A foreign domestic helper in Malaysia is paid RM1,500 to RM1,900 a month if Indonesian (RM1,500 is the floor in Indonesia’s 2022 MoU, RM1,700 to RM1,900 the going rate) and roughly RM1,800 to RM2,200 if Filipino. That comes on top of food, lodging and the agency package, which one Kuching agency quotes at about RM17,000 up front. The national minimum wage does not apply to maids, so the pay figures come from the source country’s rules and the market.
Many Kuching households that have help skip the live-in route and book a part-time cleaner at RM18 to RM30 an hour instead. The live-in helper suits families who clear the Immigration eligibility test and can absorb a two-year bill of RM63,000 to RM77,000.
Key Takeaways
- No statutory minimum wage applies to domestic employees (Minimum Wages Order 2024, paragraph 2).
- Indonesia’s 2022 MoU sets a RM1,500 floor and a RM15,000 cost cap; the Philippines’ US$500 floor is described as voluntary.
- Immigration wants children under 15 or a sick parent, income of RM3,000 to RM7,000 a month by country, and one helper per family.
- After year one, government fees are about RM610 a year, plus FOMEMA, SOCSO and SKHPPA.
- Since 1 May 2025 the Sarawak Labour Ordinance gives a helper a weekly rest day and 14 days’ notice.
- A live-in helper costs RM63,000 to RM77,000 over two years and takes 10 to 14 weeks to arrive.
Rules and government fees below link to the official page and were checked on 1 November 2026. Agency, insurer and cleaning-company figures are labelled as quotes and will differ from one provider to the next.
What Is the Salary for a Domestic Helper in Malaysia in 2026?
A helper’s pay floor depends on her country, because Malaysia sets none.
| Source country | Floor | Who sets it | Market range in Malaysia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | RM1,500 | 2022 MoU | RM1,700 to RM1,900 |
| Philippines | US$500 (was US$400) | DMW Labor Advisory 25-2025 | RM1,800 to RM2,200 |
| Cambodia, other approved countries | None published | No floor in the Cambodia MoU | None published |
Indonesia’s RM1,500 comes from the April 2022 MoU (Free Malaysia Today). The Immigration Department lists the same figure, and agencies quote RM1,700 to RM1,900 as the going rate (agency guide, July 2026).
The Philippines raised its floor from US$400 to US$500 in 2025 (SunStar). Its Department of Migrant Workers then said the figure was “only being implemented on a voluntary basis”. Malaysian agencies objected, quoting RM1,800 to RM2,200 as the working range (Malay Mail). Nothing I found says whether the US$500 floor became binding after the adjustment window that ended around February 2026, so ask the agency which figure applies.
Paragraph 2 of the Minimum Wages Order 2024 says the order “shall not apply to a domestic servant” as defined in the Employment Act, the Sabah Labour Ordinance and the Sarawak Labour Ordinance. Budget 2027’s RM2,000 minimum wage from June 2027 says nothing about domestic workers either (Bernama). The detail on how the RM1,700 floor works for everyone else sits in that article, and none of it reaches a maid.
Can You Legally Hire a Maid in Kuching? The Eligibility Test
Two sets of conditions decide whether a Kuching household qualifies: the Immigration Department’s federal list and the employer rules on Sarawak’s GENESIS portal.
The federal list asks for a female helper aged 21 to 45 and a household with children under 15 or sick or elderly parents. It requires a marriage certificate for first applications, and Muslim employers may hire only Muslim helpers. It allows each family one helper, with a second needing income above RM10,000 and a third above RM15,000. It then sets the employer’s net income and personal bond by the helper’s country: Indonesia RM7,000 and RM250; Philippines, Sri Lanka and India RM5,000 and RM750; Thailand and Cambodia RM3,000 and RM250; Laos and Vietnam RM3,000 and RM1,500. Nepal is the ninth approved country on the list.
