further verification of submitted details is needed, and may require for the applicant to submit additional documentation as required.