Citizens of the Philippines received 50,944 first EU residence permits for work in 2025, up 31.4 percent on 2024 and 3.5 times the 2019 number. In the national register all of Europe took 130,920 of the 2,154,773 land based deployments, 6.1 percent; most went to the Gulf states and Asia. Our estimate is about 49,200 permits in 2026, between 30,400 and 74,600, slightly fewer than in 2025, mainly because Croatia's Ministry of the Interior counted 30 percent fewer permits for residence and work for new employment to August than a year before. Hungary, first with 12,108 permits, closed its guest worker route on 6 June 2026 (Decree 92/2026). For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number; the direction is flat. From 2028 we give one line held flat, a stated assumption, and four scenarios, not forecasts: in 2031 the scenarios run from 49,500 to 55,400, held flat 48,700.
Observed
First EU residence permits for work issued to citizens of the Philippines in 2025, up 31.4 percent on 2024
50,944
Our estimate
Permits in 2026, between 30,400 and 74,600
49,200
Our estimate
Permits a year from 2027 to 2031: the range is too wide for a yearly number
Flat
Observed
Europe's share of land based deployments in the register, 2025
6.1%
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines3
116.8 million people, still young and growing
The Philippines has 116.8 million people, 11,473,970 more than in 2015. In 2024 births outnumbered deaths by about 1.1 million, far more than the 160,373 net departures. Output per head, 4,171 US dollars, is 29 percent of the world average, growth was 4.4 percent in 2025, and the World Bank expects 11.44 million more people aged 15 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026.
People living in the Philippines in 2025, mid year
116,786,962
10.9 percent more than in 2015. People aged 15 to 64 were 67.1 percent of the population in 2025.
Median age in 2025
27.2years
Half the population is younger. Our estimate from the World Bank's five year age groups.
GDP per head in 2025
4,171dollars
29 percent of the world average of 14,406 US dollars in 2025.
The minimum wage a month, 2025
278euro
695 pesos a day in Metro Manila, times 26 days, at 64.98 pesos to the euro: our estimate. 755 pesos a day since July 2026.
Money sent home by people working abroad, share of GDP, 2025
8.5%
Against 0.8 percent across the world.
Two turning points
3 February 2022One department takes over the work of seven offices.
6 June 2026Hungary stops new guest worker residence permits.
Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (population, GDP per head, personal remittances received as a share of GDP) and population estimates and projections (five year age groups, for our median age), retrieved 27 September 2026. Wage: National Wages and Productivity Commission, Department of Labor and Employment, Current daily minimum wage rates, National Capital Region (Wage Orders NCR-26 to NCR-28, page updated 15 September 2026), retrieved 27 September 2026. Key dates: Department of Migrant Workers, Citizen's Charter 2025 (mandate); Hungary, Government Decree 92/2026, as in our country record; retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines4
Births far outweigh departures; ageing comes slowly
Births exceed deaths by 0.9 to 1.4 million a year, many times the net departures
In 2024, births minus deaths came to +1,105,612 and net migration to −160,373.
Births minus deaths, thousandsNet migration, thousands
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (net migration and crude birth and death rates from UN World Population Prospects 2024, whose estimates end in 2023; later years are its projection), retrieved 27 September 2026. Births minus deaths is our arithmetic on the crude rates. Not yet published: births minus deaths for 2025.
130.21 million by 2041 on the World Bank's projection
Estimated to 2025, then the World Bank's projection in the lighter line.
Source: World Bank, SP.POP.TOTL (World Development Indicators); World Bank, population projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024; retrieved 27 September 2026.
The share aged 65 and over rises to 9%
0 to 1415 to 6465 and over
Source: World Bank, population estimates and projections, retrieved 27 September 2026.
487.1 billion US dollars in 2025, and the IMF forecast to 2031
Billion US dollars at current prices of 2025IMF forecast
Real growth under each year: observed to 2025 (World Bank), the IMF forecast after. Sources: World Bank, NY.GDP.MKTP.CD (2025); IMF, World Economic Outlook April 2026; Werklist calculation: the other years are the 2025 value moved by the real growth rates; retrieved 27 September 2026.
ContentsThe countryGoing abroad for workThe outlookMethod and sourcesWorkforce Migration Report 2026, PhilippinesRequest
Request the full report
All 13 pages as a PDF, sent to your email.
Page 1 of 13Use the arrow keys, the buttons or swipe to move between pages.Swipe to turn the page. Pinch to zoom.
