Bandar Seri Begawan - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Household help is widely available, either for live-in, live-out, or part time. The cost of a full-time live in “amah” is about $475USD per month. - Jan 2021
Available but hard to manage because of the quota process and paperwork. Some amahs like to "freelance" but that is illegal and should be avoided. Some services like Termicam will allow you to hire someone on an hourly basis through them, which makes it much easier. - Aug 2014
Domestic help is readily available but the hiring process can take awhile. Most domestic help hired by expats work exclusively for expat families and have a lot of experience but may be rather set in their ways. - Nov 2013
Cheap and high standard. Easily available. - Dec 2008
Sore point here. We were again lied to through omission. There's a quota on house help here. It's a lengthy and painful process to hire someone to work in your home. If you're not choosy (we are) I'm sure you can get a cleaner, part time in relatively short order. Otherwise be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. The local government needs to keep lots of (local) people employed, they don't want to be overrun by foreign workers,so they make the process long and difficult. Our staff has been little help. - Jan 2008
