Government warns vs ‘marriage-for-job’ racket in China

MANILA, Philippines — Prospective overseas workers should beware of offers to marry a Chinese in exchange for employment in China, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said yesterday.
Five Filipino women are now stranded and seeking repatriation after they were recruited by two Chinese who promised them jobs in China, the POEA said.             

In a complaint, one of the women claimed a certain Steven Lee and his wife arranged her marriage to Wei Qi Lai, who was then staying in Pangasinan as a tourist.

She alleged that Lee promised to give her family a dowry of P140,000 after their marriage and when she gets her Chinese visa. 

However, her family only received P100,000 after deducting expenses for the wedding reception and processing of her travel documents. 
They were married in Pangasinan in September 2017 and she left for China on a tourist visa with her husband two months later.
Although the five women are legally married to their Chinese spouses and are in possession of valid residence permits, their spouses did not allow them to find work in China.

The women later found out that their spouses do not have the financial capability to support their family in the Philippines, contrary to what was promised by their recruiters. 
One of the women claimed that her husband confiscated her passport and sexually abused her.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has recorded 23 Filipino women who married Chinese men for the opportunity to get jobs in China.