2,743,952 in 2025, 27.2 percent above the 2,156,742 of 2019
Source: Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines: 2025 from its 2025 Overseas Deployment Statistics, preliminary data (infographic, created 28 January 2026); * 2019, 2020 and 2023 are a press relay, department figures as reported by Philstar on 12 April 2024; 2021, 2022 and 2024 were not found on the department site; retrieved 27 September 2026.
The Philippines recorded 2,743,952 deployments in 2025, 2,154,773 on land and 589,179 at sea. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore took the most; all of Europe took 6.1 percent of land based deployments.
The top five took 63.6% of land based deployments
The five largest destinations of the land based deployments of 2025, with their shares as the department gives them.
United Arab Emirates
397,89218.5%
Saudi Arabia
386,69917.9%
Singapore
221,49210.3%
Hong Kong
202,4159.4%
Qatar
160,8907.5%
Other destinations
785,38536.4%
Europe in the register, 20256.1%
130,920 land based deployments to all of Europe, EU and non EU; the department gives no split by EU country. Provisional.
Source: Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, 2025 Overseas Deployment Statistics, preliminary data, January to December (infographic, created 28 January 2026), retrieved 27 September 2026.
What the register counts, and what it does not
Counted: A deployment: a departure for a job abroad on a contract the Department of Migrant Workers has processed, cleared with an Overseas Employment Certificate (OFW Pass), land based and sea based together. A rehire counts again with each contract: 1,756,175 of the 2,154,773 land based deployments of 2025.
Not counted: Filipinos who leave on a tourist or other visa and find work abroad, or who work abroad without passing through the department, are outside the count.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines6
Japan ranks first for Filipino citizens, then Kuwait and Hungary
We rank destinations for citizens of the Philippines by the ease of entry for them first, then by the size of their flow. All ten below are in grade 1, the easiest of five. Hungary issued 12,108 of their 50,944 first EU residence permits for work in 2025 and ranks third. Decree 92/2026 closed its guest worker route on 6 June 2026; the employment purpose permit stays open to Filipinos (Act XC of 2023).
Place and destination
Size, Werklist estimate 2027 to 2031
Ease, share of the full score
1 Japan
174,000
97.5%
2 Kuwait
156,000
100.0%
3 Hungary *
51,700
85.9%
4 Czechia
31,700
87.3%
5 Greece
24,800
82.8%
6 Croatia
20,900
90.0%
7 Poland
17,700
94.9%
8 Albania **
not reported
87.3%
9 Germany
14,300
83.8%
10 Lithuania
11,700
83.3%
Source: Werklist ranking of destinations by corridor, run 2026.1-rk-15d, 29 September 2026, from the country records of edition 2026.1 and the arrivals of the latest year (Eurostat, migr_resfirst, 2025; Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, land based deployments, 2025, preliminary; Immigration Services Agency of Japan, new entries on a working status of residence, 2025). Size: the Werklist estimate of each destination for 2027 to 2031 together, times the share of citizens of the Philippines in its count, rounded to three significant figures, in the unit of that count: Kuwait, foreign workers entering for work, modelled on its count of foreign workers (Central Statistical Bureau), a count of people; Japan, new entries on a working status of residence; the others, first residence permits for work (Eurostat). * Hungary: its line times the 2025 share of Filipinos, a share from before Decree 92/2026; the sum of the destinations takes 41.9 percent out of that part from 2027, to 6,700 in 2031, still above Czechia's 6,490. ** Albania: its arrivals, the employment approvals of 2025 of the National Agency for Employment and Skills, were not read at the agency (a press relay, Balkanweb, 8 July 2026), so its size is not reported; its place is the ranking's.
Ease of entry first, then the size of the flow
Each destination is graded 1 to 5 on a score out of 100 for citizens of the Philippines: admission, where they file, the approval at home, the labour market test and the decision time, and the arrivals of the latest year. Within a grade the larger flow ranks first.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Qatar, four of the five largest destinations in the register, rank 16th to 19th, in grade 1: their size in permits is not known. Hong Kong, the fourth largest, ranks 12th. Ireland ranks 21st, in grade 2. Kuwait's approval at home is not scored: the department's rules for Kuwait conflict, so its ease rests on the other parts.
Source: Werklist ranking of destinations by corridor, run 2026.1-rk-15d, 29 September 2026.
