Relocating to Kuala Lumpur with your helper

Can you transfer your helper to Malaysia?

No. There is no transfer, no porting and no reciprocal arrangement between Malaysia and any of the three. Her existing visa ends when she leaves, and Malaysia issues from the beginning. Almost every household we speak to about this has assumed otherwise, usually because the move itself feels administrative: a flight, a new address, the same person doing the same job.

The practical consequence is a gap. She stops being lawfully employed where she is before she starts being lawfully employed here, and how you handle those weeks is the thing to plan around.

What changes depending on where you are moving from?

Less than you would think at the Malaysian end, and more than you would think at the other one. The Malaysian application is the same whichever city she flies from, because Malaysia cares about her passport and her paperwork. What differs is how cleanly she can exit.

We file the Malaysian side, and we will tell you plainly where our knowledge stops. Release letters, permit cancellation and final settlement in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are governed by those jurisdictions and we do not file there. We will tell you what we need from that end and when we need it.

Does her experience and certification count in Malaysia?

Her experience counts with you, which is presumably why you are bringing her. Her certification may not. Indonesia and the Philippines certify their workers for a destination country, so a certificate issued for Hong Kong or Taiwan does not automatically satisfy Malaysia, and she may need to re-certify before she can be documented for this market.

That is frustrating and it is not unreasonable. Certification is what makes her training verifiable instead of asserted, and it is part of why her contract can be enforced here. It does mean a relocation runs closer to a fresh hire than to a transfer, and you should plan for that.

Her nationality is what drives this, so read the route that applies to her: an Indonesian helper goes through the Indonesian mission and an accredited clinic, and a Filipino helper goes through the Department of Migrant Workers with an Overseas Employment Certificate.

What does a relocation cost and how long does it take?

The service fee is the same as any direct hire: RM2,880 service fee, before government costs and the helper’s salary. On top of it sit the levy, the security bond, insurance, her medical and her airfare, and what those come to depends on where she is flying from and which passport she holds.

On timing, the honest answer is that we cannot give you one range yet. The Malaysian half runs like a direct hire, and the exit half depends on a jurisdiction we do not file in. Get on a call with us early. Six to eight weeks before you want her in Malaysia is not too soon to start.

What do you take on as her employer?

We’ll do the filing, the chasing and the arrival logistics. What we ask back is that the employment itself stays lawful, and on a direct hire that part is yours in a way it is not on a full placement.

• Pay the salary in the contract, in full, on time, into an account in her name.
• Give her the rest day the contract provides, or pay the overtime rate for it.
• Register her with PERKESO and keep the contributions current.
• Renew her permit before it lapses. A lapsed permit is your offence and hers.