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.
Hi,
Your post is very information. My maid is in her third year, with passport and visa expiring next March, 2013. I am sending her back for 2 weeks holidays mid Aug 2012. Is this considered end of term or mid of term?
By end of term, I mean end of working permit period. Is your maid’s work permit ending anytime soon?
Hi,
No, this is her third year, starting March 2012 and expiring March 2013, which means there are 8 months left – so we are in the mid of term, am I right?
Also, I want to ask you, will I be needing the contract from the embassy (ayoooo!!) or is my existing contract (for the third year, signed this March 2012) sufficient for her to apply for the KTKLN back in indonesia?
Looks like it is mid-term. Your existing contract is good enough. However, if you have not purchased maid insurance for your maid (it was not compulsory before for renewing passport but it is now so you may not have purchased it earlier), you will need to purchase maid insurance and give her a copy of that too. Either that or she will need to purchase from her end when she does her KTKLN card.
Thanks a lot for the information!!
Hi,
Thanks for posting up the information about KTKLN. My maid is into her 5th year and she will be returning to Indonesia end of September for her one month holiday and thus, need to do her KTKLN card.. I have two questions which I hope you can help me answer. First, her employment contract is expired (signed on 5th of May, 2011) and I was wondering what I should do if I want to renew it on my own without the agent). Secondly, her first two employment contracts lasted for two years (5th May 2007-2009, then 5th May 2009-2011- renewed on my own) and why now only one year (5th May 2011-2012-renewed by an agent). Your help and advice is deeply appreciated.
Hello Dean, I think you should ask your agent that question. When I renewed my maid’s passport at the Embassy, I am required to complete a pre-printed contract in triplicate. The number of years if left blank, so it is up to us, the employer and the maid, to agree on the period and fill in the number of years on the given contract before signing.
Hi there,
Thanx a lot for sharing your knowledge and experience in dealing with the maid matters. My maid’s permit will expire middle of December this year and her passport is due in July next year. She has agreed to continue working with us at a pay of RM650 plus an overnight leave once a month starting from next year. Currently we are paying her RM550 a month. She’s going back for a month holiday next month.
Just wondering, i need to renew her passport first then only i can proceed with the permit renewal.
1. Do they accept insurance that we get from the post office or do we need to get insurance from the embassy only?
2. On the contract thingy, i’ve downloaded the contact template from the embassy website which already stated that we MUST pay them at least RM700 a month, work of not more than 10 hours a day, etc2..But i notice somebody has put a link at the comment area on your post regarding the maid’s renewal a contract of which we will fill the salary n etc. Just wondering do the embassy accept them? or we still need to use their template?
Sorry for the lengthy post. Would appreciate so much your time to read and respond. Thanx in advance.
Hello Sya, 1. Yes, I used the insurance from the post office. 2) The last time I checked, the contract you find on that template is very different from the one they give you at the embassy to fill in, so use the one from the Embassy, not the online one but the one you get physically when you are there. The online template appears to have a lot of terms in there in favor of the maid, I think. However, at the Embassy, they will announce a salary of RM700 and your maid may be asked whether she is being paid that amount. Sorry, I do not know whether they will approve the contract if you state a salary lower than that. I hope this helps a little.
Hi
Thanks for the wonderful info i.e. maid matters.My questionis: i wish to employ a maid in Dec 2012/Jan 2013 who is currently being employed by another family. She finishes her contract on 19 Oct will be returning to Indonesia on 20 Oct for 2-3 months.Whats the minimum time frame she has to be in Indonesia before she can return to Malaysia?Whats the procedure involved as i plan to bring her on my own and not going through the agents.She will be my 2nd maid as the 1st maid is with my mother.
Thanks
roy
Hello Roy, I’m sorry I can’t be of any help. I’m not an agent and have not had any experience hiring maid without agent.
Help!!! My maid’s permit expires in late feb 2013 and passport in 2014. She’s going back to Indonesia fro a three week holiday in late Nov 2012 and will be back in Mid Dec 2012. do i have to renew her permit first before she leaves. Do I have to buy insurance. Please furnish me with the necessary info.. Thank you..