3.5 times the 2019 number, despite dips in 2020 and 2024
First EU residence permits for work issued to citizens of the Philippines, by year, with the change on the year before.
2019
14,721
2020
10,056down 31.7%
2021
16,639up 65.5%
2022
30,803up 85.1%
2023
41,364up 34.3%
2024
38,767down 6.3%
2025
50,944up 31.4%
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons in the 27 EU countries to citizens of the Philippines, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines7
Hungary's share rose from 0.8 percent in 2019 to 23.8 in 2025
Greece rose from 47 permits in 2019 to 3,158, Poland fell after 2023
The 27 EU countries issued 50,944 first EU residence permits for work to citizens of the Philippines in 2025, 3.5 times the 14,721 of 2019. Hungary rose from 112 to 12,108, Greece and Lithuania from fewer than 50 each to 3,158 and 2,344, while Poland fell from 8,344 in 2023 to 3,847.
EU destinations of the Werklist boardOther EU countries, in the table only
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons in the 27 EU countries to citizens of the Philippines, by country of issue, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Eurostat marks the Irish values as of low reliability. The totals of the seven centres: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, EU27, 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 29 September 2026.
Among the seven sourcing centres of Werklist, the Philippines' 50,944 first EU residence permits for work in 2025 came third, after India's 101,573 and Nepal's 71,061, ahead of Bangladesh 29,626, Uzbekistan 22,928, Vietnam 14,794 and Indonesia 6,239.
Destination
2019
2024
2025
Share 2025
Hungary
112
4,584
12,108
23.8%
Croatia
545
5,769
5,981
11.7%
Czechia
1,531
4,131
5,217
10.2%
Poland
2,500
6,971
3,847
7.6%
Greece
47
1,555
3,158
6.2%
Lithuania
36
394
2,344
4.6%
Germany
1,316
2,016
2,057
4.0%
Ireland
763
2,429
2,030
4.0%
Other EU countries
7,871
10,918
14,202
27.9%
All EU countries
14,721
38,767
50,944
100.0%
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons in the 27 EU countries to citizens of the Philippines, by country of issue, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Eurostat marks the Irish values as of low reliability. The totals of the seven centres: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, EU27, 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 29 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines8
Per working age resident, Nepal's rate is 5.7 times the Philippines'
First EU residence permits for work for every 100,000 residents aged 15 to 64
The first EU residence permits for work the 27 EU countries issue in a year to citizens of a country, divided by that country's residents aged 15 to 64. Both lines use the same two sources.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst (first residence permits for employment in the EU27, by citizenship), updated 11 September 2026; World Bank, SP.POP.1564.TO (residents aged 15 to 64); reference years 2019 to 2025, retrieved 27 September 2026. Werklist calculation.
The Philippines, 2025
65.0
Up from 20.7 in 2019.
Nepal, 2025
367.3
Up from 63.0 in 2019.
Measured against residents aged 15 to 64, citizens of the Philippines receive far fewer first EU residence permits for work than citizens of Nepal: 65.0 for every 100,000 in 2025 against 367.3. In permits Nepal is 1.4 times the Philippines, 71,061 against 50,944, but the Philippines has four times the working age population. Both rates stepped up in 2022; the Philippines dipped to 50.2 in 2024 and reached 65.0 in 2025. The data show when the rates moved, not why.
Channels to Europe, side by side
Listed 2026Philippines: the department lists government to government jobs for Germany's Federal Employment Agency (nurses) and 17 Croatian hotel and resort employers.
March 2026Czechia's Qualified Employee Programme admits the Philippines by monthly quota and leaves Nepal out.
2023Nepal: a Memorandum of Understanding with Romania on the recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers.
Sources: Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, Government to Government Vacancies (2026); Czechia, Qualified Employee Programme, updated 15 March 2026, as in our country record; Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Nepal, Nepal Labour Migration Report 2024 (final, 11 November 2025); retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines9
Every Filipino leaving for a job abroad needs an exit clearance
The rules at home, as they stand on 27 September 2026
Act 11641
The Department of Migrant Workers Act, in force since 3 February 2022, merged seven offices, the old overseas employment administration among them, into one department.
OFW Pass
Nobody leaves for a job abroad without an Overseas Employment Certificate, now the OFW Pass, which the department issues as the exit clearance.
₱200,000
A recruitment or manning agency needs a licence from the department, with a licence fee of 200,000 pesos and a bank escrow deposit.
