QuestionsQuestions (POEA Advisory No. 26)
It warns the public about the increasing number of undocumented Filipino domestic workers in China and strongly discourages entering China to work using tourist or business visas because these cannot be converted to work visas required for employment in China.
They reportedly enter Mainland China using tourist visas after finishing their employment contract in Hong Kong and Macau.
Because these visa types cannot be converted into the work visa required for employment in China.
It states that the Chinese government restricts the employment of foreign domestic workers in the country.
It emphasizes that POEA verification helps establish whether an employment offer is authentic and properly processed/approved under POEA recruitment and placement regulations.
Applicants are advised to verify via the POEA website (www.poea.gov.ph) and POEA hotlines at 722-11-44 and 722-11-55.
It implies that only employment offers/job orders that are verified with and recognized/processed by POEA should be relied upon, reducing the risk of illegal recruitment or travel-for-work schemes.
It points to a pattern: workers entering on tourist/business visas to work in China despite visa conversion being impossible—an indicator of unauthorized or non-compliant recruitment and likely unprotected employment conditions.
The worker would lack the required work visa authorization for employment in China, increasing the risk of being undocumented and/or facing penalties under Chinese immigration/employment rules.
Verify the authenticity of employment offers/job orders with POEA through the POEA website and hotlines before proceeding.
It signals a worsening compliance and enforcement concern, prompting the POEA/DFA to issue public warnings and increase screening/verification measures to protect migrant workers.
As inter-agency information used by the POEA to issue advisories: DFA reports provide situational intelligence that informs POEA’s public warnings and recruitment safeguards.
No. The advisory is primarily a warning and information drive; it does not create substantive employment rights but guides compliance and risk avoidance by urging visa-appropriate, POEA-verified recruitment.
POEA verification of job orders indicates the recruitment/placement process for overseas employment—especially for domestic workers—should be authorized and properly documented.
A question could ask whether tourist/business visas can be converted for work; the correct answer, per the advisory, is no, and workers must secure the work visa required for employment in China.