Working in the Gulf from the Philippines: legal hiring, fees, safety checks and how to avoid recruitment scams

Before anything else: check whether deployment is open right now

On 6 March 2026, as tensions in the Middle East escalated and airspace closed, DMW Advisory No. 10 told licensed agencies to stop processing workers for Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait until further notice. The same advisory said that, although the Department of Foreign Affairs had not raised a crisis alert level for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the UAE, regional tensions and airspace restrictions were suspending deployments to those five countries [6]. When we searched DMW's issuances and news releases on 16 October 2026 we did not find a document that formally lifts that instruction. Later DMW issuances do prepare for hiring in the region: a new medical and visa system for Oman from 18 May 2026 [17] and a new police clearance rule for UAE work visas from 15 August 2026 [18]. But DMW also reported renewed hostilities in July 2026, with more than 10,500 people repatriated from conflict-affected areas by then [21], and flight disruptions affecting OFWs in Saudi Arabia in October 2026 [22]. Because the rule can change from one week to the next, call the DMW hotline 1348 or ask your agency to show you the current DMW issuance for your destination before you pay anything. DMW warns that illegal recruiters use exactly this kind of crisis to sell fast deployment and high salaries [7].

• If someone says they can deploy you immediately to a Gulf country, ask which DMW issuance allows it, then check it yourself on dmw.gov.ph.
• A tourist or visit visa is never a legal work route; DMW lists it as a warning sign [7], and the UAE says visit visa holders who work face fines and legal liability [27].

The legal routes: agency hire, direct hire and government hire

Most Filipinos who go to the Gulf are agency hires: a DMW-licensed Philippine recruitment agency matches them with an accredited foreign employer and processes their papers with the DMW. Direct hiring, meaning being employed without any licensed agency, is the exception. DMW's own FAQ says only certain employers may hire Filipinos directly: members of the diplomatic corps, international organisations, and heads of state or officials with at least the rank of deputy minister. DMW may also allow lower-ranked officials endorsed by the MWO, employers of professionals and skilled workers whose verified contracts are above DMW standards, and relatives who are permanent residents of the host country, except when the job is domestic work [4]. An employer may directly hire only five first-time professional or skilled workers, once; after that it must go through a licensed agency, and an employer whose accreditation with an agency expired or was cancelled must wait a year before hiring directly [4]. A direct-hired household service worker also needs an MWO letter asking the DMW for an exemption from the ban on direct hiring [5]. The third route is government placement. DMW publishes recruitment specification forms for government-to-government programmes on its website [10], and its 2026 Citizen's Charter lists a lower DMW processing fee of USD 50 for G-to-G processing under its Saudi programme [5].

• Agency hire: your agency files the papers, but you should still read, sign and keep your own copy of the contract.
• Direct hire: processed online through DMW's POPS-Direct system in two phases. DMW tells direct hires not to book a flight until the DMW clearance has been issued [4].
• Government hire: only trust vacancies that appear on the DMW website itself.

Check the agency and the job order yourself

You do not need a fixer to check a recruiter. The DMW website has a public directory of licensed recruitment agencies, with each agency's address, contact person and licence status; when we checked it listed 3,797 agencies, including many marked expired, cancelled, delisted or ceased operations [1]. A separate list of approved job orders shows the jobsite, position, Philippine agency, foreign employer and number of workers needed. It held 135,297 job orders on 16 October 2026 and says it is updated every two hours, but it also warns that a listed vacancy may already be filled, so confirm with the agency [2]. For countries with whitelisting rules, DMW publishes the agencies cleared to deploy; the Saudi Arabia tab listed 489 cleared agencies when we looked [3]. Agencies must also tell the DMW which social media accounts are officially theirs, because vloggers and impostors were posting jobs in their names [11], and DMW says that from 2020 to 2026 it had 146,871 illegal-recruitment posts removed from Facebook and 57,557 from TikTok [20]. An agency that advertises to build a pool of applicants needs DMW approval, and its advert must say it is for manpower pooling only, that no fees will be collected from applicants, and that you should beware of illegal recruiters, and must show its name, address, DMW licence number, the employer and the worksite [5].

