★ How Does the Philippine Recruitment Process Work?

Recently, Macau's Executive Council completed discussion on amendments to the Employment of Non-Resident Workers Law. The bill proposes that non-local residents must hold an entry permit issued by Macau's immigration authorities for the purpose of employment. With this permit, they can enter from outside Macau and be eligible for a 'stay permit for employment purposes' (excluding renewals). This distinguishes whether non-local residents enter Macau for work or tourism, addressing the issue of tourists converting to foreign workers, while strengthening regulation of foreign labour import and management.

With this in mind, let me explain how the entry permit recruitment process works.

First, we send CVs to employers for selection. Employers can then choose to interview online, or some employers ask us to conduct online interviews on their behalf and send them the recordings. Once the employer hires a candidate, our Philippine company will take them for a medical examination, which is conducted according to consulate requirements (see sample below). If the employer wants the worker to undergo another medical exam after arriving in Macau, the cost will naturally be borne by the employer, as the worker has already fulfilled their obligation in their home country. It's not fair to ask the worker to pay for repeated medical exams. If anyone suspects the consulate of falsifying documents, there's nothing we as a Macau employment agency can do to help.

Philippine medical certificate — Emmanuel Medical Center Philippine medical certificate sample

Then, after passing the medical exam, they are sent to a training centre for training. As shared in previous articles, I'll highlight the most important part here: every Philippine overseas worker must undergo training courses arranged by the Philippine Consulate and pass exams before they can apply to work in Macau. Here's an example (as shown in the images) — every Philippine overseas worker coming to Macau must have the following certificates, training items, and English listening/writing tests.

POEA registration — language proficiency scores and training records TESDA National Certificate II — Home Care Services Philippine medical certificate Philippine medical certificate

However, I'd like to remind everyone — some employers have reported that Philippine workers arriving in Macau don't seem to be very familiar with Macau's cleaning products. I'd like to point out that even those who have worked in Hong Kong may not be clear about Macau's cleaning products, let alone those who have never been to Hong Kong. So after the worker arrives, employers should explain the cleaning and daily products to them. If there are workplace appliances with Chinese labels, you'll need to teach them how to use them. After all, foreign workers can't be expected to read Chinese — if they could, they probably wouldn't be working as workers. Furthermore, there are so many types of daily products that training centres can only teach skills, not familiarise them with every product brand in Macau. Please take note.

Finally, after completing the medical exam, training, and exams, and waiting for the consulate to issue the work visa, they can buy their flights to Macau. If there are no public holidays in between, the whole process takes at least one and a half months. Some employers don't understand why hiring a worker has to be so complicated and think it would be better to hire a ready-available one for a trial. I'll discuss this question in a future article. See you next time!