Immigration D-G: Hiring foreign maids now will only take 8 days

Process requires 9 simple steps, says Immigration D-G

THE process of hiring foreign maids can soon be completed in eight days under the new Online Maids System (SMO). Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the system, developed and operated by the department, would come into effect on Monday.

He said previously, the maidhiring process could take months or, in the case of some employers, even years.

Mustafar said, through SMO, the registration process could be done in nine simple steps.

Firstly, the employers need to register for an account in SMO. They would then register their prospective maids and upload the Foreign Workers’ Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema) screening document.

“These first three steps, which involve the employers, could take up to five days because of the Fomema process. However, we are now pushing for it to be completed in three days,” he said.

The remaining six steps involve the Immigration Department. These are the application and document upload process, followed by document check, approval, result notification, online payment and finally, printing the Temporary Employment Visit Pass (PLKS) and i-Kad (identity card by sectors of employment for foreign workers) for maids.

“In the final step, we would require the employers and their maid to come to the department to have their biometric data recorded by the department before the PLKS is issued.

“Verification and approval by the department can take between three and five days if the documents and information needed are complete and valid.

“This shows that we are committed towards providing fast, accurate and cost-efficient service for the people.”

Mustafar said the fees borne by employers to hire a maid would be as low as RM1,635, including Fomema screening charges.

“This is cheaper compared with what employers used to pay to hire maids. The fees previously ranged between RM12,000 and RM18,000,” he said.

He said the new system also allowed employers to hire maids who were already in the country with a valid or expired social visit pass. However, a compound of RM900 will be charged in this case.

During the tabling of the 2018 Budget in October, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced that the government would allow employers to hire foreign domestic helpers directly from nine countries without having to go through agents.

The nine source countries are Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

Mustafar, meanwhile, said employers would need to comply with the requirements, procedures and the cost set by source countries if they chose to hire from these countries directly.

In addition, under the system, an employer can only hire one maid. Those who want to hire more maids will have to apply through conventional methods.

Mustafar said employers must also take up an insurance policy for their maids that must include accident, death and other medical aspects.

Employers, he said, should engage in a written work contract with their maids.

Mustafar said with this system in place, he hoped Malaysians, especially those who were within the Bottom 40 (B40) bracket, could now hire maids at a lower price by eliminating the agents’ fees.

“This is what our government and the prime minister had envisioned for all Malaysians, regardless of their income status, to employ a maid. This will indirectly increase their productivity at work and the country’s economy,” he said yesterday.

For registration and information on the SMO, visit maid-online.imi.gov.my.