Palau Presidential Order Halts Deporting Foreign Minors; Arbitrary & Discriminatory Law; Min Wage St
Whipps halts deportation of foreign dependents
by Leilani ReklaiJuly 15, 2022
President Surangel Whipps Jr. issued a stay of deportation under Presidential Directive 22-51 preventing deportation of dependents of foreign nationals who do not meet the minimum income requirement for dependents. “Really? Is it really true?,” a young Filipina worker asked tearfully, hardly believing that it was true. She and her spouse with their two young children have been stressed for months, she said. Their working hours had been reduced by their employers, resulting in incomes below the required minimum. Employers wanted to keep them and provided free housing and benefits but earned incomes did not reach the minimum requirement.
Current law requires that foreign nationals must earn $15,000 USD a year or above to have dependents while in Palau.
COVID-19 pandemic affected jobs across the country and in particular, the private sector which employs many foreign nationals. Many jobs were either lost or had hours significantly reduced. It is estimated that 2,600 jobs were affected and about 1,800 of those were non-Palauans.
As a result, many of the workers with dependents failed to meet the minimum income requirement. Dependents whose visas expired or were expiring, were given notice of non-renewal as well as order to depart. Not all were elated with the news. One non-resident worker was also tearful but for the opposite reason. Her young son was sent home to live with relatives while she stayed behind to work. She was tearful because her son was born here and never lived away from her or with other people.
The Division of Labor under the Ministry of Finance received negative reactions from the public as result of its efforts to enforce this particular law. Lack of transparency and lack of humane consideration allegations were thrown about as many non-resident workers struggled to find ways to keep their children from being sent away.
Presidential Directive cites that COVID-19 had significantly impacted Palau, especially the dependents of non-resident workers and the government is “committed to supporting families in Palau through the unprecedented time.”
Further, the Directive said in line with Palau’s commitment to international human rights and welfare of children, and as authorized under 13 PNC Section 1010, the stay of deportation is issued to dependents impacted by COVID-19. “Dependents must not be separated or deported from their families based on or indirectly from their parents’ inability to meet the minimum income requirements,” issued the Directive.
The Division of Immigration was tasked to implement this stay of deportation to all dependents whose dependents’ visas have expired or invalid due to lack of ability to meet the minimum income requirement as called for under the law. It is further ordered to formulate regulations to clarify dependent visas in cases of emergency or disasters. It is tasked to evaluate the economic status of the dependents in six months and provide a report to the President with recommendations whether to extend the stay of deportation.
The Directive does not address the resident visa applicants whose visas were denied due to determination that they do not have the adequate means to financially support their stay in Palau. It also does not apply retroactively to those that have departed Palau based on prior decision not to renew their dependents visa.
https://islandtimes.org/whipps-halts-deportation-of-foreign-dependents/
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Approval of resident and dependent visas arbitrary and subjective
by Island Times
May 6, 2022
Filipino workers who have worked and lived in Palau for decades and are now receiving their Social Security benefits are being refused resident visas based on what they say are arbitrary, subjective, and discriminatory processes that are not transparent and ripe for abuse. The same complaint is also raised by families with dependent children here.
The retired Filipinos living in Palau applying for resident visas, which is allowed by law, said there are no clear criteria that they know to follow. They are told to bring all the documents such as bank accounts, check stubs, and their expenses. After they do, some say they wait for months and when they finally get the answer, they are just told they are denied because they do not have the financial means.
One person collecting $380 a month with $5k in the bank was denied. A retired couple that has lived and worked here for 30 years was also denied and told that the $400 SS monthly benefits they each receive are not enough.
There is no set amount by law that residents have to have to be approved for a resident visa. This is up to the discretion of the Director of Immigration.
“What type of financial requirements does the applicant have to meet will depend on the supporting documents they submit, the evidence they provide, and the amount of funds that they will show. Applicants who have been living in Palau will have to show how much income they have compared to their expenses and living costs. Immigration will verify or check their income against the expenses that they report,” explained Director of Immigration John Tarkong on the requirements applicants have to meet.
“Implicitly the amount of financial means, or means of subsistence, is regulated on an individual or case-by-case basis.,” added Tarkong.
The current Immigration regulation § 309. Resident Visa states the following:
§ 309. Resident Visa. A Resident Visa may be issued to Aliens at the discretion of the Director. In granting the Visa, the Director shall consider:
(1) the purpose of the presence of the Alien in the Republic;
(2) whether or not the Alien has Dependents who may lawfully stay in the Republic;
(3) the ability of the Alien to provide support for the Alien; and
(4) other factors relating to the best interests of the Republic.
The regulations language is unclear and leaves a lot to the discretion of the Director of Immigration.
