MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday warned overseas Filipino workers against "third country recruitment" that offers jobs in another place where they were not legitimately hired.

Under the scheme, OFWs whose visas expire get an offer to be transported to another territory and later recruited to a third country, leaving the government without any record of their transfer, the bureau said.

“While third party recruitment is beyond the scope of the BI, we deem it necessary to share to the public stories we encounter at the airport, as we are the first to hear about this back in the Philippines,” said Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

“OFWs should protect themselves from exploitation by ensuring proper documentation when they work abroad,” he said in a statement.

The BI issued the warning after five Filipinos were deported from Moscow, Russia last Friday, the BI said.

The group included a man who left as a tourist to visit his OFW wife in Russia, but overstayed in the country due to the pandemic.

The 4 others left as OFWs with valid overseas employment certificates.

Three of the female victims were OFWs in Hong Kong and was recruited to transfer to Russia when their contracts expired. The other female victim worked as a nanny in Russia and remained despite the expiry of her contract.

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