My maid’s work permit was for a 2 year contract when we first took her in. It has to be renewed on a yearly basis thereafter. Her passport is for 3 years. However, if we were to renew her work permit for another year, her passport would expire before the 3rd year is up. Therefore, we have to renew her passport as well.
I was very blur about the procedure for renewing maid’s work permit and passport as I had not done it before. So I made a few calls ie to the Agent, Fomema (where you go for health screening for foreign workers) as well as the Imigration.
I will write the process for renewing maid’s work permit and passport here for my own benefit so that I will remember it later on. Perhaps it will help some others too and that is a good thing and perhaps some would like to share their experience too and that is an even better thing. 
So here goes. As far as I know, here are the following steps if the agent were to handle the maid’s passport and work permit renewal.
- Bring the maid to the agent to stay overnight at the agent’s for renewing passport. The agent will then arrange for the maid to go to the Indonesian Embassy and queue up very early in the morning to get the passport renewal done. (This is required by my agent, others may differ) Charges: RM350
- Once the passport has been renewed, the agent will do the registration with Fomema for health screening to be done. Agent will then call us up to bring the maid to a clinic near the agent’s for a blood and urine checkup as well as an X-Ray.
- Once the medical is approved, the agent will get the work permit done at the Imigration Department and call us up to collect the passport with the extended work permit. Charges: RM895
Note: Total Charges if done by agent = RM350 + RM895 + RM97 (for insurance) = RM1342. Work permit is renewed for 1 year. Passport is renewed for 3 years.
Below is the process if we were to handle the maid’s passport and work permit renewal ourselves.
- Bring maid to Indonesian Embassy to renew passport. Documents required = Old Passport. Cost=RM20 (Please note that this is the approximate cost as given to me by the agent. I do not know the actual cost as I have not done the renewal). The agent also informed me that no photos are required these days as all will be done at the Embassy.
- Go to Fomema to register maid for health screening. Make payment and select a Fomema approved clinic. Fomema will provide you with 4 forms yellow, white, green and pink. Bring the yellow form to the allocated X-Ray facility for the clinic of your choice to do X-Ray. Bring remainder 3 colour forms to the Fomema approved clinic you selected to do blood and urine tests. Some doctors have X-Ray facilities too so you may want to select those to save on running around time. Cost:RM190
- Once, the maid has passed the medical, you may then go to Imigration office to apply for work permit extension. I am not sure of the documents required. Cost:445
Note: Total cost for extending your maid’s passport and work permit yourself is RM20 + RM190 + RM445 = RM655.
The agent informed me that the maid will be interviewed by the Embassy to ensure that her minimum pay for extension is RM600.
Fomema Health Screening is required for extension of work permit up to from 2nd year going to 3rd year only. For extension of work permit from 3rd year going to 4th year onwards, it is no longer required. So a trip to Imigration may be all that is required subsequently.
Imigration accepts cash or bank draft as payment. I am not sure of Fomema. It is stated on the website as bank draft, money order or postal order.
Please take note that the cost and charges involved are as quoted to me by the relevant agencies at the time of writing and may change. Different agents may do it differently and charge differently as well. This is just to give you a rough idea of the cost and processes involved. As I have mentioned, I have not gone through the process yet so the cost and documents required may not be entirely accurate. If you wish to do the renewal process yourself, do check up with the relevant agencies on the documents you require so that you get it right the first time.
Perhaps you may also find my step-by-step summary of “how to renew your maid’s work permit yourself” useful.
Links to agencies:
- Fomema Registration Procedures
- Imigration Department of Malaysia’s Official Website
- Embassy of the Rebulic of Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur
Below are links to articles and blog posts which I found useful (Please note that some articles are dated from as way back as 2006 so the information may be still useful but outdated.
