Assistance to Nationals

The public is hereby notified that the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) has been renamed as the Office of the Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (DFA-OUMA) effective 10 April 2024. The DFA’s Office of Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OMWA) has also been renamed as the Office of Migration Affairs (DFA-OMA) effective 10 April 2024.

The renaming of these DFA offices complements the transfer of assistance-to-nationals (ATN) functions for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), in accordance with R.A. 11641.

However, there is still no Migrant Workers Office (formerly POLO) in Egypt, therefore the Philippine Embassy in Cairo will continue to assist distressed overseas Filipinos, including OFWs in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan.

Filipinos in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan may request assistance services through the following:

Personally visit the Embassy at Building 9 Street 215 Maadi, Cairo Governorate, Egypt;
Send an accomplished Assistance to National (ATN) form and e-mail to cairo.pe@dfa.gov.ph; or
Call or preferably send a WhatsApp message to (+20) 122.743.6472, stating your full name, area of concern, and type of assistance required.

Next-of-kin of distressed Filipino nationals in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan are requested to address all OFW-related concerns, including End-of-Service Benefits (ESBs), to the One Repatriation Center (ORCC) of the DMW at the following:

Address: ORCC Help Desk (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)

Department of Migrant Workers Blas F. Ople Building, Ortigas Ave., cor. EDSA Ave.,

Mandaluyong City

DMW Regional Offices: https://dmw.gov.ph/archives/regionaloffices/regionaloffices.html

One-Stop Service Centers for OFWs (OSSCO) https://dmw.gov.ph/archives/regionaloffices/osscos.html

Hotline Numbers: 8722-1144 / 8722-1155 / 1348 (ORCC) / 8723-6505 (Aksyon Unit)

Email Addresses: repat@dmw.gov.ph / repatriation_awd@dmw.gov.ph / wed@dmw,gov.ph

Areas of assistance

Death of Filipinos abroad

After confirming the death, identity and Filipino citizenship of the deceased, the informant should do the following:

1. Attempt to locate and notify the legal next-of-kin (NOK).

2. The NOK or authorized representative must accomplish the ATN Form and decide between local burial in the host country, or shipment of remains/ashes of the deceased.

a. Local burial

The NOK or authorized representative will sign and send the Letter of Acceptance (Local Burial) to the Embassy.
Upon receipt of the consent to bury, the Embassy will issue the authorization letter to the authorized representative to complete the necessary process of the burial, in accordance with local laws.

b. Shipment of remains or ashes (cremation)

The NOK or authorized representative should email the Embassy the (a) signed Request form (Shipment of Remains), (b) signed Letter of Acceptance (shipment of remains), (c) copy of passport of the NOK/authorized representative, and (d) copy of passport of the deceased.
The Embassy will issue the authorization letter to the selected funeral agent to process shipment.
The selected funeral agent will submit the following documents (with official English translation) to the Embassy:

a. Death Certificate;

b. Embalming Certificate,

c. Certificate of non-contagious disease;

d. Burial Permit;

e. Transit Permit (Laissez-Passer for Human Remains);

f. Copy of the passports of deceased, NOK and authorized representative; and

g. Copy of the flight ticket.

The Embassy will issue the Mortuary Certificate.

FEE: US$25.00

NOTICE: In both cases the authorized representative must file the Report of Death at the Embassy.

Prisoner Welfare Visits

The Embassy can conduct welfare visit of Filipinos detained in Egypt.

1. Accomplish the ATN Form and submit to the Embassy and provide name, gender, address, contact details of the Filipino prisoner(s), along with date of last contact/visit. The informant may also provide prisoners copy of passort / ID.

2. The Embassy will coordinate with the concerned authorities to conduct the visit in accordance with local laws and procedures.

Legal Assistance

The Embassy can help explain the local legal justice processes in Egypt.

The requesting party should get in touch with the Embassy at (+20)122.743.6472 and accomplish the ATN Form.

Those who wish to refer cases related to labor, employment dispute, end of service benefits are requested to prepare copies of work contracts.

Those wishing to refer matters related to divorce, child custody, inheritance are kindly requested to prepare copies of passports, Birth and Marriage Certificates or Reports of Birth/Marriage.

Violence Against Women

What is violence against women?

The United Nations defines violence against women (VAW) as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."

Victims of crimes may directly report the incident to the police authorities (122). Requesting party should also contact the Embassy at (+20)122.743.6472 and accomplish the ATN Form.

