Bringing current domestic helper from Hong Kong

[queenie71]

We would like to bring our current Dh - does anyone have experience of this?

What are the monthly costs? Salary. govt levies, medical insurance, lodgings?

Is she allowed to live out? I haven't seen any mention of maid rooms in any of the housing ads. SO where do the helpers live??

Any advice greatly appreciated

[Strong Eagle]

Is she allowed to live out? I haven't seen any mention of maid rooms in any of the housing ads. SO where do the helpers live??

No, she must live in. Sometimes the helpers live in very poor conditions. Although the law requires a 'private space to sleep' it is all too common to have them sleep on the kitchen floor. If there is a room, it is very often closet sized; hence the 'maid's beds'... scaled down to fit in a windowless and aircon free closet.

There is no law that requires a maid employer to give a day off, only a recommendation, and many of the maids in my neighborhood work 7 days a week... my neighbor doesn't let their maid off because they are 'afraid she will get pregnant'.

You must provide medical care and medical and accident insurance. You must also pay for a medical examination every 6 months, part of which is a pregnancy test.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal ... nance.html

Your maid can only come from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand, otherwise she will not be permitted entry.

You must pay a monthly levy of $265 for your maid in addition to a minimum monthly salary of about $350 per month, which is not stipulated by law but by employment contract. A contract will usually include a paid leave home once a year as well.

I know a real estate lady who deals with expats... she never takes them to places that don't have full size maid's quarters.

[cbavasi]

It's quite easy to bring your maid over from HK - especially if you file the paperwork here and then bring her over. (If you file the paperwork while she is here she will have to leave the country and then return). You can file the paperwork yourself but a bit of an undertaking if the maid has not worked in Singapore before. It's about $750 for an agent to file everything for you. Some of the better known expat agencies are Prestige, 121, APAC... if you do a search on this forum you'll find a couple of postings about bringing your helper over.
Do another search for maid salaries. It runs from $350 - $700++. I'm not sure what her current salary is - but most of the expats I know pay between $500 - 700 a month (not including the levy). When we brought our helper over she was earning 2x what the maids were earning in Indo but the same as all the other maids in our building here.
If you go through an agent they can sort out the insurance/bond - if you do it yourself it's about $150 a year. Check out the MOM website for more info on what you need to do as an employer and also a search on this forum - there are a lot of postings about this.
I forgot to add that usually the housing is advertised 3+1, 4+1...etc. The +1 is usually what they would call the maid's room (or in some cases - bomb shelter or storage space). The older buildings tend to have quite large maid's rooms - the newer buildings not so much. But I have looked at some new buildings recently where the maid's rooms were big - you just need to be aware when you're looking at apts.

[Thaiclan]

Also your maid will have to pass an English language proficiency test. I tried to bring my Thai maid over but she failed the test

[cbavasi]

Thacian is right - they have to take an English test. If you are worried about this you can appeal to the MOM with the paperwork stating that your helper doesn't read english but the reasons you want her to stay with your family (i.e. been working for you x number of years, consistency for the children.... etc). Best if the letter is written on the EP holders work stationary and signed by the EP holder (in our case it was my husband). The MOM will then waive the test if they see fit.

[nida.white]

Dear cbavasi, I have read your recommendation and tried to call the maid agencies for their help. I'm Thai and just moved here for a month and also want to bring my maid who work with me for 5 years here too. Her English is poor so I am so afraid that she will fail the test. However, the agencies as you recommended said the test is a must and they can't help with the letter. Any other recommendation or any recommendation on other maid agencies that I should try to contact them?

[cbavasi]

I didn't go through an agency - I filed the paperwork myself and took it personally down to the MOM. The letter was on my husband's work stationary (he's the EP holder) and basically explained why we wanted our helper to come over. The letter also explained our that our helper could speak conversational English but would not be able pass the written exam. When we received her letter of approval the test was waived.