Philippines wants to craft migration pact with France

PARIS – The Philippines is hopeful that it can sign a migration agreement with France to allow undocumented Filipino immigrants to legalize their stay.

While some Filipinos are in the process of legalizing their status, others remain illegal aliens, according to Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro.

“Some (Filipino migrants) are not yet there but they are moving towards that,” Lazaro told Radio TV Malacañang on Saturday.

“Our countrymen are in good condition here. We’ve been monitoring them and hopefully we will have a certain agreement in the coming year, probably next year, in terms of migration and this is something that is still being discussed,” she added.

Lazaro said despite some concerns, the Filipino community in France is well protected and is being treated well by the French people.

As of last year, there are close to 45,000 Filipinos in France, about 28,000 of them irregular migrants. More than a hundred Filipino children born in France have undetermined status.

The Filipino community in France is composed of students, domestic helpers, blue and white collar workers, professionals, artists, clergy, managers and translators.

Filipinos in France are employed as hairdresser, carpenter, mason, hotel staff, driver, seafarer, flight crew, restaurant worker, businessman, computer technician, midwife, professor, dentist, engineer, doctor and sewer.