Things An OFW Must Know About OEC Exemption

OEC Exemption

As part of the effort of the Administration of Philippine President Duterte to expedite the processing of OEC of Balik Manggagawa or vacationing OFWs, returning workers who meet the requirements below are exempt from acquiring an overseas employment certificate.

Before an ofw may be exempt from oec, he/she must satisfy the following requirements:

a. Must have an existing record in the poea database

b. Must be returning to the same employer

c. Must be returning to the same job site.

A returning ofw may avail of the oec exemption by registering through the BM (Balik Manggagawa) online processing system.

Here is the link (https://www.bmonline.ph/) to the website where you need to register.

You should have an email address ready beforehand. You should also have a passport size picture duly scanned or taken via digital camera or other means for upload.

You can get an email address for free from the following email providers:

1. gmail.com

2. yahoo.com

3. zoho.com

4. hotmail.com

5. mail.com

Remember this email address and keep the log-in details in a secured place because this will serve as your permanent log-in account. You can not change your email address.

You may contact the POEA system administrator in case you forgot your email and password to your BM online account at the following phone number:

02-7219496

02-7277778

02-7210785

09173257397

Upon log-in into your BM online account, the system will determine if you are exempted from securing oec.

Just remember these things when you avail of oec exemption.

1. log-in to the BM or Balik Manggagawa online system through the following link this link https://bmonline.ph/

2. Fill up all the details required.

3. If the ofw is confirmed by the system as returning to the same employer and job site, the system will indicate that the worker is exempted from securing the oec as well as payment of processing fee.

Here is a sample of an oec confirmation message

4. You may print the confirmation message for your personal copy but you really do not need to because the BM exemption number is electronically generated and transmitted electronically by the system to the Bureau of Immigration. The immigration officer at the airport will know through their computer that you are exempt from acquiring the overseas employment certificate.

For those who are interested, the following categories of BM or Balik Manggagawa workers are not exempted from acquiring oec.

1. Workers returning to different employers or job site

2. Watchlisted workers and or OFW with watchlisted employers

3. OFW returning to a restricted or non-compliant country

4. Workers without POEA records or discrepancies in their records

5. Undocumented workers like tourists turned OFW or students turned OFW

6. Sea-based workers turned into land-based workers

The above non-exempt workers from oec are required to avail themselves of the appointment service for regular processing of their OECs at their preferred date and time at any of the POEA processing sites within the Philippines and the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) abroad.

Link: https://www.bmonline.ph/