Assistance with the Police

Filipino nationals who were arrested or detained, seriously injured, or become victims of crime while abroad may wish to contact and notify the Philippine Embassy in Cairo at (+20)1227436472

If you are a victim of a crime:

Accomplish the ATN Form and submit to the Embassy in person, by email to cairo.pe@dfa.gov.ph or message (+20)122.743.6472.
The Embassy and the victim will coordinate with the local police and report the incident. Victims of crimes may also directly report the incident to the police authorities. The victim should request a copy of the police report.

Note: Victims of physical abuse, e.g., maltreatment and other forms of physical injury should keep records/evidence of physical abuse.

The Embassy can help you with the following:

Replace a stolen or lost passport
Contact the victim’s family, friends, or employers
Address emergency needs that arise as a result of the crime
Explain the local criminal justice process

If concerned about the welfare and whereabouts of a Filipino national abroad

Accomplish the ATN Form and submit to the Embassy, with the name, gender, address, contact details of the missing person, along with date of last contact. The requesting party should provide contacts of missing person’s friends in the country,
The Embassy will coordinate with the local police to obtain information on the alleged missing person.

Human Trafficking

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit."

Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of human trafficking. The perpetrators often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.

Human trafficking has many forms. These include exploitation in the sex, entertainment and hospitality industries, and as domestic workers or in forced marriages. Victims are forced to work in factories, on construction sites or in the agricultural sector without pay or with an inadequate salary, living in fear of violence and often in inhumane conditions. Some victims are tricked or coerced into having their organs removed. Children are forced to serve as soldiers or to commit crimes for the benefit of the criminals.

The governments of Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan have existing laws criminalizing human trafficking:

Republic of Djibouti - Law No. 210 Regarding the Flight Against Human Trafficking (2007)

Arab Republic of Egypt - Law No. 64 regarding Combating Human Trafficking (2010)

State of Eritrea - Eritrean Transitional Penal Code / Traffic in Women, Infants, and Young Persons (1957)

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - Proclamation 909 – Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Person and Smuggling of Migrants (2015)

Republic of the Sudan - Combating of Human Trafficking Act (2014)

The victim should get in touch with the Embassy at (+20)122.743.6472 and accomplish the ATN Form.
The Embassy and the victim will coordinate with the local police and report the incident. The victim should request a copy of the police report.

Applying for an Exit Clearance in Egypt (for those wishing to return to the Philippines)

How can overstayers apply for an exit clearance?

If still in possession of the passport bearing the last entry stamp of the Egyptian
Immigration (regardless if passport is still valid or had already expired):

Option 1: The exit clearance can be processed and corresponding exit/immigration penalties paid directly at the airport immigration, before the departure flight. The Embassy highly recommends allowing ample time to process these clearance and other departure procedures at the airport.

Option 2: Overstayers can process exit clearance and pay penalties at the Immigration Office in
Abasseya, before their intended date of departure. Exit clearance can be received within two to
three weeks.

If no longer in possession of the passport bearing the last entry stamp of the Egyptian
Immigration:

Go to the nearest local police station where the passport was lost, and file a report on lost passport.
Visit the Philippine Embassy and apply for Travel Document
Submit the police report and Travel Document, and pay the corresponding penalties at the Immigration Office.

Required documents at the Immigration Office:

Travel document and/or passport
Original police report
Two photos of the applicant (2*2)
Lost Passport Form issued by the Immigration Office
Immigration Office Residence Renewal Request or Exit Clearance Request Form issued by the

Required fees and other reminders

The Immigration Office will conduct investigations on the applicant, i.e., regarding his orher activities from the date of arrival into Egypt, and determine the amount of theoverstaying penalty or other fees.
Approximate fees:
- Before February 2017. Residency/overstaying penalty costs EGP500 for the first three months, and EGP50 for every three months after that.
- After February 2017. Residency/overstaying penalty costs EGP1,200 for the first three months, and EGP560 for every three months after that.
- Issuance of a residence card costs EGP685.
- Expedite service fee for renewing tourist and work residency permits cost EGP220.
- Work permit fee (valid for three months to a maximum of one year) costs EGP1,110.
- Legalization of the visa status fees, shouldered by a sponsor of Egyptian nationality, costs USD1,000 (valid for three months to a maximum of one year).
The issuance of exit clearance may take between a period of two to three weeks to three months, depending on the result of the investigation of Egyptian officials.