Similar to the ongoing amnesty program offered at the United Arab Emirates, the Malaysian government also offered voluntary deportation program and the Philippine Embassy urged undocumented OFWs to take advantage of this opportunity to return to the Philippines without getting penalized.
According to the statistics from the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are about 400,000 undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia.
“We appeal to our undocumented kababayan in Malaysia to take this opportunity to be able to return to their loved ones in the Philippines without jail time or fines,” says Charles Jose, Philippine Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur.
Once these Filipinos choose to go home, the embassy will render help and assist them throughout the entire process.
This voluntary deportation will let those undocumented migrant workers go home to their respective countries without the need to pay fines or serving jail time.
Those who will avail of this voluntary deportation will only have to pay a fixed and discounted penalty of MYR300 and exit fee worth MYR100.
“The Embassy has been proactive in assisting and looking after the welfare of Filipinos working and residing in Malaysia regardless of their immigration status,” says Ambassador Jose.
Last June 30, the rehiring program of Malaysian government towards undocumented migrant workers in which they are given valid working permits as well as regularize immigration status, finally ended.
Out of the total number of undocumented Filipinos, only 8,000 or 2% availed of the rehiring program.
“Our assistance to those in need has been there and is continuing so I appeal to our kababayan to take the voluntary deportation offer before August 30,” says Jose.
Furthermore, Filipinos who are legally staying in Malaysia are advised to carry their legal documents and identification always.