• The agency's exact name is on DMW's list and its status reads Valid License.
• The office you visit is at the address DMW shows for that agency.
• The job you are offered matches an approved job order: same country, same position, same foreign employer.
• For Saudi Arabia, the agency also appears on DMW's whitelist for that country.
• The page or account that contacted you is the agency's official one, not a personal profile or a group chat.

Fees: what is legal and what is not

Under the 2023 DMW Rules, a placement fee is any amount an agency charges a worker for recruitment and placement. It may be charged to the worker, except domestic workers, and it cannot be more than one month's basic salary in the DMW-approved contract [9]. It must be zero where the destination's law or practice does not allow workers to be charged. On that basis the DMW has treated Qatar as a no-placement-fee country for every type of worker since 14 September 2024, and breaking the policy can cost an agency its licence [8], [9]. The Gulf countries say the same thing from their side. The UAE government portal says the employer is responsible for recruitment expenses under the UAE Labour Law [27]. Saudi Arabia's Labor Law makes the employer pay the recruitment fees for non-Saudi workers, the residence permit and work permit fees, exit and re-entry visas and the return ticket at the end of the job [28]. Qatar's Labour Law forbids licensed recruiters from collecting any recruitment fee or other charge from the workers they bring in [29], and the ILO describes Qatar's goal as workers paying no recruitment fees or related costs, either at home or in Qatar [30]. There are separate government fees in the Philippines. For direct hires, the DMW's 2026 Citizen's Charter lists a DMW processing fee of USD 100 in peso equivalent, an OWWA contribution of USD 25 and a Pag-IBIG contribution of PHP 600 [5].

• Domestic worker going to any Gulf country: the placement fee is zero.
• Any worker going to Qatar: the placement fee is zero.
• Other workers: no more than one month's basic salary, and only against a valid contract and an official receipt [7].
• Oman's new medical and visa process must not cost the worker anything; agencies or employers pay [17].
• Keep every receipt, chat and bank slip. You will need them if you file a complaint.

Papers and steps before you fly

The DMW checklist for agency-hired domestic, low-skilled and female workers gives a good picture of what a first-time OFW needs: a passport valid for at least six months from departure, a work visa or permit, an employment contract verified by the MWO (or authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate where there is no MWO), certificates for the online Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS) and the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS), the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program where required, a TESDA certificate, proof of insurance, a DMW e-registration account and a fit-to-work medical certificate [5]. The medical must come from a clinic accredited by the Department of Health for OFWs [4]. The OEC is valid for 60 days from issue and covers one exit only [4]. At the airport, DMW's FAQ says the Bureau of Immigration asks for your passport, work visa or permit, verified contract and valid OEC. That FAQ still cites an older POEA advisory asking for a passport valid for at least a year, while the 2026 Citizen's Charter says six months from departure, so renew early if your passport is close to either line [4], [5]. Insurance is compulsory: DMW's FAQ lists cover for accidental death, permanent disability, accident medical costs and repatriation of remains [4].

• Take the free online PEOS on the DMW website and print the certificate.
• Get your medical only at a DOH-accredited clinic for OFWs.
• Read the contract the MWO verified and make sure the pay matches what you were promised.
• Attend the PDOS (OWWA runs it; Saudi-bound domestic workers take a supplemental session).
• Get your OEC, or the OFW Pass if you are a returning worker, and travel within its validity.
• Returning to the same employer and country? The OFW Pass in the eGovPH app is valid 90 days, carries a QR code and also proves your OFW status for the travel tax and terminal fee exemptions. If you change employer or jobsite, the app sends you to a DMW regional office or MWO instead [15].

