Monday, November 24, 2008

Filipino maid in Hong Kong receives Bahamas work permit

By Alice Sy

There is an increasing trend among wealthy Bahamian household in hiring a live-in maid from overseas. One sample case is a retired couples in their 50's who found 1MaidHK.com and placed a live-in maid job order.

The job offer consists of 5-day work, free food, accommodation and airticket to Bahamas and four weeks paid annual leave upon completion of 2 years contract. Good news ! The much awaited Bahamas work permit has finally been approved.

For the live-in maid position, Lorena stands out among the 4 applicants in terms of educational attainment and working experience. She is now very excited to work in Bahamas after receiving the work permit and air ticket from her Bahamas employer. "Don't easily give up amidst trial, grab every job opportunity for your family's future and apply through a reliable agency - World Champ International Employment Agency", says Lorena.

The employer filed the live-in maid application in Bahamas and part of the requirement is to show that there is no suitable Bahamian candidate for the position. They also include a newspaper advertising. It took approximately 2-3 months for the Bahamas work permit to be processed from the time the job offer was confirmed. Work permit fees range between $350 to $10,000 per year depending on the category. For the live-in maid category, $650 was paid by the employer for the work permit fee.

The size of the Bahamas work permit is approximately 5 inches x 7.75 inches, light yellow green in color and got one year validity from date of issue. The top of the work permit read as "Permit to engage in gainful occupation". Information such as job position, employer's name,employer's residence address, live-in maid's name as well as the applicant's photo can also be found in the work permit.

Applicant entering through USA enroute to Bahamas is required to apply for a transit visa. The requirements and procedure of application is the same as US non-immigrant visa. Although it is cheaper to travel through the US, however, the transit visa application is not guaranteed. Another option to avoid transit visa problem is to choose a different route, which is normally via London.

Many lives have been transformed after the launching of 1MaidHK.com in a short span of time. It is believed that many more life changing job opportunity awaits many filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong who dares to face the challenges of working abroad in the days to come.

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