More than 100 Timorese workers are currently working illegally in South Korea, according to the Secretariat of State for Vocational Training Policy and Employment Director of National Employment(SEPFOPE).
Director Paulo Alves said the workers had overstayed their five-year working visa as they made a good living in Korea and didn’t want to return to Timor-Leste.
Prior to leaving Timor, workers sign a contract with a Korean company, but once in-country many find the conditions difficult and opt to leave and work as sub-contractors.
He said while some workers had since been deported by the South Korean Immigration Police, many others continued to live in the country illegally.
He said SEPFOPE representatives had discussed the issue with the in-country coordinators and asked that the workers be returned to Timor-Leste.
“We only have two coordinators and Korea is a big country and the budget is not adequate for them to do their job [properly],” said Alves at his office in Kaikoli, Dili.
He said workers who had overstayed their visa would be blacklisted and not allowed to re-enter South Korea again.
Meanwhile, the Deputy President of Commission D responsible for development and economy, MP Domingos Carvalho de Araujo, urged SEPFOPE to track down the workers and arrange for them to be sent back to Timor-Leste.
“We need to find them and tell them to go back to Timor-Leste,” he said.
Araujo called on the in-country coordinators to try to locate the workers before the Korean police as it was not good for Timor-Leste to have its citizens breaking the laws of another country.
He also urged workers without a valid visa to contact their in-country coordinators or SEPFOPE in order to find a solution to their situation.