Extra protections for household service workers

Domestic workers face the highest risks, and the DMW has added rules for them. Advisory No. 25 of August 2025 raised the minimum monthly wage for Filipino domestic workers from USD 400 to at least USD 500 [12]. A later circular gave employers six months to adjust, after which the DMW said it would audit compliance and either extend the transition or make USD 500 mandatory [13]; in January 2026 the DMW and the Philippine Embassy recognised 14 Bahraini agencies for applying it [31]. The same advisory requires a Know Your Employer video call between the worker and the employer before the contract is finalised, so the worker learns the duties, household size, rest periods and accommodation first. It also restates at least one full rest day a week in the standard contract and stricter rules for agency accommodation houses [12]. The Citizen's Charter sets a minimum age of 24 for household service workers and asks for a TESDA Domestic Work NC II certificate. Workers bound for Saudi Arabia need a contract downloaded from Musaned, Saudi Arabia's recruitment platform, and a supplemental PDOS; other Gulf destinations ask for the pre-departure education programme or an Arabic language course [5]. No placement fee may be charged to a domestic worker [9].

• Your passport stays with you. DMW says employers and agencies may hold it only briefly for visa stamping or immigration processing and must return it straight away [14].
• Do not agree to skip the video call with your employer; it is part of the DMW rules [12].
• A relative abroad cannot hire you directly as a household worker under the family-hire exception [4].

Country notes: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain

UAE: a real job offer comes as an offer letter issued through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and signed by the employer's authorised manager. You can check it by its reference number on MOHRE's application-status service, then check the entry permit on the GDRFA website if it was issued in Dubai or on ICP's eChannels for the other emirates. MOHRE answers recruitment questions at ask@mohre.gov.ae [27]. From 15 August 2026, Filipinos applying for UAE employment visas need an NBI clearance, authenticated and attested with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs [18]. In February 2026 the DMW warned returning domestic workers, especially from Saudi Arabia, about offers to move them to Dubai or Abu Dhabi on forged OECs and their old contracts, routed through Hong Kong and Doha; immigration screening stopped the victims at the airport [19]. Saudi Arabia: the employer pays recruitment costs under Article 40 of the Labor Law [28], domestic workers' contracts run through Musaned [5], and in July 2026 the DMW met Musaned's operator, Takamol, about improving the platform for Filipino workers [23]. Qatar: no placement fee for anyone [8], [29]. Kuwait: since July 2024, agency-hire domestic workers may go only if they have earlier overseas work recorded with DMW, OWWA membership and no welfare case on file; the visa must come from the Kuwait Embassy in Manila and the worker must leave from the Philippines, not a third country [16]. That circular predates the 2026 conflict, so check it is still current. Oman: a new medical examination and visa system for Filipino workers applies from 18 May 2026, with costs on agencies or employers [17], and a larger MWO with a resource centre opened in Muscat in February 2026 for about 45,000 OFWs [24]. Bahrain: official material we could reach is thin; it mainly covers the USD 500 domestic worker wage [31].

• Our UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar scam alerts cover the common scams once you arrive, and our CV format guides for each country cover the job search itself; both are linked below.

Warning signs of illegal recruitment

These signs come from DMW warnings issued between 2024 and 2026. One of them alone does not prove a scam, but each one is a reason to stop and check the agency and job order on the DMW website before you hand over money or documents.

• The recruiter deals with you only through Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, WhatsApp or another unofficial channel [7].
• You are asked for a placement fee before you have a valid contract, or without an official receipt [7].
• You are told to fly on a tourist or visit visa and change it to a work visa later [7], [27].
• A travel agency, fixer or consultancy offers you an overseas job [7].
• An advert uses a licensed agency's name or logo but gives different contact details [10].
• Someone offers to reuse your old OEC, or to fake your employer or destination, or routes you through another country first [19].
• Big salaries and fast processing are promised for a country in crisis [7].
• Anyone asks you to give them your passport to keep [14].

Where to report and get help

In the Philippines, report suspicious recruiters, agencies, pages and job offers to the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau, 4th Floor, DMW Building, Ortigas Avenue corner EDSA, Mandaluyong City, on 8721-0619 or at airtipinfo@dmw.gov.ph, the address given in DMW's April 2026 advisory; an earlier advisory gave mwpb@dmw.gov.ph [7], [10]. The DMW emergency hotline is 1348 and its general email is info@dmw.gov.ph [26]. DMW's Legal Assistance Division helps victims of illegal recruitment and trafficking prepare their complaints, and the Citizen's Charter lists no fee for this. Criminal cases for illegal recruitment and trafficking are endorsed to prosecutors [5]. The DMW also works with the NBI on entrapment operations against illegal recruiters [19]. Abroad, the Migrant Workers Offices verify contracts and run Migrant Workers Resource Centres that can give shelter. DMW's directory, updated 1 September 2026, lists nine MWOs in the Gulf [25]. Our recruitment scam alerts for the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar list the host country's own police and labour reporting channels.

