Hiring a domestic helper in Sarawak

Looking for a helper in Kuala Lumpur?

This page is about hiring in Sarawak. Kuala Lumpur is a separate application to a different authority, with its own prices and its own timeline, so it has its own page.

• Hiring a domestic helper in Kuala Lumpur: start here Who qualifies, what it costs and what you take on there.

Who is allowed to employ a domestic helper in Sarawak?

You’re assessed as much as she is. Sarawak Immigration looks at your declared household income, why you need a helper at all (young children, an elderly or disabled family member) and your residency status. Non-Malaysians living in Sarawak can employ a helper in some circumstances, though the route there is different from a citizen’s.

Who decides a Sarawak application?

Sarawak kept control of its own immigration when it joined the Federation in 1963, and it still runs it. Your helper’s permit is issued by the Sarawak Immigration Department, her medical is done by SAFHIS, and at the end she holds a Sarawak work permit and an NSIC card. State approval and the calling visa run through HAVEN, Sarawak’s household hiring platform. We file all of it from our office in Kuching.

Decided by

Immigration Department of Sarawak, under the Malaysia Agreement 1963

Medical

SAFHIS, in Sarawak

What she holds at the end

A Sarawak work permit and an NSIC card

Agency licence

JTKSWK0042-C/24

How does the process work, end to end?

1. Eligibility checkBefore you pay anybody anything, confirm your household qualifies and that the source country is currently open for domestic helper placement.
2. Sourcing through an accredited channelIndonesian placements go through channels accredited by the Indonesian embassy. Filipino placements go through the Migrant Workers Office. A placement outside those channels is unlawful, whatever it is being called.
3. Calling visa and entryShe enters on the approved visa for the purpose. Bringing her in on a social visit pass and converting later is not a route, and people still try it.
4. Medical, permit and bondSAFHIS medical screening, the Sarawak permit and NSIC card, the security bond and insurance all get done before she starts work.
5. SOCSO registrationYou register and contribute to PERKESO.
6. Annual renewalPermit and contract are renewed every year, and started before expiry.

An Indonesian full placement takes 10 to 12 weeks and a Filipino one 12 to 14 weeks. If you already have your candidate, an Indonesian direct hire takes 8 to 10 weeks. The clock starts when we have your documents, which is the step households control and most often underestimate.

What are you legally responsible for?

• Your helper keeps her own passport. An employer holding it is not a house rule you get to set. It is unlawful, and it is a recognised indicator of forced labour.
• Paying the agreed salary in full, on time, by a method that leaves a trace.
• The rest days written into her contract.
• Adequate accommodation and food.
• The levy, the security bond, the insurance and the medical screening.
• SOCSO contributions, every month.

What does it cost in the first year?

Placing and legalising a domestic helper costs the employer RM17,800 in the first year, before salary. That is the same for an Indonesian and a Filipino placement. It covers the placement fee, the annual levy, the security bond, insurance and SAFHIS medical screening.

Basic salary is RM1,500 a month for an Indonesian helper and RM1,800 for a Filipino one, each including one rest day a week. The setup fee is the same for both. The wage is the entire difference, and it repeats every year. Ask us and you will get the split between the setup lines in writing for your own case; we do not publish that split because it moves with the source country and the year.

• Cost worksheet: Indonesian helper
• Cost worksheet: Filipino helper