Filipinos Sponsoring Kins’ UAE Visit to Have Affidavits Notarized in Person
ABU DHABI: Filipinos who want sponsor their relatives’ visit to the UAE have been advised to personally get their affidavits notarized from the Philippine Embassy or consulate here.
Some Filipinos have resorted to dealing with unscrupulous travel agencies that overcharge for affidavits that are often fake, reported The National.
The affidavit is presented at airport immigration in the Philippines as proof that a relative is financing the trip and that the traveler is not being trafficked and is entering the UAE legally, the report said.
“It’s our line of defense against human trafficking,” Constancio Vingno Jr, the Philippine ambassador to the UAE, was quoted as saying by the news portal.
“Recently, we had to resolve five cases of human trafficking,” he reportedly said. “The victims were all women who came here to work as housemaids but ended up being forced into prostitution or mistreated by their employers. They arrived here on tourist visas.”
In February, the embassy reportedly issued an advisory on stricter rules for obtaining affidavits of support and guarantee for Filipinos arriving on tourist visas.
Those trying to obtain the document need to show authenticated birth certificates or marriage certificates to show proof of the relationship. They also need to earn at least Dh3,500, and provide a copy of their salary certificate and labor contract. A hotel booking is required, or a tenancy contract, if the holder of the tourist visa is staying in the residence of their sponsoring relative, the report pointed out.
“There are some Filipinos who would no longer file their application upon seeing the list of requirements,” Vingno reportedly said. “But there are Filipinos who obtain affidavits of support from travel agencies, which turn out to be fake. Airport immigration officers are able to verify the authenticity of the documents issued by the embassy.”
Those caught with fake affidavits are “offloaded”, or prevented from leaving the Philippines, Vingno said.
A supervisor at a travel agency in Dubai said they had stopped issuing the document.
“We used to charge Dh200 to process the affidavit,” she reportedly said. “We advise clients to apply for the document at the consulate or embassy, because personal appearance is required.”
In 2013, Migrante UAE investigated the issue. It found that notarized documents were readily available from at least 10 travel agencies in Dubai for Dh300, reported The National.
“The affidavit of support and guarantee is a form of state exaction,” Nhel Morona, country coordinator for migrant rights group Migrante Middle East, reportedly said. “It’s a useless document that does not guarantee that a passenger will be allowed to depart.”
(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)