Posted by
evalam
19 yrs ago
I am planning to hire a DH directly from Philippines. This is her first job overseas, does anyone know...
1) whether I can help her get a visa at the Immigration Dept without going through an agency?
2) where I can get a template for standard employement contract?
Would appreciate any input. Thanks!
Regards
Eva
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I did that with my first helper... it was SO much work, just lining up at the Philippines consulate, and the immigration was already too much work... the next time, I used an agency which was MUCH better.
Just my advice b/c the agency includes the one way air ticket for her, a medical exam, AND they do all the paper work for you without me ever having to set foot outside my home. They are also much more experienced with the procedures that your helper arrives MUCH sooner than if you were to process by yourself.
I ended up paying MUCH more doing my myself, than using an agency.
But to answer your questions:
1) Yes, you can get the visa without an agency. You just have to sign the three copies of contract, submit to Immigration, and the Philippines Consulate, and then you have to mail the visa to her while she's in Philppines....etc.
2) The contract can be obtained at the Immigration office in Wan Chai.
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cd
19 yrs ago
It didn't cost us anything to hire ours direct, her sister did all the paperwork. She said she was having to send all her money back to support her sister and kids, so she'd rather pay for her sister to come out here so she could earn her own money, and she could keep her own.
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What you need is the booklet entitled "Guidebook for the employment of DH from Abroad" from the Immigration Office. (Yellow front cover, A4 size)
It sets out all the procedures for hiring a helper without using an agency, as well as clarifying points such as holidays, other entitlements, termination etc.
I'm actually in the same position as you. The last time I used an agency they completely lied to me about the helper, saying she had 2 years' experience in Singapore when she had never even been there. The guarantee was also worthless, they did everything they could to get out of providing a replacement. So I figure that I'm better off doing it all myself.
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AYM
19 yrs ago
Sent you a PM, please check.
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Snowrose, I am sorry to hear about your experience. But perhaps the agency you picked was not a very good one.... I used agencies twice now, and they provided to me EXCELLENT service and followup.
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Katetam ~
I'm glad you had a better experience than I did. Of course I tried my best to pick out a good agency, I approached several before I decided, but I still didn't have any joy.
Out of interest, perhaps you could share with us the name of the agency you used, and whereabouts in HK it is located? I'm sure lots of people, as well as myself, would like to hear of a reliable agency.
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i think you can go to an agency and just use it for something called 'Direct Hire Processing'. I did it with my helper. My helper had to go back to the Philippines before I hired her and I was also going away for a few weeks. So my helper went to Emry Employment and got all the 'Direct Hire' forms and fees before she left. I filled them in, and she took them back to the agency with a cheque for around HK$3000 from me(one way flight, all visas and processing fees and medical checkups etc, and six weeks later i got the call from Immigration to say that my helper can now come to HK.
Not sure if it's that easy for a first time maid but the 'Direct hire' option is for when you already have someone you want to bring i suppose. Speak to an agency about that.
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sounds like going through an agent would save a lot of time. Wonder if the DH still need to pay the agent a fee though...
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I used Energetic for the first one (but they have closed now), and the next one was the biggest one in HK, Technic. They were super efficient, and very fast in hurrying the processing. I got my direct hire helper in 4 weeks time, for $ 3000.00 including air ticket, medical check up, all visa documentation fee, without having me to set foot outside my house.
Direct Hire- means the helper you picked is NOT represented by the agency. It's YOUR choice, but they do the processing for you. So it doesn't include "exchange" if you are not happy with it.
One condition with this, the agency still charges the $ 3000 EVEN if your helper cannot come to HK to work due to reasons like her passport is not up to the requirements of immigration, criminal records, medical problems, she doesn't show up, ....etc. B/c the agency nevertheless processes the application for you.
Direct Hire- The helper doesn't have to pay anything to the agency. If you hire a helper represented by the agency, then the helper is charged a percentage b/c the agency helped her find a job.
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