Two different registration systems
The Indonesian route runs through the One Channel System created by the 2022 MOU — a jointly-monitored pipeline pairing a registered Malaysia Recruitment Agency with a registered Indonesian Placement Agency, coordinated through SIPERMIT, with the contract certified by the Indonesian Embassy before it counts.
The Sri Lankan route starts earlier, at the worker’s own registration: every Sri Lankan leaving for domestic work must register with the SLBFE first, a legal requirement under the SLBFE Act. For Malaysia specifically, the SLBFE also requires the contract to be verified by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur before she can register — a Malaysia-specific step this site’s Indonesian-route page doesn’t have an equivalent of.
An eligibility rule that only one route states
Sri Lanka’s route sets an explicit prerequisite: a woman needs either 150 days of prior foreign work experience or completion of SLBFE’s own 7-day housemaid training course, waived at 45 or older or with a recognised NVQ. Men need 30 days.
This site’s page on the Indonesian route doesn’t describe an equivalent experience-or-training requirement. That’s worth asking your agency about directly — whether the absence reflects an actually different rule, or simply a detail this page’s sources didn’t confirm.
The wage floor is confirmed for one route, not the other
Indonesia’s ≈RM1,500 monthly minimum is set directly by the 2022 MOU and reported consistently across the sources this site checked, though it’s periodically reviewed.
No Malaysia-specific SLBFE wage floor was found for the Sri Lankan route in the public record — the salary is set in the individually-verified employment contract rather than a published minimum. Ask your agency for the going rate on a specific candidate’s contract rather than assuming a floor applies.
One figure that circulates but doesn’t belong on either route as stated
A USD 1,500 employer deposit is sometimes quoted for Sri Lankan hires, but it’s tied to Middle-East destinations, not Malaysia — don’t budget for it here. This site’s Indonesian-route page doesn’t mention an equivalent deposit either.
For household income, Immigration’s current Sri Lankan-route figure is RM5,000, alongside a stated RM750 personal bond. The Indonesian-route equivalents — both household income and personal bond — aren’t settled in the public sources this site checked. Confirm both routes’ current figures directly before you commit.
What this means for your next conversation with an agency
For an Indonesian candidate, ask about the agency’s MRA/P3MI registration and the Indonesian Embassy certification step, and ask directly for the current employer-income figure since this site doesn’t state one. For a Sri Lankan candidate, ask whether she qualifies through experience or SLBFE training, and confirm the High Commission contract-verification step has been completed.
Whichever route fits your household, treat the differences above as a checklist for the conversation, not a reason to prefer one nationality over the other.