If your Filipino domestic helper’s employment contract and/or work permit is reaching the end of its term, and you do not wish to extend their employment by mutual agreement, you may be wondering what to do next. As a responsible employer, you are required to complete all the necessary procedures and ensure that you continue complying with all the applicable laws. You have two options available to you:
Send your Helper Home to the Philippines Legally
- Firstly, it’s important to understand the exit procedures relating to your Helper’s repatriation (see Jabatan Imigresen / Malaysian Immigration Department’s post and guidelines on carrying out a Check Out Memo).
- Book her flight ticket, making sure to pick a date that gives you 3-4 weeks of time prior to the flight to complete other necessary steps for her departure. Ensure that your domestic helper’s work permit is still valid leading up to her flight.
- Apply for her Check Out Memo. This can now be done online.
- If you hired your Filipino worker through a licensed agency, check whether they require your helper to attend a Single Entry Approach (SEnA) meeting prior to her departure.
- Guide your worker in filling in the following forms 3 days prior to her departure:
- Send your worker for a Covid-19 test not earlier than 72 hours (3 days) before her flight. Some airlines, such as AirAsia, have made this a mandatory boarding requirement.
Do take note that on-arrival quarantine in the Philippines is free for all returning Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs), and this applies to your helper too! For more information on arrival and quarantine procedures, you may refer here.
*If you realise that you do not have time to fulfil all of these requirements before your helper’s work visa expires, you may apply for a Special Pass at Malaysian Immigration to grant your helper 30 extra days of legal stay in Malaysia while you sort things out.
Transfer your Helper to a New Employer
If your helper would like to continue staying in Malaysia to work as a domestic helper under a different employer, you also have the option of legally transferring her to another employer given certain conditions.
Different helper transfer conditions will apply depending on whether the hiring employer is a Malaysian or an Expatriate. You can read more about this on our blog post here.
Kindly note that the process for this may take some time and that some requirements may be discretionary. Get in touch with us for a complimentary consultation to find out if a visa transfer is possible, or if you would like some assistance in managing the transfer carefully within the appropriate timeframe.
Have more questions? Pinkcollar is more than happy to guide you through the process. Kindly contact us at hello@hirepinkcollar.com or visit our Our Services page. Our friendly Pinkcollar officers are ready to share our service offerings with you!