Seminar
Each worker attends a pre departure orientation seminar; household service workers also need the education certificate of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
US$25
The worker pays 25 US dollars to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration; the agency insures each worker it places for the contract, at no cost to the worker.
Verified
Each contract, and for many jobs the foreign employer itself, is verified by the department's Migrant Workers Office at the job site before processing.
14 days
Hiring directly from abroad is banned unless the employer or worker is exempt (Memorandum Circular 08 of 2018); the department rules within 14 working days.
Sources: Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, Citizen's Charter 2025, 1st edition (mandate; licensing of agencies; landbased processing; Direct Hire Assistance Unit); retrieved 27 September 2026.
Where the visa is issued
The embassy or visa centre that takes the application, for the largest EU destinations.
HungaryVFS Global in Manila; the embassy in Manila issues the visa
CroatiaVFS Global in Manila, after the permit for residence and work; files go to Jakarta
CzechiaEmbassy in Manila, by email registration each quarter and a draw
PolandBLS visa centres in Makati City (Metro Manila) and Cebu City
Sources: Embassy of Hungary in Manila; VFS Global for the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia; Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila; Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Manila; read 27 September 2026.
Unemployment among people aged 15 to 24, 2025, against 13.4 percent across the world
7.0%
About one young person in fourteen looking for work has none, about half the world rate.
World Bank, World Development Indicators (SL.UEM.1524.ZS, ILO estimate), last updated 13 July 2026
The minimum wage in Hungary against the minimum wage at home
3.0times
A month at Hungary's minimum wage equals three months at Metro Manila's minimum wage.
Eurostat, earn_mw_cur (Hungary, second half of 2026, 906 euro); Metro Manila, 755 pesos a day since July 2026, about 302 euro a month, our estimate
More people aged 15 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026, on the World Bank's projection
11.44million
Fifteen years of growth add 11.44 million people of working age, so the pool of candidates keeps growing.
World Bank, SP.POP.1564.TO, retrieved 27 September 2026
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines10
About 49,200 permits in 2026, then a line and four scenarios
We expect about 49,200 permits in 2026, slightly fewer than in 2025, mainly because Croatia's Ministry of the Interior counted 44,646 permits for residence and work for new employment to 31 August 2026, against 63,907 a year before. For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number; the direction is flat. From 2028 we give one line held flat, a stated assumption, and four scenarios, not forecasts. The sum of the destinations takes 41.9 percent out of Hungary's permits from 2027, the guest worker share that Decree 92/2026 of 6 June 2026 closed.
Permits in 2026, our estimate
49,200
between 30,400 and 74,600
Permits a year from 2027 to 2031, the direction
Flat
Too wide for a yearly number; the scenarios give 49,500 to 55,400 in 2031, held flat 48,700
Direction of the rules and of the count
The rulesTightening
The count, 2025Rising
Four scenarios give 49,500 to 55,400 permits a year in 2031, held flat 48,700
Permits issued to 2025, then our estimate with its range for 2026; 2027 as a direction, flat; from 2028 one line held flat, a stated assumption, and four scenarios in grey, not forecasts. Held flat keeps each country at its 2025 count, Croatia at its 2026 count to August and Portugal at its 2024 share, so it stands at 48,700, below 2025. There is no peers' line for a country of origin.
ObservedOur estimate, 2026Its rangeHeld flat, a stated assumptionScenarios: sum of the destinations, closure in Lithuania, no decree in Hungary, places raised in Italy
Source: Werklist estimate from Eurostat migr_resfirst (reference years to 2025, updated 11 September 2026); 2027: a direction, as its range is too wide for a yearly number. From 2028: held flat, a stated assumption, each destination at its 2026 base (the 2025 count; Croatia at the 2026 pace of the Ministry of the Interior, 44,646 to 31 August; Portugal at its 2024 share). Scenarios: sum of the destinations, the lines of the EU destinations at the 2025 shares of their permits; closure in Lithuania, the sum with the places the citizens of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan leave staying empty, a bound, not a sourced size; no decree in Hungary, the sum without Decree 92/2026; places raised in Italy, the sum without the cap on places, as if a next decree gave more places after 2028. Retrieved 27 September 2026. Values rounded to three significant figures; Low and High give the range of 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines11
Hungary and Poland tighten; Hungary's part falls, Greece's rises
Hungary and Poland tighten their rules
The rules in the largest EU destinations, and their permits for Filipinos from 2024 to 2025.