Sarawak adds its own layer. The GENESIS employer page requires the employer to be a Malaysian citizen, a Sarawak Employment Pass 1 holder or an S-MM2H visa holder, with a household income threshold that the portal states as RM60,000 a year for a non-Indonesian helper or RM36,000 for an Indonesian one, though its own monthly table reads differently, so confirm the figure with Immigration before you apply. The portal’s HAVEN module has handled every application, including the labour licence, since 16 July 2026. The S-MM2H basics cover who qualifies for that visa.
An expat on an Employment Pass can apply, but a couple with no children and no dependent parents fails the household test on the federal list. The visa and pass steps for a relocating household are a separate track.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Helper Through an Agency in Kuching?
A Kuching agency package runs RM10,000 to RM22,000, and it is only one line in a two-year bill.
| Item | Amount | How often | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency package | RM10,000 to RM22,000 (one quote, RM16,800 to RM17,800, covers placement, levy, bond, insurance, screening); Indonesian cap RM15,000 | Once | Kuching agency guide |
| Government fees | RM1,136, inside the package | First year | The Star |
| Renewal | RM610 (levy RM410, pass RM60, processing RM125, visa RM15); about RM790 for a second helper (my sum, using the older RM590 second-helper levy) | Yearly | The Star |
| FOMEMA medical | RM207 to RM217 | Each screening | The Star |
| SKHPPA insurance | RM120 to RM140 | Yearly | Zurich |
| SOCSO, employer share | 1.25% plus 0.5% of wages | Monthly | PERKESO |
| Salary | RM1,500 to RM2,200 | Monthly, 24 months | Table above |
A Kuching agency’s own worked example, from October 2024, adds up to RM63,110 to RM76,542 for two years, so the working figure is RM63,000 to RM77,000, with food and her room on top. A transfer helper, whose previous contract has ended, starts from about RM7,000 at one licensed agency.
The wait is a cost too. Kuching quotes run 10 to 14 weeks from signing, forum accounts from households elsewhere in Malaysia run from three to six months, and agency guides call six weeks the lucky end. Replacement windows under the Indonesian scheme are three months for non-performance and six for a helper who is unfit or has absconded.
Which Agencies Can You Use, and How Do You Check One?
Licence comes first. Agencies operate under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, and in Sarawak the licence comes from the Department of Labour, with Licence C covering non-citizen workers. Licensed agencies are named “Agensi Pekerjaan … Sdn Bhd” and appear on the department’s licensed-agency list, dated 7 July 2022. An agency placing an Indonesian helper must also be on the embassy’s SIPERMIT list, as at least one Kuching agency is (SIPERMIT register). Recruiting without a licence carries a fine of up to RM200,000, three years in jail, or both (The Star).
Public reviews of Kuching agencies are thin, and few are about maids. Most of the eight agencies reviewed publicly have a handful of reviews and one has over a hundred. Every review I could read is five-star, and those about domestic helpers praise quick replies and a smooth process. None describes a replacement or a refund, so those terms come from the contract.
Indonesian and Philippine helpers come through different channels. Indonesian helpers can only be hired through the One Channel System (SIAPkerja and FWCMS), and the MoU runs to April 2027. A replacement covering domestic workers and caregivers was “at the final stage” on 7 October 2026, and I found no report of a signing by 1 November 2026. An agent asking more than RM15,000 for an Indonesian helper should be reported to the Indonesian embassy (The Star). Philippine helpers have no MoU: agencies hold MWO-KL accreditation, and the live friction is the US$500 floor and Manila’s demand for welfare desk officers.
What Are a Helper’s Rights in Sarawak?
A Kuching helper’s statutory rights are short. The Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Amendment) Act 2025, Act A1754, took effect on 1 May 2025 (The Star). It renamed “domestic servant” to “domestic employee” and gives a weekly rest day. It also requires either side to give 14 days’ notice or wages in lieu, with no termination benefits (JTK Sarawak FAQ). The Act and the JTK FAQ linked here set no cap on working hours. Why Sarawak has its own law is covered in the Labour Ordinance versus the Employment Act.
