Employing Filipina Maid

[MumblesGirl]

Hi, I’ve tried to read previous threads on this topic but can’t see anything after 2015. We want to relocate from Singapore to Phuket on a retirement visa. Our helper here is part of the family and we would like to bring her with us but it looks like an almost impossible task.

Does anyone have recent experience of doing this successfully? Would a local maid agency be prepared to take her on to their books and then we employ her? Or is there any other alternative?

I’d be grateful for any advice or guidance. Thanks!

[Get Real]

26 minutes ago, MumblesGirl said:

Would a local maid agency be prepared to take her on to their books and then we employ her?

Probably yes, if they get their fair share of the money cake.

[ubonjoe]

44 minutes ago, MumblesGirl said:

Would a local maid agency be prepared to take her on to their books and then we employ her?

Perhaps possible but it could not be as a maid in her case since she is from the Philippines.

Plus after getting a work permit she would need a income of at least 35k baht to get an extension.

[anon789561]

if she is very important to you i think you'll have no worries bringing her over and living here. she would have to do border runs and change passports from time to time i think. just don't make it obvious she's your maid and make it look as if she's a close family friend and pay her under the radar.

[lensta]

How old is she?

[MumblesGirl]

4 minutes ago, lensta said:

she?

She’s 40 next week.

[Suradit69]

27 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

make it look as if she's a close family friend and pay her under the radar.

And if immigrations wonders how she's supporting herself without (supposedly) working and presumably she would want to send some of her income back to the Philippines? Or if they look for an explanation as to why a close family friend is staying with the O/P & family for an extended period of time, especially when neighbors and visitors noticed the "close family friend" was doing the laundry, washing up in the kitchen and serving meals.

 

I think this sort of approach has a high probability of causing major problems for the maid and for the family that would like to continue to employ her. Unfortunately, being a Filipina would invite close scrutiny of her by immigrations.

[lensta]

4 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

And if immigrations wonders how she's supporting herself without (supposedly) working and presumably she would want to send some of her income back to the Philippines? Or if they look for an explanation as to why a close family friend is staying with the O/P & family for an extended period of time, especially when neighbors and visitors noticed the "close family friend" was doing the laundry, washing up in the kitchen and serving meals.

 

I think this sort of approach has a high probability of causing major problems for the maid and for the family that would like to continue to employ her. Unfortunately, being a Filipina would invite close scrutiny of her by immigrations.

Why would it invite close scrutiny of her by immigrations? She is already in Singapore

[lensta]

6 minutes ago, lensta said:

Why would it invite close scrutiny of her by immigrations? She is already in Singapore

Sorry I misread your post

[Suradit69]

22 minutes ago, lensta said:

Why would it invite close scrutiny of her by immigrations? She is already in Singapore

Unfortunately certain nationalities tend to attract greater scrutiny in Thailand, especially when it's suspected that they are working here without a work permit.

 

 

 

[lensta]

1 minute ago, Suradit69 said:

Unfortunately certain nationalities tend to attract greater scrutiny, especially when it's suspected that they are working in Thailand without a work permit.

Sorry again, I thought you meant that she would attract attention from her own immigration people as many Filipina girls have.

[MumblesGirl]

Thanks all. I’ll look into the Education visa. Otherwise I think Thailand is out and Philippines is back on.

[thesetat2013]

i may be wrong.. but didn't they just change the labor laws and made it possible for someone like your housekeeper to gain a work permit as a laborer? 

i know for sure you cant claim she is maid.. but housekeeper or some other labor intensive position may be possible... 

also i am not so sure about another persons quote about needing to show 35000 baht income since schools usually hire phills teachers for about half that salary.  

[bbi1]

Lots of illegal suggestions on this thread about her working here on lots of visas like Ed or METV or Elilte visa where working is prohibited. I thought it was against the terms of service of TV that illegal stuff isn't promoted. Surprised that the mods aren't all over this.

[Scott]

A few posts that advocate illegal means of staying in the country have been reported and removed.   Please exercise care in your posts.  

