Saudis not to pay insurance fee for unskilled Indian maid

Saudi sponsors need not pay medical insurance of unskilled housemaids from India who carry a passport with a stamp of ECR (emigration clearance required), the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said in a circular.

"The medical insurance fee that citizens used to pay to recruitment firms at the time of hiring unskilled housemaids with an ECR passport is not valid now and hence the employer need not pay the amount," the Saudi Gazette reported Tuesday citing Saudi Press Agency.

The circular has been sent to recruitment firms on the basis of directives received from the ministry of labour and the Council of Saudi Chambers.

The recruitment firms used to charge about $2,500 for hiring housemaids from India, and this included an insurance fee also.