Under Singapore laws, certain types of items are subject to the payment of duty before you can bring them into the country. Dutiable Goods Generally, there are 4 types of dutiable goods in Singapore as follows.   Intoxicating liquors, including spirits, wine, beer, ale and stout; Tobacco, including cigarettes and cigars; Motor spirit; and Motor cars [...]

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Duty and Tax Free Privileges in accordance with the provisions of Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), as amended by Executive Order No. 206 Who are entitled to Duty and Tax Free Privileges? Returning Residents Overseas Filipino Worker is a Filipino national who works in a foreign country under [...]

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A RECENT tightening of Philippine laws has made it tougher for employers in Singapore to hire Filipinas as domestic workers. Immigration screening has been stepped up, and those bound for jobs here without the proper papers have been stopped from leaving the country. The amendments to the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 [...]

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author on August 11th, 2010

Check the Address The chancery address is located at 20 Nassim Road, Singapore 258395. Within the same compound are the consular, labor and defense sections   Check The Schedule Embassy Services Schedule Passport Application Mondays to Thursdays, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm only Collection of overdue passports and passports coursed through agencies Mondays to Thursdays, [...]

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This is from POEA Advisory: The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration advises Filipino women intending to work as domestic helpers in Singapore to use the legal process of overseas employment and not rely on the services of travel agency operators who are moonlighting as employment agents. Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili, citing a report from the Philippine Overseas [...]

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author on July 26th, 2010

Under Republic Act 9679, Pag-IBIG membership is now a requirement for the issuance of the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). Beginning July 18, 2010 the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO – Singapore) will collect Pag-IBIG membership dues prior to the issuance of the OEC.  This arrangement will provide more OFWs greater access to the huge benefits [...]

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From Philippine Embassy Singapore: The Pag-IBIG Fund announced that effective 1 July 2010, the Philippine Overseas Employment  Agency (POEA), under the 18 June 2010 Collection Servicing Agreement signed between the Fund and the POEA, has started collecting Pag-IBIG Fund membership contributions  from departing OFWs. Under Republic Act 9679, Pag-IBIG membership is now a requirement for [...]

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I stumbled upon this article from AsiaOne news regarding some maids suspicious activity during their free time like for example during morning after sending their employer’s child to kindergarten school. They are supposedly freelancing as sex-for-hire. I have heard similar stories regarding “some” Filipina maids doing this kind of stuff during Sundays in Orchard.  This [...]

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For those who are planning to take their chances to hit the jackpot in Singapore, read and understand this information carefully. To summarize, it is an offense/illegal for employers and employment agencies to collect/receive any form of payment (whether monetary or in kind) in exchange for employment consideration. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) introduced new [...]

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According to the Philippine Embassy Press release: The Philippine Embassy’s issuance of the new Machine Readable Passports (MRP) is in compliance with the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for all countries to issue Machine Readable Passports not later than 01 April 2010. This global standard is inter-operable and harmonized with all participating [...]

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