No legal HSW status in Russia: DFA

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a reminder to all Filipinos that household service worker (HSW) jobs in Russia are currently not available to Filipinos.

The advisory, originally posted at the Philippine Embassy in Moscow, was issued after they received queries from the public and media if Filipino household service workers could legally work in Russia.

In the advisory, the embassy said Filipinos are allowed to work in certain occupations in Russia, provided they qualify for the appropriate Russian work visa that indicates their actual employer.

Among others, they must also secure a Russian work permit that states their actual occupation that they are properly registered by their employer, and are legally recruited under Philippine law.

“Filipinos can work in Russia, but in very limited and highly regulated sectors that require highly skilled workers,” Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta said in a statement sent through the DFA.

The envoy explained the need to create first a legal space for HSWs in Russia before they could work legally in the country.
For his part, he assured the Philippine government is “working vigorously to address the situation”.

“We have been meeting with key officials from concerned Russian agencies, including foreign affairs, interior, labor and migration, to find a solution,” he said.

Meanwhile, as they try to find a solution, Sorreta reiterated calls to those interested in working in Russia to avoid illegal recruiters and to those engaged in illegal recruitment to stop exploiting Filipino workers.

“The rights and welfare of Filipinos in Russia are our topmost concern and finding ways to legalize the status of Filipino household service workers in Russia is a priority,” Sorreta said.