Reports that Saudi authorities are starting to stamp “exit only” visa on passports of Filipino domestic workers going home are not true, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh reiterated in a press release issued Monday. This matter was confirmed by Assistant Deputy Minister of Labor Hashim Rajeh in a recent informal meeting with Labor Attaché Albert Valenciano of the Philippine Embassy, said the press release. Labor & Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said, citing an official report of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh, that the stamping of “exit only” visa on passports is not possible because exit/re-entry visas issued by the Passport Department cannot be changed by immigration authorities at Saudi airports. According to the POLO report, Labor Attache Albert Valenciano checked with immigration officers at the Saudi airport who had denied the report and said that, ”if it is an exit re-entry visa, then it cannot be changed at the airports.” The Philippine Embassy urged overseas Filipino workers not to believe rumors about exit-only visa being stamped at the airports. However, it advised the vacationing workers to get in contact with their employers if they face problems at the airport. They should report the matter to the Philippine Embassy so that it could take appropriate action. The workers who are already in the Philippines on vacation can get in touch with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to document their case and bring the matter to the attention of the Saudi Embassy in Manila. Valenciano reported that final exit visa is stamped only after a series of steps have been taken by both the employee and employer. The steps, according to the POLO official, involve the issuance of a release letter or no objection certificate (NOC) from the employer stating that it is giving its consent to release the worker and to send him home. The worker, then, has to sign a final settlement acknowledging the receipt of end of service benefits from his employer. The Passport Department also checks whether the worker has any pending police case, traffic violation, or bank loan, and that he has no vehicle registered in his name, Valenciano said. Valenciano added that the changing of the visa status at the airport is impossible because computer monitors at Saudi airports are incapable of editing visa status. “Any change in the visa status is done at the Passport Department which issues visas,” Valenciano added.