• UAE: mwo_abudhabi@dmw.gov.ph (at the embassy in Abu Dhabi) and mwo_dubai@dmw.gov.ph [25].
• Saudi Arabia: mwo_riyadh@dmw.gov.ph, mwo_jeddah@dmw.gov.ph and mwo_alkhobar@dmw.gov.ph [25].
• Qatar: mwo_qatar@dmw.gov.ph. Kuwait: mwo_kuwait@dmw.gov.ph [25].
• Oman: mwo_oman@dmw.gov.ph. Bahrain: mwo_bahrain@dmw.gov.ph [25].
• Unauthorised passport withholding can be reported to the DMW hotline or the Migrant Workers Resource Centre at the MWO [14].

You can also complain in the country where you work

Your home country’s offices are not the only place to complain. If an employer in the Gulf does not pay you, changes your contract, keeps your passport or makes you pay for your job, you can file a complaint with the labour ministry of the country where you work, even as a foreign worker, and you can report fraud or threats to that country’s police. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain list their labour complaint services as free on their official pages [35], [41], [44]. These channels are used: Qatar’s Ministry of Labour registered 5,369 worker complaints against companies in the first quarter of 2026 [39]. Before you file, gather copies of your passport and visa or work permit, the contract you signed at home and any contract you were given on arrival, payslips or bank statements, receipts for any fees you paid, and your chats and call logs with the employer or recruiter. Watch the time limits: Saudi Arabia’s settlement service asks for the complaint within 12 months [35]. The Migrant Workers Office can help you prepare the complaint, interpret and follow it up, but the decision is made by the host country’s authorities, and you can use both at the same time.

• UAE: the MOHRE app or website, or the Labour Claims and Advisory Centre on toll-free 80084. MOHRE also takes reports of forced labour and human trafficking [33], [34].
• Saudi Arabia: HRSD’s amicable settlement service, through Qiwa, the HRSD website or the unified number 19911; domestic workers file through Musaned [35], [36].
• Qatar: the Ministry of Labour’s Unified Complaints and Disputes Platform, which also takes complaints against registered recruitment agencies, or info@mol.gov.qa; 16505 for fraud or requests for unofficial payments [37], [38], [40].
• Oman: the Ministry of Labour’s free labour complaints e-service, which also allows a group complaint, or its call centre 80077000 [41].
• Kuwait: the Public Authority for Manpower, through the Labour Relations unit that holds the company’s file or the As'hal Manpower service; violations can be reported confidentially through Report Me in the Sahel app, and the authority runs shelters for migrant workers [42], [43].
• Bahrain: the Ministry of Labour’s complaints service in person, on 17873637 or 17873919, or online, for workers with a valid work permit; for exploitation or trafficking, the LMRA hotline 995 [44], [45].

What we could not confirm

We only use sources we could open. The OWWA website showed a bot check and we could not read it, so OWWA membership and PDOS details here come from DMW documents. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine embassy websites, the PNP site and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking site returned access errors, so we have not listed their channels; for the embassies we used DMW's MWO directory. MOHRE, Musaned, Qatar's Ministry of Labour, Kuwait's Public Authority for Manpower and Bahrain's LMRA were also unreachable, so the Gulf-side rules come from the UAE government portal, HRSD's Labor Law file and an English copy of Qatar's Labour Law. Finally, we did not find a DMW issuance lifting the March 2026 hold described at the top. If you know of one, the DMW hotline can confirm it. For the channels in the section on complaining where you work, we used the UAE government portal, HRSD’s service page, and the Oman and Bahrain labour ministry websites, which did open; for Qatar’s Ministry of Labour, Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower and Bahrain’s LMRA we relied on an ILO leaflet and on newspaper reports that quote those bodies. Older Qatari hotline numbers appear only in a 2021 booklet, so we have not listed them.