Most importantly you can not do anything until you have your own residency permits sorted.
If you get a maid through an agency they handle everything. That is why it is so expensive. There is a lot of red tape to go through. You are responsible for visa renewals and medical. Once your maid has her residency permit you can get her a Hamad Medical Card (cost 100 QR per year).
If you go through an agency you will be given files to look through, once you have chosen a housemaid they are on 3 months probation ... this is for their benefit as much as yours. If it does not work out, then you choose another person.
A few years back a friend of ours brought in a house maid from the Philippines and it was a beaurucratic nightmare. His advice to us after that experience was to go through an agency. Not sure if times have changed since then ... but knowing here, doubt it. So bottom line, it can be done ... but be prepared for a lot of running around and headaches with paperwork.
Most importantly you can not do anything until you have your own residency permits sorted.
If you get a maid through an agency they handle everything. That is why it is so expensive. There is a lot of red tape to go through. You are responsible for visa renewals and medical. Once your maid has her residency permit you can get her a Hamad Medical Card (cost 100 QR per year).
If you go through an agency you will be given files to look through, once you have chosen a housemaid they are on 3 months probation ... this is for their benefit as much as yours. If it does not work out, then you choose another person.
A few years back a friend of ours brought in a house maid from the Philippines and it was a beaurucratic nightmare. His advice to us after that experience was to go through an agency. Not sure if times have changed since then ... but knowing here, doubt it. So bottom line, it can be done ... but be prepared for a lot of running around and headaches with paperwork.