 

[samran]

Unless she is formally employed by a Thai company she will be working here illegally. 

 

Individuals are only allowed to hire and get work permits without a company for domestic help from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. 

[gk10002000]

well, there is always the elite Visa route.  Let "her" buy an elite visa and she can stay in country for 5 years.  Then you have to dodge the issue that may come up as for is she working, without a permit

[ndfdjnd]

2 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Lots of illegal suggestions on this thread about her working here on lots of visas like Ed or METV or Elilte visa where working is prohibited. I thought it was against the terms of service of TV that illegal stuff isn't promoted. Surprised that the mods aren't all over this.

Why are you so concerned about the law?

[The manic]

I thought under the ASEAN agreement Philippine people could work in Thailand. Plenty do

 

[richard_smith237]

32 minutes ago, ndfdjnd said:

Why are you so concerned about the law?

 

 

It would be foolish to consider illegal advice useful in this circumstance...  shouldn't anyone be concerned with the law? Wouldn't you be?...

 

As an employer and someone potentially subject to stringent fines in the hundreds of thousands of Baht anyone should be highly cautious of contravening regulations when employing foreign workers.

 

[ndfdjnd]

I meant more the content of the post, which sounded like some sort of government-issued advisory warning.

 

Generally I'm only concerned about the law if it is likely to cost me my liberty or a significant amount of money.  Employing somebody illegally in the circumstances outlined, well let's just say you would need to be extremely unlucky or extremely stupid for anybody to take an interest.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Given the OP's request, perhaps then someone can explain to me how, in comparison:

 

--Hotels here can hire on a long-term basis Filipino bands and singers?

 

--How restaurants in BKK like IHOP can hire servers and wait staff who are Filipinos?

 

There are Filipinos working all over Bangkok. But perhaps the difference is, those companies also are hiring enough Thai workers to allow them to hire a smaller portion of foreigners.

 

But I didn't think restaurant wait staff, perhaps like maids, was an eligible job for foreigners, even if the Thai-foreigner ratio for work permit purposes is met....

 

Meanwhile, a lot of upper income Thai families do seem to manage to hire women from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia as maids... Perhaps those countries have different rules applicable in Thailand vs the Philippines. Confused....

 

[Time Traveller]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Given the OP's request, perhaps then someone can explain to me how, in comparison:

 

--Hotels here can hire on a long-term basis Filipino bands and singers?

 

--How restaurants in BKK like IHOP can hire servers and wait staff who are Filipinos?

 

There are Filipinos working all over Bangkok. But perhaps the difference is, those companies also are hiring enough Thai workers to allow them to hire a smaller portion of foreigners.

 

But I didn't think restaurant wait staff, perhaps like maids, was an eligible job for foreigners, even if the Thai-foreigner ratio for work permit purposes is met....

 

Meanwhile, a lot of upper income Thai families do seem to manage to hire women from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia as maids... Perhaps those countries have different rules applicable in Thailand vs the Philippines. Confused....

 

LoL., wow, you are not wrong there......Just visited Bangkok for a month in July, and now there a many Filipinos are everywhere....(Incidentally, I stayed at a small hotel - listed on Agoda but possiblly operating illegally - that was entirely staffed by Fillipinos !!!!! Not one single Thai worked there)

I suspect many of those Fillipinos are working illegally in Thailand. And yes, the are special rules allowing labor from Laos, Myanmar & Cambodian workers to legally work in thailand.

[The manic]

1 hour ago, Time Traveller said:

LoL., wow, you are not wrong there......Just visited Bangkok for a month in July, and now there a many Filipinos are everywhere....(Incidentally, I stayed at a small hotel - listed on Agoda but possiblly operating illegally - that was entirely staffed by Fillipinos !!!!! Not one single Thai worked there)

I suspect many of those Fillipinos are working illegally in Thailand. And yes, the are special rules allowing labor from Laos, Myanmar & Cambodian workers to legally work in thailand.

