The most common misunderstanding in hospitality recruitment is that a workforce from the Philippines can be switched on for a peak and off again. In a few countries a seasonal permit makes that lawful — Croatia's is the one we run at scale. In most, the right design is a stable foreign core on year-round contracts with local seasonal flexibility. This page sets out what exists where, and how to plan either way.
Recruiting from the Philippines takes a permit, a DMW deployment and a flight; the shortest realistic cycle is six to ten weeks in the Gulf and three to five months in Europe. It makes sense for a season of six to nine months and for year-round operations; it does not make sense for a six-week peak unless the destination's law provides a seasonal route and the operator plans a year ahead. Where a seasonal route exists we use it; where it does not we say so and design the workforce differently, rather than stretch a rule from one country to another.
Croatia's seasonal residence-and-work permit covers up to 90 days or nine months in a calendar year for cooks, waiters, bartenders, chambermaids, cleaners, kitchen and bar assistants and receptionists; the HZZ labour-market test (15 days) is waived where the occupation is on the HZZ exemption list of the county concerned — cooks and waiters in 12 counties, assistant cooks and waiters, chambermaids and cleaners in 9 — while receptionists and bartenders are tested everywhere; seasonal workers are exempt from the Croatian A1.1 requirement; and since 2026 the permit can be issued for up to three years to the same worker and employer, with the contract stating the intention to re-employ — which is what lets a coastal operator bring the same crew back each April. Croatia issued 20,083 seasonal permits in 2025 and 25,371 between January and September 2026 (MUP monthly statistics). The calendar is fixed: brief by October, interviews November to January, files January to February, arrival in April.
Germany has no seasonal route for Philippine nationals in hospitality; recruitment there is for qualified staff on year-round contracts. Malta's single permit is a year-round instrument, and its termination thresholds now refuse new applications to employers whose third-country staff leave too often — a seasonal hire-and-release pattern is penalised by design. The Gulf runs year-round contracts with annual leave. In these markets a seasonal operator builds a stable Filipino core sized to the low season and adds local or EU seasonal flex for the peak — or, as many Maltese and Alpine operators do, runs year-round contracts with rostered low-season hours. Austria's and other countries' seasonal arrangements are addressed on their country guides where they apply to Philippine nationals; we do not generalise them here.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office for the destination, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no cook, waiter or room attendant pays for an interview, a skills test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the immigration route, labour-market rules and sector requirements of the destination country and Philippine DMW rules.
Not realistically. The permit, DMW and travel cycle is weeks to months and most countries have no seasonal route for Philippine nationals. A season of six to nine months in Croatia, or year-round contracts elsewhere, is where it works.
Yes — since 2026 it can be issued for up to three years to the same worker and employer, with the contract stating the intention to re-employ. The calendar is brief by October, arrival in April.
Germany has none for Philippine nationals in hospitality. Malta's single permit is year-round and its termination thresholds penalise hire-and-release; operators there run year-round contracts or a core-and-flex model.
In Croatia they return home on the return flight written into the contract and come back under the multi-year permit; in year-round markets they stay on contract with rostered low-season hours. The arrangement is briefed and signed in Manila.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.