Links to newspaper articles:
Links to blog posts:
- Maid Permit Renewal
- Maid’s Passport Collection turned nightmare
- How to renew work permit for your Indonesian Maid
Links to Forums:
- USJ Web Forum Topic – Indonesian Maid Extension to 3rd Year
- Lowyat.net forum topic – Renewing maid extension to 3rd year. How much cost with DIY
- USJ Web Forum Topic – Renewal Permit for maid
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24 Responses to 'How to renew your Indonesian maid’s work permit yourself'
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Wow, thanks for the info! We might be hiring a domestic helper soon.
so she’s getting rm600 pay now?
This is very detailed and very useful for us employers. Now I know who to ask if my hubby decides to extend our maid’s work permit. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the info..it’s time to renew mine too..just the visa only and this is going to be her 4th year..so we can skip fomema
aiyoh, so expensive!!! better do ourselves!
Excellent!!! Thank you so much!!
I just got back from renewing my maid’s work permit for the 9th time. I had it done at Jabatan imigresen, Precint 2 Putra JAya. All I needed was my maid’s valid passport, bank draft for RM445 (1 year levy)made out to Ketua Pengarah Imigresen Malaysia. Go to first floor bahagian pembantu rumah, 1st counter to get a number. the whole process took me 10 minutes and I had nothing extra to pay for. parking is ample, free and nearby.from year 4 onwards you can renew for 2 years at one go, make sure bank draft is for RM445x2=RM890. hope this helps.
renewing Indonesian maid’s passport. I just went through it yesterday and did everything myself.Make sure employer (majikan) goes with the maid. the immigration officer at the embassy insists on talking to the majikan otherwise the passport will not be renewed. Renewal is only for 3 years and costs RM18.at the embassy, first q for the blue PLPR form. then q for your number. Fill out the form later while waiting for your number to be called.then maid must join q for photograph. done by embassy and it’s free. no outside studio photos are accepted.My maid wasted RM15 doing so and she had to have her photo taken again at the embassy.photostat 2 copies of our IC and details of maid’s passport – another q but very fast and photocopying is free, done by embassy staff.
THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART
Go to counter 20 and get 3 copies of KONTRAK KERJA, free.Employer and maid must sign it and state gaji is RM600 even though it is not officially agree by both governments. your maid must also say yes, she is paid rm600. once that is done , you wait for the passport which will be ready after 11. We went at 9 and got our maid’s new passport at 12.50 on the same day. no need to go so early.All it costs me was RM10 parking near the embassy compound.Don’t use the work agrrement at imigresen worksite. The Indon embassy does not accept it. hope this info helps.
Hi Ana, Thank you for sharing.
you are welcome. Don’t bother calling up immigration, they won’t answer. Better e-mail to: pro@imi.gov.my. you get your queries answered very fast.
The Indon embassy website has got downloadable forms. It doesn’t work. Get it at the embassy itself. One thing I would like to give credit for here: the embassy staff really work right up to the dot of 1 o’clock before closing for lunch. When they work they really work…..
Dear friend
my maid work permit expire in feb 2011 and I let her go back to indonesia for 1 month before she continue her job. May i know if my understanding of following process is correct?
1) get air ticket – to and fro
2) renewing indonesian maid passport & present air ticket @ Embassy to get the passport chop
3) Fomema – medical screening
4) renew work permit @ putrajaya
Sylvia, I think the best person to ask is your agent.
hope someone can advise me…thank you!
ya…but i am planning to do it my self on the renewal process, so not sure if she is willing to share this piece or not..
when is your maid leaving? Since the work permit will expire in February 2011, her passport must be valid at least until after February 2012. you don’t have to show the air ticket to the embassy. From my experience (my maid has gone home 2x already) all she needs is a valid passport and work permit but you need to write a letter to the Indon authority about giving exemption to your maid from paying the exit tax when she leaves Indonesia on her return. hope that helps.
