Voluntary departures allow TNT Pinoys to return to host countries

It happens more often than one might think — a Filipino TNT (a slang for tago ng tago, meaning an undocumented alien) would seek and receive help in order to come home to the Philippines, only to balk somewhere along the way for one reason or another.

“They got their exit visas and paid for their tickets, but I cannot find them here. They're still there [in their host country],” said Fred Dizon, who heads a Makati-based organization that helps overstaying Filipinos in several English-speaking countries who want to go home.

There are various reasons why a Filipino would rather remain illegal in his or her host country than go home, Dizon said, among them employment and properties.

“Illegals, sometimes, they are even rich,” Dizon told GMA News Online in an interview Thursday. “They have big houses, but they don't own it. They put their property under their relatives' names.”

New policies

Noting this problem, Dizon, chairman and CEO of Unison League of Organizations, Inc. (ULO), urged overstaying Filipinos in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom to take advantage of policies on voluntary surrender not only in order to end their hide-and-seek game with foreign immigration authorities, but also to be given a chance to return to the host country.

In the interview, Dizon said the policies, which differ from one country to another, would make it easier for immigrants to seek help with their status.

New Zealand, for example, imposes a no-ban policy on illegal immigrants who surrendered and voluntarily left the country, while in Australia, an illegal immigrant, whether or not he or she leaves voluntarily, can return to the country but only after  three years.

If illegal immigrants leave within the 30 days of Canada's issued departure ban, they may return after two years, while a short-term ban is imposed on those who leave voluntarily in the United Kingdom. 

Helpline

One possible avenue for help is Dial Hope, ULO's hotline for Filipinos who wish to return to the Philippines and legalize their stay in foreign countries.

After using the hotline, Filipinos are requested to fill out an information form that would help ULO evaluate their cases. Their addresses and contact details—save for the detail used to contact the company—will not be asked.

Once their case has been evaluated, they will receive assistance in negotiating with immigration officers, paying required fees acquiring exit visas, and plane tickets. The immigrants will pay for their own expenses.

While the hotline's services are completely free, newly-arrived Filipinos may avail of ULO's visa services.

Dizon said no money is exchanged hands until the immigrant has procured a visa, a policy they also apply to their day-to-day business operations.

Additionally, only those without criminal charges or those with minor traffic violations could be accommodated by the hotline.

From 2009, Dial Hope had brought 30 to 40 Filipinos, not including their spouses, back home from foreign countries, while formal inquiries numbered from 200 to 300 immigrants, Dizon said. Most of the Filipinos brought home are females from Visayas.

English-speaking countries only so far

At the moment, only English-speaking countries are under the hotline's scope. Financial difficulties in non-English-speaking countries, such as China, Japan, and Korea, made helping Filipinos in those countries next to impossible.

“They (immigration) won't negotiate with us... When you get caught (as an) illegal there, you have to pay a lot of money to get out,” said Dizon.

Once caught, illegal immigrants have to pay their fine before they are deported. Because bail increases over time, Dizon said a lot of illegals end up staying in prison for months.

He advised Filipinos to seek refuge at Philippine consulates in their host country if they are in danger of being arrested. However, consulates can only host Filipinos for at least a week before they must be turned over to the authorities.

Overstaying Filipinos may call the ULO hotline at 556-9215, 985-9051, and 639205144186 or e-mail them at dialhope2009@gmail.com. Filipinos in Australia may call Luleth Castillo, ULO's Sydney contact, at (+61) 401-408-444. —KBK, GMA News