Jobseekers warned against dubious offers in China

The Philippine ambassador in Beijing has warned Filipinos seeking work in China as domestic helpers against a scam promising fake jobs for a fee of more than P100,000. In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sonia Brady stressed that foreign nationals are not allowed to hold jobs as housekeepers, domestic helpers or nannies in China. "Illegal recruiters continue to victimize Filipinos, which has resulted in the increasing number of our countrymen coming and staying in China with inappropriate documentation," Brady said in a statement posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs website on Monday. She said Filipinos who are promised jobs as domestic helpers in China are always in danger of being arrested because foreign nationals are not allowed to work as domestic helpers there. Citing information reaching her, she said the recruit usually pays up to P100,000 each for their plane tickets and tourist visas which would let them work as domestic helpers in China. Once in China, many of the victims have resorted to using visa agents to extend the validity of their visas. "With irregular jobs, some of these victims were unable to reclaim their passports because they do not have the money to pay for the agents' services of up to 4,000 yuan (PhP24.000)," she said. Brady said an inspection conducted in June 2007 by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau in Maquanying, an area where a number of Filipinos live in Beijing, resulted in the arrest of two Filipinos because they could not show a legal permit to work. Their passports were in the hands of visa agents, and the confiscation of about 17 Philippine passports with suspicious visas, Brady said. "As a result, our kababayans may be deported for staying and working illegally in China," she said. Brady said Chinese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Bureau had informed her that domestic service employment in China is closed to foreigners. The Embassy has been warning Filipinos not to accept job offers from recruiters as domestic helpers in China because it is unlawful to work as a domestic helper in China, she added. - GMANews.TV