Hi all,
Just to share my 1st experience renewing maid’s passport yesterday. Indonesian Embassy website posted 0900am opening so I took off from PJ at 0730 arriving there at 0800am(there’s a carpark in a temple right next door so was real convenience but very limited spots) thinking of grabbing breakfast but noted a long line (probably ~100 people) that started at 0730am queing to get a number. The line only started moving at 0800am taking about 40 minutes to reach our turn(maid must come along). As mentioned, no pix required as the embassy snaps their own photo. The form and work agreement on the website may be used as I submitted mine without a problem. Once we got the number the waiting nightmare started(3 hours) so bring your newspapers/book/PSP/iphone/ipad/etc. The website lists all the necessary documents required. After submission another 15 minutes wait for the interview(3 minutes) and thereafter another 5 minute wait to pay. Renewal was RM18. I did not take the passport as had to rush for CNY lunch so hope the collection process is smooth. Thanks for the links on renewing permit as this will be my next task. Hope above helps.
TQ Ana, for the information on passport renewal. TC.
Ana,
Just curious, by any chance, do you know whether medical check up is required if our maid has worked more then 4 years?
Ana,
Oops just read the front page. it says not required. Got my answer. Tahnks, anyway. TC.
Hello, thank you so much for sharing here. I really appreciate all the tips given. I am also going to renew my maid’s 3rd year permit.
I have a question here…. My maid is going back for holiday after I renew her permit which is expiring on 11/05/11, so do i need to get a Surat Cuti or any other docs so as to ease her return from Indon? And if I need the docs, where and how can I obtain it?
Another question is do I really need to increase her salary to Rm600 as per signed at the Indon embassy as mentioned earlier?
Thank you so much again.
I think you need the surat cuti but I am not sure about other documents. As for increasing the salary, well, what you signed is a contract isn’t it so I think you are bound by it. However, I am no authority on this subject. It would be best to ask around.
Thank you for your reply…. Hopefully everything will go smoothly heheheee….. Thanks again.
I hope so too. Wish you all the best.
I employ an Indonesia maid since 2009. She requested for a short holiday back to her hometown in April 2011 and would be returning to Malaysian after her 10 days break. However, I learnt from my agent that Indonesia immigration may not allow Indonesia maid return to Malaysia once they leave the country even though holding a valid work permit. Is any government authority can I validate the info? Or any document required to ensure she can return with no hassle? I would appreciate if you could share your experience with me.
I think she needs a “surat cuti”. I am not sure about the procedures though. However, having said that, fyi my sister’s maid just came back last week from Indonesia after a 2 weeks holiday to renew her contract after 2 years with no problems or hassle. So, I think you need to check either with your agent again or call up the Indon immigration itself to check to get a more accurate information.
just want to check on Indonesia house maid. My maid wants to go back to indonesia for holidays(9days). I need to take letter (percutian) from Embassy for my maid for 9 days holiday?
Hello Usha, Yes, I believe you need a surat cuti from the Embassy. If I am not mistaken, you write the letter and get the Embassy to endorse it but best to check with the Embassy. Why not share with us after you have done it?
Went in at 9.30 and went out at 10.30 today. Go to Block G, 3rd floor, counter #1. Get your number, wait for the queue. Then submit passport and she will ask you to pay at counter Juru Wang. No need number, just queue. Then go back to counter #1, submit passport and again wait for them to print and put on the sticker. When they call your name, collect and inspect. That’s all. Simple and easy.
Hi Lawrence. Thank you for sharing your experience.
i m going to renew my maid’s permit tis week. just realised that i hvn’t checked her pasport due date. Oh no!!!
just to share my experience rgdg ‘surat cuti’, i gv her the letter for her to go back for raya as told by the embassy. Unfortunately, she had to pay around 9hundred over there before she could board the plane. Luckily she had the amount.
hi,
My maid has been with us close to 10 years now and that’s where the problem comes in. Is it true she has to go back to indonesia for 6 months before applying for work permit starting from zero again? That means we allow maids to stay up to maximum of 10 years only, right? anybody has this experience? appreciate feedback.
Ana