According to an attorney assisting some Filipino retirees, there is “zero guidance for this determination of financial ability.” The attorney said that many of the applicants have been told they need $10k in their accounts to qualify. One client even borrowed $10k to make the amount but was told, “nope, not your money so denied.”
“Nobody can know what they need to make or to have to meet this arbitrary and subjective determination,” expressed the attorney, saying it’s “so rife with abuse.”
Director Tarkong told this publication that no law or regulation mandates that an applicant has $10k in their account.
But the complainants said that they were told by Immigration that they need to have $10k in their account. ‘10K which, while not in the law IS being required of many, perhaps not all, which begs more questions of course about the arbitrariness of the whole thing,” stated the attorney on the arbitrariness of the whole matter. “That decision is totally and completely arbitrary, capricious and subjective, and cannot continue.”
https://islandtimes.org/approval-of-resident-and-dependent-visas-arbitrary-and-subjective/
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361 employees paid below minimum wage
by Leilani Reklai
April 8, 2022
361 persons employed in the Republic of Palau are paid below the legal minimum wage. This includes employees from the government as well as the private sector, locals, and foreign contract workers. “These could be part-time employees or people with reduced hours,” said Minister of HRCTD Ngirai Tmetuchl of the people listed to be paid below the legal wage rate. He said he will verify why these folks are being paid below legal limits. Of the 361 employees under minimum wage, 94 are locals while 267 are foreign workers.
Information from Minister Tmetuchl also showed that 2,051 persons are getting paid the $3.50 per hour minimum wage. Of this number 61 are locals while 1,990 are foreign contract workers.
Of those making over the minimum wage, a report from the Ministry of HRCTD says 4,073 are paid above minimum wage. This includes 2,041 Palauans and 2,032 foreign contract workers.
“When you increase the minimum wage, all those above minimum wages will go higher. That’s how the system works. You cannot raise the minimum wage of the person at minimum wage level up without lifting the wages of the one above that person,” President Whipps said of the minimum wage increase.
In addition to the proposed minimum wage increase, the government is introducing a bill to charge an employer $100 per month for each foreign employee, $1,200 per employee per year. This is in addition to the existing annual fees paid for foreign employee fees. The fees collected, according to Minister Tmetuchl, is to help train local people for employment.
No assessment has been made on the impact these policies combined will have on businesses, especially small to medium size businesses heavily affected by COVID pandemic.
https://islandtimes.org/361-employees-paid-below-minimum-wage/
by Leilani ReklaiJuly 15, 2022
President Surangel Whipps Jr. issued a stay of deportation under Presidential Directive 22-51 preventing deportation of dependents of foreign nationals who do not meet the minimum income requirement for dependents. “Really? Is it really true?,” a young Filipina worker asked tearfully, hardly believing that it was true. She and her spouse with their two young children have been stressed for months, she said. Their working hours had been reduced by their employers, resulting in incomes below the required minimum. Employers wanted to keep them and provided free housing and benefits but earned incomes did not reach the minimum requirement.
Current law requires that foreign nationals must earn $15,000 USD a year or above to have dependents while in Palau.
COVID-19 pandemic affected jobs across the country and in particular, the private sector which employs many foreign nationals. Many jobs were either lost or had hours significantly reduced. It is estimated that 2,600 jobs were affected and about 1,800 of those were non-Palauans.
As a result, many of the workers with dependents failed to meet the minimum income requirement. Dependents whose visas expired or were expiring, were given notice of non-renewal as well as order to depart. Not all were elated with the news. One non-resident worker was also tearful but for the opposite reason. Her young son was sent home to live with relatives while she stayed behind to work. She was tearful because her son was born here and never lived away from her or with other people.
The Division of Labor under the Ministry of Finance received negative reactions from the public as result of its efforts to enforce this particular law. Lack of transparency and lack of humane consideration allegations were thrown about as many non-resident workers struggled to find ways to keep their children from being sent away.
Presidential Directive cites that COVID-19 had significantly impacted Palau, especially the dependents of non-resident workers and the government is “committed to supporting families in Palau through the unprecedented time.”
Further, the Directive said in line with Palau’s commitment to international human rights and welfare of children, and as authorized under 13 PNC Section 1010, the stay of deportation is issued to dependents impacted by COVID-19. “Dependents must not be separated or deported from their families based on or indirectly from their parents’ inability to meet the minimum income requirements,” issued the Directive.
The Division of Immigration was tasked to implement this stay of deportation to all dependents whose dependents’ visas have expired or invalid due to lack of ability to meet the minimum income requirement as called for under the law. It is further ordered to formulate regulations to clarify dependent visas in cases of emergency or disasters. It is tasked to evaluate the economic status of the dependents in six months and provide a report to the President with recommendations whether to extend the stay of deportation.
