Renewing my maid's passport - information needed

[maidsrch]

Has anybody renewed their Philippino maid's passport recently?
How cumbersome is the process? I read on the internet that I'll have to go through an agency since my maid has been under my employ for less than a year. And also that I have to sign a bond for S$7000.

I normally try to stay away from these maid agencies as much as possible. Hired my maid direct from another employer as a transfer maid, and did the paperwork myself. So dont have any knowledge on which is a decent maid agency to go through with this process.

Also planning on giving my maid a 2 week vacation in august, but it looks like I need to get something called a 'holiday permit' from the philippine embassy?? Sounds weird. While she already holds a valid work permit, whats the need for a holiday permit?

Would appreciate some advice from members here who have already gone through this process. Any recommendations for a good maid agency who assists with this paperwork would be most welcome!

Thanks!!

[Steve1960]

I looked at this only briefly as my wife is Filipina and I wanted to see how bad the pain would be when I ahve to renew her passport.

As far as I know you can have your maid make an on line appointment at the Philippine embassy here in Singapore, download and complete the application form and she can then apply for a new passport.

This assumes your maid is working here legally of course and you should check the Philippine Embassy web site to ensure your maid has all the necessary documentation to make the application.

There is a lot of information at

http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/co ... n-renewal/

[sundaymorningstaple]

I looked at this only briefly as my wife is Filipina and I wanted to see how bad the pain would be when I ahve to renew her passport.

As far as I know you can have your maid make an on line appointment at the Philippine embassy here in Singapore, download and complete the application form and she can then apply for a new passport.

This assumes your maid is working here legally of course and you should check the Philippine Embassy web site to ensure your maid has all the necessary documentation to make the application.

There is a lot of information at

http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/co ... n-renewal/

This is were it starts to get expensive if you hired her direct.....

Household service workers (domestic workers) are also required to submit a copy of their verified Employment Contract.
If you do not have a contract yet, such as when you were employed on a "direct hire" basis, you will have to submit a contract between you and your employer to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) of the Embassy. POLO will verify the contract. The verified contract will be part of the requirements for the renewal of your passport. More information, especially for the employers, can be found here.

It's never correct so she will have to foot the bill for all that procedure she managed to escape by being a direct hire. And the will gouge her big time.

Maybe Squirrel will see this and pop in, as he's pretty much the guru on Filipinas here, both of the foreign domestic and doctor kinds.

[Steve1960]

Interesting, we may hire a direct maid in the future.

In your experience is it badly written contracts or the Embassy will find fault with even a good one given that they do not really approve of direct maid hire?

[maidsrch]

There seems to be a fine distinction between a 'direct maid' and 'transfer maid', from what i browsed through on the internet.

A direct maid is one you hire straight from Philippines, without going through an agent. She is not yet employed during the time you start her paperwork.

A transfer maid is physically present in Singapore, working for another employer and you just transfer her by submitting an online application through WPOL. Very minimal paperwork, no hassle & no agent. This is the route I took.

SMS, i read through the part about the verified employment contract and yes, thats where the agent comes in. However, irrespective of whether the maid is hired through agent / direct / transfer, if she's in your employ for less than 2 years, you cannot renew her passport directly. You must go through an agent - remember reading this on the embassy site a month back, but now unable to find the link.

Also, in this 'Verified employment contract' the salary is stated as S$600. Is this what everybody pays their maids ?? I pay my maid 550 per month with sundays & public holidays off. I know its just a $50 difference but still, wouldnt it be lying to sign on a piece of paper that says otherwise?
Btw, I intend to foot the bill for the renewal, so maid can concentrate on buying stuff for her children back home

Steve, from what i've seen there's a boilerplate contract given by the philippine embassy that you must sign if you are planning to bring your maid from overseas. This is different from the contract you submit to MOM to get her workpermit. The contract you send to MOM has the actual salary. Seems like this is an open secret. I am just finding about it since i hired a transfer maid and didnt go through this earlier.

[AngMoG]

Maidsrch, I think your best bet is to go to the Philippines embassy yourself and talk to an officer there. Take the maid with you so she can translate if necessary. That may clear up a lot of things. You can try calling or emailing, but in my attempts to do so, I could never reach anyone competent to give an answer. It is always possible that the agent is actually required, but IMHO it sounds a bit off.

On the contract side, it is just an idea, but what if you give her a $600 salary on paper, and mention that $50 per month would be deducted if she wants the public holidays off? Or, you know, pay her a bit more, don't be a scrooge

[maidsrch]

Confirmed that one needs to go through agent for Filipino passport renewal, if she's employed with you for less than 2 years. Sucks though.
I've paid 350 to an agent as fees, while I could have done this under 150 if i went direct.
Add to that processing her exit permit, round trip air ticket, and my own upcoming vacation expenses, I'm going to be flat broke come August!