Hello Bagavathi, I think it is best for you to call up the Immigration office to check. Since, her passport and permit has not expired, it doesn’t look like you have to but it is always better to check with the Immigration office directly. However, when you maid goes back to Indonesia, she will need to apply for a KTKLN card in order to return to Malaysia. She will need insurance, contract of employment, surat cuti, etc to apply for the card as mentioned in my post.
Thank you very much. Your information has helped me a lot.
Hi,
Do you have a sample of the ‘surat cuti’ that I can *copy* ?? My maid is going back soon.
Thank you.
Hello Azhar, I only have a sample of letter of authorization for spouse to renew maid’s passport on another post on my blog. I can however direct you to a sample of surat cuti from another blogger. Note that the sample is not part of the blog post. You will have to scroll down the comments to view it ok? Hope this helps.
Hi Mum,
That looks good enough. Thank you again.
Azhar.
Thanks MG for the very useful info including the link for surat cuti sample. Much appreciated.
MS
Hi, I heard that before the maid returns to Indonesia for her holiday, we need to have a contract done at the Indonesian embassy? Is this the same as the one we get when renewing the passport?
Another question, I bought a maid insurance from the post office, but I also heard that we need to get the Indonesian Insurance as well which costs more about RM108-RM130. Is this true? And this Indonesia Insurance is needed before we can sign the contract?
Hello Noor, I did not have to do another contract for my maid when she returned for her holiday. The existing contract which we did at the Embassy when renewing the passport was good enough. My maid had to pay a fee to get a KTKLN card done before she returned here. I am not sure whether it was for insurance.
Hi,
Your site is super informative. Great job and thank you for taking the trouble to do so. My in law’s maid is going for a month long holiday. I didnt know that I need to obtain kontrak kerja from the embassy. What are the documents needed? Do I have to bring a bank passbook? She has sent almost all her salary home but my in law’s didnt keep the paperwork. Will that be questioned? Thank you.
Hello Santhi, as I mentioned in my post, your maid will need the following documents to apply for her KTKLN card. So far, I have not heard of the bank passbook being checked. You can obtain the kontrak kerja when you renew her passport at the Embassy.
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)
Hi,may i know if i apply for her KTKLN card at Embassy of Indonesia Kuala Lumpur then how many day/s can get it done? Could finish within one day? This KTKLN card is it apply at this Embassy of Indonesia? and her passport expiry on 24 August 2013, then the visit pass(temporary employment)does not remain in west malaysia longer than 27 July 2013. she intended to go back for holiday in period of one month before chinese new year back to work.
The KTKLN card can only be applied by your maid in Indonesia. You can’t apply for it at the Indonesia embassy here.
Hi,thank you for your site for fast responding and informative. Regarding the KTKLN card if my maid went back to indonesia(KUPANG) then where could she be able to apply for this card? Is it at Embassy or other department branches at KUPANG because she is staying in KUPANG now. KUPANG have any department to issue this KTKLN card?
Hello Ricky. Yes, your maid can apply for her KTKLN card in Kupang. My maid was from Kupang too. No, it is not at the Embassy. You can call up the Indonesian Embassy for the address and contact number of the place where you can apply for the KTKLN card in Kupang. According to my maid, you can also apply for the card at the Jakarta airport. She saw some maids applying for theirs there. She applied for hers at Kupang, though. I’m sorry I don’t have the Kupang address and contact number for the office where your maid can apply for the card and my maid is no longer with us so I can’t find out for you but I remember the Indonesian Embassy gave us the address and contact number so they should have it.
hi, Mumsgather , may i know is there any charges when maid apply the KTKLN card in Indonesia ? tq. Is it only can be done in Jakarta, tq
Hi, It can only be done in Indonesia, not necessarily in Jakarta only. In Indon airport also possible. Yes, there is a small charge but I can’t remember how much. It was some time ago.
Hi MG..maid went back in May for good. proper procedures done to cancel permit at immigration. after 3 months rest at home, she sms me decided to come back to me as maid, but wish not to go thru the agent. she confident to come in as tourist.. my worry is if she really berjaya come into malaysia,i ll bring her for medical check u, apply insurance for her , can i apply work permit for her ?
Hello abc, I’m sorry my maid left me a long time ago and I have not kept abreast with the latest developments so I do not know whether you can apply for work permit for her yourself. I wish I could be of more help but I don’t want to give you the wrong information.