Restaurant, hotels,  estate agents, security are many of the jobs I have seen  Filipinos doing.

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Meanwhile, a lot of upper income Thai families do seem to manage to hire women from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia as maids... Perhaps those countries have different rules applicable in Thailand vs the Philippines. Confused....

Much of what you wrote is perfectly valid and, indeed, confusing. However, there are different rules governing domestic staff from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Some expats also hire them. I understand those rules are in the process of being tightened.

[elgenon]

I wish I could employ a Thai maid in the States. Good luck.

[Mike Teavee]

14 hours ago, MumblesGirl said:

Thanks all. I’ll look into the Education visa. Otherwise I think Thailand is out and Philippines is back on.

Unless you're Filipina yourself, she must be some maid if you're going to be deciding where your family lives based on her eligibility to move there with you.

 

I'm not trying to be cruel, I've lived in Singapore for 10 years & have lots of friends who are maids, but at the end of the day it is a job & when an Expat family decides to move on (as happened last week to one of my very close maid friends) they find another family (as she did last Sunday).

 

Do you have kids? - my 1st instinct was you did hence the attachment to your maid (lady I mentioned specializes in newborns-toddler so families get very attached to her, but she typically only does 3 or so years with one).

 

I must stress, I love the Philippines, have visited > 35 times in the past 10 years & have (well had) a house in Davao, but when it comes to choosing a place to live, there's no way I would live there over Thailand (& that's as a single guy nevermind if I had kids).

 

 

Anyways, please don't take this as Philippines bashing (I really do love the place but I couldn't live there full time, which is why I've recently split up with my Filipina GF of 8 years as equally there is no way she wanted to move to Thailand).

 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide & please feel free to PM me if there's any information I can help you with regarding moving to the Philippines.

 

PS  - If I did have to move the Philippines, Davao (or at least somewhere in the Visayas) would be my 1st choice.

 

 

 

[huberthammer]

15 hours ago, MumblesGirl said:

Thanks all. I’ll look into the Education visa. Otherwise I think Thailand is out and Philippines is back on.

DON'T - probably the biggest focus of immigration right now. Rules change all the time, schools raided, people caught working with ED visa getting the full force of the law. This year the number of people with ED visa who I saw leave Thailand due to this crackdown surpassed any other visa situation.

 

good luck, hope it will work out

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, huberthammer said:

DON'T - probably the biggest focus of immigration right now. Rules change all the time, schools raided, people caught working with ED visa getting the full force of the law. This year the number of people with ED visa who I saw leave Thailand due to this crackdown surpassed any other visa situation.

But there were possibly hundreds of others that are attending legitimate schools that are still here without a problem.

All those reports in the news were mostly those that got there visas and/or extensions under the table and were not attending school at all. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 hours ago, The manic said:

I thought under the ASEAN agreement Philippine people could work in Thailand. Plenty do

 

 

From what I recall, the whole ASEAN cross border labor deal was supposed to be limited to just a certain group of designated professions/careers (not including routine laborers).

 

But lord knows what's ever become of that as regards Thailand. I never really hear of folks from other ASEAN countries working here under those provisions. Probably in part because a lot of the listed professions below require Thai licensing.

 

Quote

A key limitation is that the AEC is only making concessions to skilled workers, more particularly eight professions at this point in time: engineering, nursing, architecture, medicine, dentistry, tourism, surveying and accounting. To put this in context, far from introducing freedom of movement to all workers, the AEC is focused on less than 1.5% of the ASEAN labour force.

There are, however, further limitations on the free movement of that small slice of skilled workers. There are minimum years of experience requirements, labour market tests, pre-employment requirements such as health clearances and numerous other domestic immigration and professional boxes to tick. Far from guaranteeing labour mobility even for skilled workers, it seems the AEC simply shifts the mobility scale for a few workers from ‘very difficult’ to ‘easier but still complicated’.

 

https://www.taylorvinters.com/article/new-asean-economic-community-introducing-employee-cross-border-mobility-asia/