How to Get an OEC for Direct Hire: Working Through a DMW Agency

With direct hire, there are two ways to get an OEC: through the employer, who verifies the contract at a Migrant Workers Office, or through a recruitment agency licensed by the DMW in the Philippines, which walks the applicant through document submission and DMW clearance.

In short

• The OEC is a separate mandatory document: even an approved work visa under direct hire does not give the right to leave the Philippines without it.
• You can get an OEC through the employer at a Migrant Workers Office, or through a DMW-licensed agency if there’s no MWO in the country.
• An agency being on the DMW list doesn’t mean it processes OEC applications — that needs to be checked separately before you reach out.
• A matching job order between the agency and the applicant’s position and country noticeably speeds up OEC processing.
• The DMW’s response usually goes to the agency, not the applicant — you need to check the status yourself rather than wait for a notification.

Why a Work Visa Isn’t Enough: What the OEC Is For

Even with an approved work visa under direct hire, you cannot leave the Philippines without an OEC — Overseas Employment Certificate. The work visa only confirms the right to take up employment abroad; it does not replace this document at departure, since Philippine Immigration requires the OEC separately.

The OEC is one of the Philippine Immigration requirements specifically for those leaving to work abroad for the first time (first-time OFWs). Without this document, an approved visa does not give the right to leave the country — in practice, this is one of the reasons departure gets delayed even after the contract and visa are already in place.

Without this document, an approved visa does not give the right to leave the country

Two Ways to Get an OEC Under Direct Hire

There are two ways to get an OEC under direct hire: the employer handles contract verification through a Migrant Workers Office, or a recruitment agency licensed by the DMW takes on that part of the process instead of the employer.

The first option works if the employer is willing to handle contract verification themselves: setting aside the time to file documents with a Migrant Workers Office (MWO) — the overseas post that handles this. The catch is that an MWO does not exist in every country, so not every employer can physically go through this procedure. Where there’s no MWO office, the contract still has to be verified — for example, that’s how it works for employment in Poland and the Czech Republic: the employer verifies the contract directly, with no MWO involved.

If the employer isn’t willing to spend the time on this, or there’s no MWO in the country, direct hire from the Philippines isn’t left without options: the second way is to get the OEC through a DMW-licensed agency, without involving the employer at all.

How to Find a Licensed DMW Agency — and the Right One

1. Find an agency on the official DMW list. The first step is to go to the DMW website and find the section listing licensed recruitment agencies. This list matters because it keeps you away from scammers: some agencies either aren’t licensed at all or aren’t allowed to operate, so you need to choose carefully.

2. Check that the agency’s license is active. The DMW revokes licenses from agencies that fail to meet its requirements. If the agency you picked has lost its license, it simply cannot process an OEC — the application won’t move forward.

3. Keep in mind that not every agency on the list handles OEC. Being on the DMW list doesn’t mean an agency processes OEC applications — that needs to be confirmed separately before you reach out.

4. Identify your work permit classification. Classification depends on the job title and the country: for instance, a position in Poland might be listed as factory worker, while in Greece the same kind of role might fall under cleaner. This classification determines which agency is the right fit.

5. Look for an agency with a matching job order. Within the DMW list, look for an agency that has an open job order matching your position — for example, a listing like “hiring Poland factory worker.” A matching job order speeds up the process: the applicant simply fills an open slot the agency has already arranged.

6. Use the approved job orders section on the DMW website. It shows agencies with approved job orders by country — for example, searching “Poland” brings up agencies with job orders specifically for that country. Look up the right position by category: a factory worker role, for instance, falls under the broader production worker category.

7. An agency with no job order for your target country makes departure slower and harder. If the agency you’ve chosen has no job order for the country you need, processing will take longer and be more complicated than when the job order matches.

8. Double-check that specific agency’s license right before contacting it. Even after finding an agency through a matching job order, make sure it holds an active DMW license to recruit workers for overseas employment — only then does it make sense to reach out.

What Agency Help Costs and What Documents You Need

Agency help with getting an OEC isn’t free — in practice, there are no free options left. Terms are best discussed in person at the agency’s office rather than online: you need to explain that the work visa is already approved and that what you need is specifically help getting the OEC, not job placement abroad.

How you frame the request matters: there’s a known case where an applicant paid a large sum just for help getting an OEC — even though the visa was already in hand and the applicant wasn’t actually using the agency’s main recruitment service. That price is inflated: some agencies charge for OEC assistance a sum comparable to processing a visa from scratch, even though the applicant has already gone through that stage on their own. If the price seems disproportionate, it’s worth raising this directly with the agency and explaining that the visa is already done.

there’s a known case where an applicant paid a large sum just for help getting an OEC — even though the visa was already in hand

If the agency agrees to help, the next step is to let the employer know: the agency in the Philippines will need documents confirming employment, and without them the process can’t move forward. The same documents the employer already issued for the work visa are the ones submitted here. When the right agency is chosen, staff will contact the employer directly and request the needed paperwork themselves — the employer just needs to email it over, as long as a copy ends up with the agency in the Philippines.

What to prepare and check before getting an OEC through an agency

• Find an agency on the official DMW listrequiredconfirm it’s authorized to operate
• Make sure the agency’s license is activerequired
• Confirm the agency actually processes OEC applicationsrequirednot every listed agency does this
• Identify your work permit classificationrequireddepends on job title and country
• Find a job order matching your position and countryspeeds up processing
• Discuss service cost in person at the agency’s officerequirednot online
• Let the employer know the agency has agreed to helprequired
• Provide the documents the employer already issued for the visarequiredthe agency usually requests these directly by email

Filing With the DMW, Waiting for Clearance, and Getting the OEC

1. Hand over the employer’s document package to the chosen agency. The agency receives the documents directly from the employer and takes it from there — the applicant doesn’t need to gather anything separately.

2. Wait for the DMW to review the documents. The DMW checks whether the document package is legitimate and whether the applicant has an actual job waiting abroad. The process moves faster if the agency already has a job order matching the applicant’s position.

3. Track the status yourself — the DMW doesn’t notify applicants directly. In practice, the DMW’s response usually goes to the agency, not the applicant, so it’s worth regularly checking in with the agency about what’s happening with the documents. If several months have passed with no answer, it may be time to consider switching agencies.

In practice, the DMW’s response usually goes to the agency, not the applicant

4. Get the clearance. This is the key step: if the agency can’t get clearance, the reason is usually on the employer’s side abroad — something’s wrong with the employer or the job order, or the documents failed verification.

5. Once the documents are reviewed and employment is confirmed, the DMW issues the OEC.

6. Ask the agency what to bring to the airport besides the OEC. Beyond the OEC itself, the agency usually puts together the list of documents needed for departure — most agencies handle this, not the applicant.

7. Don’t cut contact with the agency after getting the OEC. Getting the OEC isn’t the finish line: until the applicant has actually left the Philippines, staying in touch with the agency still matters, even if there are complaints about how it handled things.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need a medical exam for the OEC if my direct hire work visa was already approved without one?

Yes, a medical exam is still required: the agency has to confirm the applicant’s medical fitness to the DMW, even if the work visa application itself didn’t require it. Without this confirmation, the DMW won’t issue the clearance. If a medical exam was already done earlier and a copy of the results exists, it doesn’t need to be repeated — the copy is simply attached to the documents.

Can the OEC medical exam be done at any clinic?

No, a medical exam for the OEC is only accepted from clinics and hospitals accredited by the DMW — going to a random clinic won’t work, since the DMW won’t accept the results of such an exam.