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Affidavit of support for visiting Filipinos

DUBAI - The Philippine mission in the UAE has drawn up recommendations regarding the affidavit of support for Filipinos visiting the UAE, and is awaiting the reply from the Philippine's foreign affairs department, disclosed Ambassador Libran Cabactulan.

"We've already sent our recommendations, and we've also been informed that meetings are being held in Manila on the issue," he said.

Meanwhile, a consular officer told Khaleej Times that Consulate-General in Dubai is hoping to receive instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on whether or not to resume the notarisation of affidavit of support by next week.

The Consulate-General in Dubai had suspended the processing of the document on March 6 this year, according to Rafael Palencia, a consular officer.

"The consulate had earlier sent a letter to the DFA on the pressing issue involving Filipinos holding UAE visit visas, and a meeting was held in Manila on the issue of visit visas and the affidavit of support. The DFA sent us proposals for the consulate to comment on. We faxed our reply on Saturday, informing the department that we do not hold any objections to issue a notarised affidavit of support," he said.

Palencia said that the consulate had learnt that about 10 per cent of Filipinos arriving the UAE on visit visas had encountered problems which include illegal recruitment and those who had been misled or promised non-existent jobs in the UAE.

"Screening the UAE-bound passengers with visit visas at the Manila airport is the responsibility of the Presidential Anti-Illegal Recruitment Task Force (PAIRTF). Upon instructions from Manila, we suspended the processing of the affidavit of support on March 6, and are now waiting for further instructions on the matter," he added.

Palencia remarked that the affidavit of support required by PAIRTF had led to some confusion among Filipinos here as the Philippine Embassy in the UAE had earlier suspended its issuance in November last year.

"Ambassador Libran Cabactulan had earlier issued a public information bulletin that the affidavit of support is no longer required, based on the memo signed by Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez. The latter had instructed immigration personnel to allow the departure of Filipinos with valid passport, visa and two-way ticket. Then the PAIRTF started requiring the document. We explained to Filipinos that the earlier decision of the embassy was based on the immigration guidelines and not of PAIRTF," he said.