The Directive does not address the resident visa applicants whose visas were denied due to determination that they do not have the adequate means to financially support their stay in Palau. It also does not apply retroactively to those that have departed Palau based on prior decision not to renew their dependents visa.
https://islandtimes.org/whipps-halts-deportation-of-foreign-dependents/
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Approval of resident and dependent visas arbitrary and subjective
by Island Times
May 6, 2022
Filipino workers who have worked and lived in Palau for decades and are now receiving their Social Security benefits are being refused resident visas based on what they say are arbitrary, subjective, and discriminatory processes that are not transparent and ripe for abuse. The same complaint is also raised by families with dependent children here.
The retired Filipinos living in Palau applying for resident visas, which is allowed by law, said there are no clear criteria that they know to follow. They are told to bring all the documents such as bank accounts, check stubs, and their expenses. After they do, some say they wait for months and when they finally get the answer, they are just told they are denied because they do not have the financial means.
One person collecting $380 a month with $5k in the bank was denied. A retired couple that has lived and worked here for 30 years was also denied and told that the $400 SS monthly benefits they each receive are not enough.
There is no set amount by law that residents have to have to be approved for a resident visa. This is up to the discretion of the Director of Immigration.
“What type of financial requirements does the applicant have to meet will depend on the supporting documents they submit, the evidence they provide, and the amount of funds that they will show. Applicants who have been living in Palau will have to show how much income they have compared to their expenses and living costs. Immigration will verify or check their income against the expenses that they report,” explained Director of Immigration John Tarkong on the requirements applicants have to meet.
“Implicitly the amount of financial means, or means of subsistence, is regulated on an individual or case-by-case basis.,” added Tarkong.
The current Immigration regulation § 309. Resident Visa states the following:
§ 309. Resident Visa. A Resident Visa may be issued to Aliens at the discretion of the Director. In granting the Visa, the Director shall consider:
(1) the purpose of the presence of the Alien in the Republic;
(2) whether or not the Alien has Dependents who may lawfully stay in the Republic;
(3) the ability of the Alien to provide support for the Alien; and
(4) other factors relating to the best interests of the Republic.
The regulations language is unclear and leaves a lot to the discretion of the Director of Immigration.
According to an attorney assisting some Filipino retirees, there is “zero guidance for this determination of financial ability.” The attorney said that many of the applicants have been told they need $10k in their accounts to qualify. One client even borrowed $10k to make the amount but was told, “nope, not your money so denied.”
“Nobody can know what they need to make or to have to meet this arbitrary and subjective determination,” expressed the attorney, saying it’s “so rife with abuse.”
Director Tarkong told this publication that no law or regulation mandates that an applicant has $10k in their account.
But the complainants said that they were told by Immigration that they need to have $10k in their account. ‘10K which, while not in the law IS being required of many, perhaps not all, which begs more questions of course about the arbitrariness of the whole thing,” stated the attorney on the arbitrariness of the whole matter. “That decision is totally and completely arbitrary, capricious and subjective, and cannot continue.”
https://islandtimes.org/approval-of-resident-and-dependent-visas-arbitrary-and-subjective/
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361 employees paid below minimum wage
by Leilani Reklai
April 8, 2022
361 persons employed in the Republic of Palau are paid below the legal minimum wage. This includes employees from the government as well as the private sector, locals, and foreign contract workers. “These could be part-time employees or people with reduced hours,” said Minister of HRCTD Ngirai Tmetuchl of the people listed to be paid below the legal wage rate. He said he will verify why these folks are being paid below legal limits. Of the 361 employees under minimum wage, 94 are locals while 267 are foreign workers.
Information from Minister Tmetuchl also showed that 2,051 persons are getting paid the $3.50 per hour minimum wage. Of this number 61 are locals while 1,990 are foreign contract workers.
Of those making over the minimum wage, a report from the Ministry of HRCTD says 4,073 are paid above minimum wage. This includes 2,041 Palauans and 2,032 foreign contract workers.
“When you increase the minimum wage, all those above minimum wages will go higher. That’s how the system works. You cannot raise the minimum wage of the person at minimum wage level up without lifting the wages of the one above that person,” President Whipps said of the minimum wage increase.
In addition to the proposed minimum wage increase, the government is introducing a bill to charge an employer $100 per month for each foreign employee, $1,200 per employee per year. This is in addition to the existing annual fees paid for foreign employee fees. The fees collected, according to Minister Tmetuchl, is to help train local people for employment.
No assessment has been made on the impact these policies combined will have on businesses, especially small to medium size businesses heavily affected by COVID pandemic.
https://islandtimes.org/361-employees-paid-below-minimum-wage/