The Indonesian MoU adds the 5% late-pay penalty, plus a 2022 clause that the worker keeps her own passport unless both sides agree otherwise (The Vibes). An employer who holds it anyway can be charged under section 12(1)(f) of the Passports Act 1966, with up to RM10,000 or five years (Malay Mail).
Three schemes besides wages shape an employer’s paperwork: SOCSO, FOMEMA and EPF. SOCSO registration is mandatory, with a penalty of RM10,000 or two years for skipping it (PERKESO), and how SOCSO applies to foreign workers covers the steps. FOMEMA screening is due within a month of arrival and at each renewal. EPF has historically not been collected for foreign domestic workers, which is why the cost table has no EPF line, but the 2025 Act that made EPF mandatory for non-citizen employees carries its own exemption list, so check KWSP’s current position before you assume, and how EPF treats foreign employees covers the wider position.
What Is the Part-Time Cleaner Alternative in Kuching?
Many households that want help rather than a live-in resident hire a Malaysian cleaner for two to four hours a week. Kuching rates sit at RM18 to RM30 an hour, or RM60 to RM120 for a three- to four-hour session. That compares with a crowd-sourced Kuching figure of RM28 an hour (Expatistan), Peninsular agency rates of RM25 to RM40 (ProCleaners) and older Kuching reports of RM10 to RM15. One recent quote for a neglected house, two workers for eight hours, came to RM350 plus transport.
Booking is local. Kaodim closed on 1 July 2022 (The Star), Maideasy covers only the Klang Valley (Maideasy), and Helpling is Singapore-only. Kuching households use local cleaning companies, which cost more and send two people with their own equipment, or freelancers found through Facebook groups and word of mouth. The recurring complaint about freelancers is the last-minute cancellation, or the cleaner who vanishes for a cycle and then reappears.
The legal line is short. The cleaner must be a Malaysian or a foreigner whose pass allows that work. Employing an undocumented worker breaks section 55B of the Immigration Act, with RM10,000 to RM50,000 per worker and up to 12 months in jail (Daily Express). Employing someone else’s registered helper counts as harbouring under section 56(1)(d) (NST).
What Goes Wrong When Hiring a Helper in Kuching?
Runaways are the first problem. Helpers leave inside the three- to six-month guarantee or just after it, and some agencies then refuse a replacement (Malaysiakini letters). An absconding helper is blacklisted, and the employer forfeits the personal bond and must report her.
Placement scams come next. A “helper” works for a few days to earn trust, then vanishes. The pattern produced 30 cases and RM269,772 in losses between January 2023 and October 2025 (The Star). A Bukit Aman warning came in June 2026 (NST), and Kuching police warned about the same pattern in 2012 (Borneo Post).
Fees above the cap are the third, with the excess over RM15,000 split into separate “services” (The Star).
Should You Hire a Live-In Helper in Kuching?
A live-in helper suits two working parents with children under 15 who expect to stay in Kuching three years or more, because the one-off agency package is spread over more contract years. It does not suit a couple without dependants or anyone on a one-year contract, who would pay the full package for a single year and probably fail the household test anyway. Everyone else has the part-time cleaner route. The live-in route still costs RM63,000 to RM77,000 over two years, takes 10 to 14 weeks to arrive, and sits in a market with a documented runaway and scam problem. Her room also needs space, so a bigger rent and utilities bill belongs in the budget, and how Kuching neighbourhoods and housing types compare covers the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There a Minimum Wage for Maids in Malaysia?
No. The Minimum Wages Order 2024 excludes domestic servants, so the floors are the source countries’ own: RM1,500 for an Indonesian helper, US$500 for a Filipino one.
Can a Foreigner on an Employment Pass Hire a Maid in Malaysia?
Yes, if the household meets the test above.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Maid in Kuching?
Kuching agency quotes run 10 to 14 weeks from signing.
Before paying any deposit, check the agency’s Sarawak Department of Labour licence and, for an Indonesian helper, its SIPERMIT listing. A helper’s wage and fees sit on top of rent, food and transport, and what a household spends each month in Kuching shows where that lands.