Ticket Exchange Voucher, Open Date ticket or cheap airline ticket??

We are currently going through the process of direct hire of a helper who has worked in Hong Kong before but needs to return to the Philipines before she can start her employment. Fortunately all has gone very smoothly but I do have a question before we can take our next step. All papers have been handed over to the Philipine Consulate but at pick up they require the following "Photocopy of air ticket or original Ticket Exchange Voucher (TEV) one-way (Place of Origin – Hong Kong) with open date".


Could anyone explain to me what a Ticket Exchange Voucher exactly is. I have heard you can buy the voucher for $50 and then once the visa has been approved it can be turned into a ticket. Apparently you end up paying around $1200-1300 for the ticket. According to the Phillipine Consulate it is the original Ticket Exchange Voucher that you sent the helper together with the visa and all other paperwork. The helper can exchange the voucher for a ticket at the airline in Manila.


I was wondering if this voucher is already linked to a specific ticket that you HAVE TO buy later on. Is it possible to buy a Ticket Exchange Voucher for $50 (if that is indeed the price, can anybody confirm?) just to process the papers at the Ph Consulate and then once the papers have been processed also by HK Immigration and the visa is approved, buy the cheapest ticket that we can get for our new helper. It seems that a dated tickets at CEBU Pacific it the best price.


Has anybody any experience with Ticket Exchange Vouchers and then buying a ticket for their helper separately?

Call your travel agent and tell them you need an "Open ticket " so the date will be fixed when the visa is released from Immigration (4-6 weeks). Then the voucher the travel agent gives you is combined with a copy of the contract that has been through POEA ($297.50). This is needed for the helper to process her papers in the Philippines, get the TESDA, OWA, medical etc.

So this all fits with what you've said. You can ask around for the travel agents who do this sort of thing. There is a high season and we are in it right now!