Hungaryrules tighteningpermits rising
Decree 92/2026 stops new guest worker residence permits from 6 June 2026.
Croatiarules holdingpermits rising
Narodne novine 55/2026, from 4 June 2026: employers keep 20 percent Croatian or EEA staff. Permits to Filipinos: 5,769 to 5,981 in 2025.
Czechiarules holdingpermits rising
Qualified Employee Programme: a monthly quota for the Philippines.
Polandrules tighteningpermits falling
Act of 20 March 2025 lets counties close jobs to foreigners.
Sources: the instruments named, as verified in the Werklist country records of edition 2026.1, read 27 September 2026.
Hungary, Croatia and Czechia issued almost half the 2025 permits
The rows give what moves the sum of the destinations; from 2028 the sum is a scenario.
People aged 20 to 64 in the EU4.8 percent fewer by 2041
250.4 million in 2041 (EUROPOP2025); this loss lifts the lines of the EU countries.
Croatiaheld
Ministry of the Interior: 44,646 permits for residence and work for new employment to August 2026, against 63,907 to August 2025.
Hungaryfalling
In the sum of the destinations, a scenario, its part falls from about 11,800 in 2026 to 6,700 in 2031.
Greecerising
In the sum of the destinations, a scenario, its part rises from about 3,150 in 2026 to 6,060 in 2031.
Romania and Italycapped
Government Decision 1169 (Romania) and the decree of 2 October 2025 (Italy) cap their parts.
Sources: Eurostat, proj_25np and migr_resfirst; Ministry of the Interior of Croatia, monthly statistics of August 2026; the instruments named, as in our country records; retrieved 27 September 2026.
What could change this
Hungary's decree and Lithuania's closure are in the scenarios. The suspension of Romania's shortage list by the Court of Appeal Bucharest on 10 September 2026 is not, as no source sizes it. Greece's law lies outside the estimate.
Hungary: Decree 92/2026
Decree 92/2026 has closed the guest worker route to new applications since 6 June 2026. From 2027 the sum of the destinations takes 41.9 percent out of Hungary's permits to Filipinos, the guest worker share of 2025 applications. No decree in Hungary, a scenario, reaches 55,400 in 2031, against 50,600 for the sum of the destinations.
Lithuania: filing closed in three countries
The Migration Department's notice of 24 September 2026 ends filing in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan from 1 November 2026. As the quota ran out on 7 September, the sum of the destinations has other citizens take those places. If they stay empty, closure in Lithuania, a scenario, gives 49,500 in 2031.
Greece names its countries
Law 5275/2026 of 6 February 2026 lets work agencies hire from countries the government names. Greece issued 3,158 permits to Filipinos in 2025; naming the Philippines could lift that.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines12
How to read this report
What a first EU residence permit for work is
The first residence permit for employment reasons in Eurostat's count: valid three months or more, issued by an EU country to a citizen of the Philippines for work. It gathers the single permit for residence and work, the EU Blue Card, permits for seasonal work and each country's other permits for work. Renewals are not counted.
What the range and the scenarios mean
Our estimate gives a yearly number with a low and a high end for 2026 only. For 2027 its range is too wide, so we give the direction, flat. From 2028 we give one line held flat, a stated assumption, and four scenarios, not forecasts. Observed numbers are solid lines, the estimate and the scenarios dashed.
How the estimate is made
We add up the EU countries: each country's line times its 2025 share of permits to Filipinos, Portugal at its 2024 share: 49,200 in 2026. From 2028 this sum is one scenario; held flat keeps each country at its start; closure in Lithuania leaves three countries' places empty; no decree in Hungary and places raised in Italy drop the decree and the cap.
Numbers, dates and words
Past counts are printed exactly; estimates are rounded to three significant figures. The national register counts deployments, Eurostat counts first EU residence permits for work: they are two different counts. We count permits, not people; the population and Kuwait's size on page 6 are the only counts of people.
Sources
Every source retrieved 27 September 2026; the ranking of destinations and the 2025 totals of the seven centres on 29 September 2026.
Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_resfirst
World Bank, World Development Indicators and population estimates and projections (population, age, births, deaths, net migration, GDP, employment, unemployment). data.worldbank.org
Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship and country of issue; the 2025 totals of the seven sourcing centres, updated 28 September 2026. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_resfirst
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, April 2026, real GDP growth. imf.org/external/datamapper
World Bank, personal remittances received as a share of GDP (BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS), unemployment aged 15 to 24 (SL.UEM.1524.ZS, ILO estimate), population by five year age group. data.worldbank.org
Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, 2025 Overseas Deployment Statistics, preliminary data, January to December (infographic, created 28 January 2026). dmw.gov.ph
National Wages and Productivity Commission, Department of Labor and Employment, current daily minimum wage rates, National Capital Region, Wage Orders NCR-26 to NCR-28. nwpc.dole.gov.ph
Department of Migrant Workers, Philippines, Citizen's Charter 2025, 1st edition, and the Government to Government Vacancies page. dmw.gov.ph
Philstar, department deployment figures for 2019, 2020 and 2023, as reported on 12 April 2024. philstar.com
Embassies of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland in Manila; VFS Global for Croatia, visa and application pages. manila.mfa.gov.hu
Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Decree 92/2026, the Migration Department notice of 24 September 2026, Government Decision 1169 of 30 December 2025, the Court of Appeal Bucharest ruling of 10 September 2026, the decree of 2 October 2025, Law 5275/2026, the monthly statistics of Croatia's Ministry of the Interior (August 2026) and the other instruments on pages 10 and 11, as in our country records. njt.hu, et.gr, mup.gov.hr
Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Nepal, Nepal Labour Migration Report 2024 (final, 11 November 2025). moless.gov.np
Immigration Services Agency of Japan; National Agency for Employment and Skills, Albania, new entries on a working status of residence, 2025; employment approvals, 2025, not read at the agency, a press relay by Balkanweb of 8 July 2026 (the ranking of destinations). e-stat.go.jp, balkanweb.com
Photographs and flags
Pexels: Manila at night, Patrick Vogt (cover); Banaue rice terraces, Max Mishin (page 3); Chocolate Hills, Bohol, Jon Discipulo; Makati at dusk, Josh Eleazar; Mayon at dusk, Archie Binamira; Mayon from the hills of Albay, Jeff Guab; El Nido at sunset, Amaia Garcia (back cover). Flags: circle-flags by HatScripts, MIT licence.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Philippines
werklist.com
What this report answers
How many first EU residence permits for work went to citizens of the Philippines each year since 2019?
50,944 in 2025, 31.4% more than the 38,767 of 2024 and 3.5 times the 14,721 of 2019, with dips in 2020 and 2024.
Which EU countries issue the most of them, and which are growing?
Hungary issued 12,108 in 2025, almost a quarter, ahead of Croatia with 5,981 and Czechia with 5,217. Hungary rose from 112 in 2019, Greece and Lithuania from fewer than 50 each to 3,158 and 2,344, while Poland fell from 8,344 in 2023 to 3,847.
How many land based deployments does the Philippines count, and how many are to Europe?
2,743,952 deployments in 2025, 2,154,773 on land and 589,179 at sea. All of Europe took 130,920 of the land based deployments, 6.1%; most went to the Gulf states and Asia.
What rules apply at home before a worker from the Philippines can leave?
Nobody leaves for a job abroad without an Overseas Employment Certificate, the OFW Pass, from the Department of Migrant Workers. Each worker attends a pre departure orientation seminar, and each contract is verified at the job site before processing.
How are the rules changing in the main destinations?
Hungary and Poland tighten: Hungary closed its guest worker route on 6 June 2026, and Poland lets counties close jobs to foreigners. Croatia holds, with employers keeping 20 percent Croatian or EEA staff, and Czechia holds a monthly quota for the Philippines.
How many first EU residence permits for work do we expect in 2026, and what comes after?
About 49,200 in 2026, between 30,400 and 74,600, slightly fewer than in 2025. For 2027 the direction is flat. In 2031 held flat, a stated assumption, gives 48,700; four scenarios, not forecasts, run from 49,500 to 55,400, and the sum of the destinations gives 50,600.
The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report
Photographs: Manila at night by Patrick Vogt (Pexels); Banaue rice terraces by Max Mishin (Pexels); Chocolate Hills, Bohol by Jon Discipulo (Pexels); Makati at dusk by Josh Eleazar (Pexels); Mayon at dusk by Archie Binamira (Pexels); Mayon from the hills of Albay by Jeff Guab (Pexels).
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Hong Kong
Qatar
Japan
Kuwait
Hungary
Czechia
Greece
Croatia
Poland
Albania
Germany
Lithuania
Ireland