Technical article
Hiring a Housekeeper Abroad: What the Official Pages Say
They wonder what the law asks of them as employers, and what the lowest legal wage is.
Picture a couple named Paul and Ines. Both are 63 and about to rent a house in a warm country. They would like help with cleaning two days a week. They wonder what the law asks of them as employers, and what the lowest legal wage is.
I went to the labour and social security pages of four governments. Two gave me something solid, two gave me little. I show all of it.
What I could confirm
| Country | What the official page says | What is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Employers must register each household worker with IMSS, one by one | The 2026 wage floor |
| Panama | A national decree sets the minimum wage figures | The domestic worker rate; social security rules |
| Dominican Republic | A 2022 draft said hours should stay under 8 a day and 44 a week | The final rule and any RD$ amount |
| Costa Rica | Nothing I could read | Everything |
Mexico
The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) page for household workers says employers are obliged to register each one, in the page's words "los empleadores, de manera individual, están obligados a registrar en el IMSS". Registration with INFONAVIT, the housing fund, happens at the same time.
Payment follows the worker's daily wage and the days worked. The page says the employer pays "de acuerdo con el salario diario y los días trabajados". Coverage can be bought by the day, month, two months, six months or year. The first month is paid after it ends, and later months in advance. This is my paraphrase of the page. The page I read does not list the benefits.
For the wage floor, the page from the national minimum wage commission that loaded only covered 1992 to 2017, and its main page would not load. I do not state a 2026 figure.
Panama
The labour ministry page says the current decree fixing minimum wage figures is "el 13, del 31 de diciembre de 2025", that is, Executive Decree 13 of 31 December 2025. The page links to a lookup tool and the decree itself. The text I received did not show the rate for household work, so none is given. The social security rules are not among the sources.
Dominican Republic
The presidency page I found is dated 7 April 2022 and describes a draft under public consultation. It said the wage would be set by the national wage committee, and that hours should not pass "8 horas diarias, ni mayor de 44 horas semanales". It gave no amount. Whether the final rule matches the draft is left open. We are waiting on a current official page to tell us.
Costa Rica
The labour ministry pages I opened showed no wage table, and one failed to load. Nothing official is available to quote.
What is left open
- The 2026 minimum wage for household work in all four countries.
- Social security duties in Panama, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.
- Any rule on severance, holidays or a year-end bonus.
You could…
- Ask the labour ministry of your country for the household worker wage in writing.
- Ask a local accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad to confirm registration steps.
- Write down hours and pay before the first day.
If you knew the legal floor before you made an offer, what would you offer?
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: 10 October 2026.
Tell us in the comments