Hiring a domestic helper in Sarawak and Malaysia

Who is allowed to employ a domestic helper?

You are assessed as much as she is. 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.

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 bondMedical screening, permit issue, 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.

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 medical screening, which in Sarawak means SAFHIS and in Peninsular Malaysia means FOMEMA.

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 Ask us and you will get the split between the setup lines in writing for your own case; we do not publish that split because it moves with the source country, the state and the year.

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