How to hire a maid in Thailand: the 2026 guide

The ten decisions you're actually making

Most "how to hire a maid" articles list 50 tips. The honest framework is ten decisions, sequenced. Once you've made them in this order, the hire takes care of itself.

1. Live-in or day? Day maid roughly ฿15,000–฿28,000/mo; live-in roughly ฿15,000–฿25,000/mo plus a dedicated room (market estimates). Day works in a serviced condo and struggles in a villa.
2. Which nationality, and which are legal? See the nationality section below. The legal route differs sharply by nationality, and one common choice (a Filipino household maid) is not lawful at all.
3. What languages do you need? English-only households drive demand for Filipino helpers, but the legal path makes that hard (see below). Bilingual Thai-plus-English families have more lawful options.
4. One role or several? "Maid, nanny and cook" is the most common compound role and pays a premium over a single role. Past three duties, hire two people.
5. Agency or direct? Agency: structure, paperwork, replacement guarantee, plus a placement fee. Direct: cheaper, your paperwork, your risk. See below.
6. What's your budget, all-in? Use the all-in number, not the headline salary. Live-in roles look "expensive" when you forget the in-kind costs are extra.
7. Trial period or straight contract? A probation period is common in this market, typically 60 to 90 days. The MR 15 written contract and rights floor apply throughout.
8. How will you handle days off and holidays? Plan for at least one paid rest day a week, at least 13 paid public holidays, up to 30 paid sick days a year, and 6 paid annual-leave days after one full year (MR 15).
9. What happens if it doesn't work out? Plan the off-ramp before you sign: a written contract sets out the notice period and final-pay terms required by MR 15.
10. Who owns the paperwork, the agency or you? The work permit, the residence notification and the tax filings are your obligations, not the agency's. Don't let the agency hold your worker's documents.

Nationality: the honest, legal comparison

This is the section most articles get wrong. The legal route, not just the salary, is what should decide the hire.

Source: legal routes per VERIFIED-FACTS (Royal Ordinance B.E. 2560/2561; MOU partner list Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam; Filipino household path unlawful). Salary figures are market estimates triangulated from agency and expat-guide sources (Kiidu, Ayasan, ExpatDen and similar); they are not statutory rates.

Three honest takes most people don't put in print:

• Thai is the easiest legally, by a wide margin. A Thai citizen needs no work permit, no MOU, and no residence notification. The only paperwork is the MR 15 contract. This is the most under-rated path in the foreign-employer market.
• The MOU nationalities are the only lawful foreign route. A Burmese, Lao, Cambodian or Vietnamese worker hired through the MOU process is fully legal as a domestic worker. The cost and effort sit in the MOU paperwork, not in any occupational ban.
• A Filipino household maid is not a legal option, however common the arrangement looks. Tourist-visa, ED-visa or "governess on a Non-B" workarounds are unauthorised work and put both you and the worker at risk. If you specifically need fluent-English childcare, talk to a lawyer about a genuinely qualifying professional arrangement rather than a maid hire.

For the legal mechanics, see our Filipino legal explainer, our MOU process explainer, and the Filipino vs Thai vs Burmese comparison.

Agency vs direct: when each makes sense

Placement-fee and timing figures are market estimates from agency and expat-guide sources, not statutory amounts.

The decision is mostly time vs money. If this is your first hire in Thailand and you don't speak Thai, the agency fee is worth it for the paperwork alone. If you've done this before, or your current maid is referring her cousin, direct hire is fine, provided you take responsibility for the work permit and the contract.

The real all-in cost, by role

For budgeting, use the all-in number from our Salary Atlas 2026 and our true-cost breakdown, not the salary alone. The figures below are market estimates, drawn from agency price lists and expat surveys; they are not quotes and not statutory rates.

Market estimates only, triangulated from agency and expat-guide sources (see Salary Atlas 2026 for per-row sourcing). The non-salary line covers food and utilities for live-in roles plus, for migrant workers, the annualised MOU and work-permit cost. These are planning figures, not quotes. The statutory floor in Bangkok is ฿400/day, roughly ฿8,800/month at 22 working days, and applies to domestic workers since 30 April 2024 (MR 15).

The 12 questions to ask every agency before you sign anything

Print this list. Ask all twelve. Walk away from any agency that can't answer all twelve in writing.

1. What is your Ministry of Labour licence number, and on which company registration is it issued?
2. Will you issue an MR 15-compliant written contract between me and the worker, in both languages, before she starts?
3. What is your itemised fee: placement fee, document fee, "service" fee, anything else?
4. Is any portion of your fee deducted from the worker's wages? (It should not be; the employer pays recruitment costs.)
5. For a foreign worker, whose name is on the work-permit application, mine or a sponsoring company's, and is the route a genuine MOU placement?
6. Will the worker's permit be filed through the e-Work Permit system, which has been mandatory since 13 October 2025?
7. Who holds the worker's passport while she's employed? (Correct answer: she does.)
8. What is your replacement guarantee, and what triggers it?
9. For an MOU worker, through which licensed sending agency and which border checkpoint will she arrive, and on what visa? Show me the licence.
10. Confirm in writing that the worker pays only the fixed government fees (passport, medical check, work permit) and nothing more.
11. Has your agency been subject to any Ministry of Labour complaint or legal action in the last 5 years?
12. May I speak with two current placements you've made in the last 6 months, directly, not through you?

For how to weigh the answers, see our methodology page. We have not mystery-shopped or ranked named agencies, so this guide teaches you to evaluate one rather than naming "the best."

Eight red flags worth walking away from

1. "We'll set her up on a tourist visa and do border bounces." Unauthorised employment. Walk.
2. "We hold the worker's passport for safekeeping." A clear trafficking-risk signal. Walk.
3. "Our placement fee is paid back by the worker over six months." Debt bondage, and the employer is meant to pay recruitment costs. Walk.
4. "You don't need a written contract; we'll handle it verbally." A written MR 15 contract is required. Walk.
5. "We can place a Filipino maid for your home, no problem." There is no lawful private-household route for a Filipino maid. Walk.
6. "You can pay her well below the provincial minimum because room and board are extra." Bangkok's statutory floor is ฿400/day and it applies to domestic workers. Walk.
7. "All our workers are 'self-employed contractors,' so you don't need a work permit." Categorically wrong for a foreign worker. Walk.
8. An agency that refuses to itemise its fee or won't let you speak to two prior placements. A reliable tell of a hidden mark-up or no real track record. Walk.

The timeline, week-by-week

The MR 15-compliant contract: what it has to say

See our MR 15 explainer for the full rights floor. The non-negotiable elements: role; salary at or above the provincial minimum (฿400/day in Bangkok); payment cycle; one paid weekly rest day; at least 13 paid public holidays; 6 paid annual-leave days after one year; up to 30 paid sick days; minimum working age 15; live-in conditions (room and food kept separate from the wage); probation; termination notice and final-pay terms; both signatures, dated.

The first 90 days: getting the relationship right

Three patterns we see succeed:

1. Write down the routine in the first week. A one-page list of who does what, and when. Mornings, evenings, days off, expected response time when the kids are home. Print it, stick it on the fridge, update it as you go.
2. Pay her properly from day one. Wage on the agreed date, on time, into her own bank account (not a relative's, not the agency's). Make the bank-transfer record part of your paperwork. The employer, not the worker, carries the recruitment and work-permit costs.
3. Treat the rest day as a fixed commitment. MR 15 requires at least one paid rest day a week. If a genuine emergency forces a change, agree it and compensate it, and keep that the rare exception. Worker turnover in Bangkok tracks rest-day reliability at least as closely as it tracks salary.