The Philippines on Friday, July 21, launched the OFW Pass, a digital alternative to the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). The OFW Pass is hosted on the DMWMobile app, which is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The OEC is a document that OFWs need to present to immigration officers when they go back and forth to their host countries and the Philippines. The OFW Pass will replace the OEC and will be used for the same purpose.
To apply for the OFW Pass, OFWs need to register on the DMWMobile app using their phone numbers and passports. Once they have registered, they will receive an e-Registration Number.
The OFW Pass will be integrated into the Philippines’ travel declaration system eTravel. This means that OFWs will no longer need to present paper documents when they go through immigration. They can simply present their OFW Pass to the immigration officers.
The OFW Pass is a free service and is available to all OFWs. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is currently testing the OFW Pass in 10 countries where there are the highest number of OFWs:
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Hong Kong
Singapore
Malaysia
Oman
Taiwan
United Kingdom
Japan
The DMW will continue to test the OFW Pass in other countries in the coming months. The department expects to fully roll out the OFW Pass by the end of the year.