Recently my Indonesian maid went back for a holiday. Before she went back for a holiday, she informed us that her father would like her to return for good. However, she expressed a desire to continue working so she persuaded her father over the phone and her father agreed. Now, we knew that there are many things that are beyond control like family wishes for instance. Sometimes, it is not the father but the spouse’s wishes. So what do we do?

What To Do If Maid Goes Back For Holiday During Mid Term?

If your maid goes back for a holiday during mid term, it is easy, just purchase a return air ticket for her and make sure she applies for a KTKLN card when she returns. You will also need to prepare a surat cuti to show that you are the employer and she will be returning to work for you. The KTKLN card or the Kartu Tenaga Kerja Luar Negeri is required for maids returning to Malaysia to work.

What To Do If Maid Goes Back For Holiday At  The End Of Her Term

This is what happened to us. The process is much more complicated. We had to

  • buy maid insurance to renew her passport
  • renew maid’s passport at the Indonesian Embassy to cover her work permit period
  • renew maid’s work permit at the Immigration Office
  • purchase a return air ticket for her
  • write a surat cuti as proof of employment and to show that she is going back for a holiday
  • give her the above documents plus a copy of her employment contract to facilitate her application for a KTKLN card

We did all of the above knowing that there is a risk that our maid may not return. We told her that we knew there is a chance she will not be able to come back but we will do all these things despite that fact so that the door of opportunity to return will not  be shut but it is okay if she needs to stay back because her family prefers her to do so. We decided to take this risk and pay for all the above expenses despite knowing that she will not come back because we knew that she wanted to continue working. We trusted her but the expenses for that trust is high!

What To Do If Maid Does Not Return From Holiday

In addition to all of the expenses for the above to renew my maid’s work permit plus the time involved in applying for all of the above, we were also aware that if she did not return,

  • we had to make a police report
  • we had to go to the Immigration to fill in a form and pay RM250

The immigration officer informed us that this was necessary because if a maid whose permit has been renewed does not return, you are still responsible for her as an employer.

What To Do If Maid Is Going Back For Good

The immigration officer informed us that if your maid is going back for good, you have to fill a form – a check out memo and show a one way ticket not more than one month of filling out the check out memo.

We took the risk. We sent our maid back for a  holiday knowing that there is a chance she may not return. We are very glad that she did return. In fact, she came back from her one month holiday, fresh and with a new hairstyle and other new bags and clothing. According to her the KTKLN card is easy to apply for. It only took her 30 minutes. She says she has a choice of paying for one year, two, three or four years. Once she has the card, it was easy for her to return, she only had to show the KTKLN card and her passport.

When renewing her passport, the officer at the embassy had shown us a list of addresses where the KTKLN card can be applied for. She went to the one nearest to her hometown. She says the KTKLN card can also be applied at the airport for those who didn’t do so before hand. Some maids were stopped because they did not have one. Before going back home, I had photocopied the following documents for her to apply for her KTKLN card so it was easy according to her.

Documents Required To Apply For KTKLN Card For Maid

The KTKLN card can only be applied by the maid in Indonesia. It cannot be done here, in Malaysia. I photocopied the following documents for my maid.

  • Maid Insurance
  • Return Air Ticket
  • Surat Cuti
  • Kontrak Kerja (Employment Contract)
  • Her Passport 1st, 2nd and last page (with details of new work permit on it)

That was it. Not difficult but maid has to be informed and reminded to do it.


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