Hiring a domestic helper in Singapore: MOM rules and costs

Step by step, from the course to her first day

This is the order MOM sets out on its Work Permit application page. An agency can do most of it for you.

1. Take the Employers' Orientation Programme. It's for first-time employers and takes a few hours, in class or online. Finish it at least 2 working days before you apply.
2. Get her written consent, then apply. With Singpass, apply through MOM's FDW eService, which takes about a week. Without Singpass, there's an online form that takes about three weeks.
3. Check the approval letter. MOM emails an in-principle approval. Her details must match her passport exactly, or she'll be refused entry. Send her a copy.
4. Before she flies, buy the security bond (unless she's Malaysian) and both insurance policies. Book her Settling-in Programme if she's a first-timer. The bond must be in force on the day she lands, and it can take up to 3 working days to reach MOM.
5. Measles. If a child under 7 at home isn't fully vaccinated against measles, she needs proof of immunity. You pay for any vaccine or blood test.
6. After she lands, a first-timer attends the Settling-in Programme within 7 days, not counting Sundays and public holidays. Every new arrival sees a Singapore-registered doctor within 2 weeks, to screen for TB, HIV, syphilis and malaria.
7. Get her permit issued through the FDW eService within 2 weeks of arrival. Print the Temporary Work Permit for her. It lets her work while the card is made.
8. Registration and the card. The temporary permit says whether she must register her fingerprints and photo at the MOM Services Centre. If so, it's within a week. The card is delivered within about a week after that.

What it costs, in MOM's own numbers

MOM publishes some costs and not others. These were its figures when we checked, and they do change, so confirm them on MOM's site. Her salary isn't on the list, because MOM sets no minimum. It's whatever you agree, and it can't be lower than what you declared on the application. Ask your agency what helpers with similar experience are paid.

MOM doesn't set the premiums for the bond or the insurance. Compare a few insurers, or ask your agency what's included in its package.

The levy, and why most expat families pay the full rate

The levy is a monthly charge for employing a helper. MOM's normal rate is S$300 a month for your first helper and S$450 for each one after that. The concessionary rate is S$60.

The catch is who qualifies. The concession needs someone in your home who meets MOM's rules:

• A Singapore citizen child under 16.
• A Singapore citizen aged 67 or above, or a permanent resident of that age with certain citizen family members.
• A person with disabilities who needs help with daily activities, and who's a citizen, or a permanent resident with a citizen parent, spouse or child.

If everyone at home holds a foreign pass, none of these fit, so budget for the full rate. MOM itself describes the concession as support for local households with care needs.

For a first-time helper, levy starts on her fifth day here, counting the day she lands. For anyone else, it starts the day after arrival. It's due by the 17th of the next month, by bank direct debit or PayNow QR. Miss two months in a row and MOM revokes her permit.

The security bond

For every helper except Malaysians, you buy a S$5,000 security bond, as a guarantee from a bank or insurer. You can't ask her to pay for it. MOM can claim it in four cases.

• You or she breaks the Work Permit or bond conditions.
• You pay her salary late.
• You don't send her home when her permit ends.
• She goes missing.

You're not held liable for her breaches if you can show you told her the conditions and reported problems promptly. The bond is usually released about a week after she leaves Singapore.

The insurance

You buy two policies before she arrives, and you pay for both. MOM's insurance rules set the minimums:

• Medical insurance for hospital stays and day surgery, with an annual claim limit of at least S$60,000. On claims above S$15,000, the insurer pays 75% and you pay 25%.
• Personal accident insurance of at least S$60,000, paid out to her or her family.

You're responsible for all her medical costs, so the limits matter. The required cover is for hospital care. GP visits are on you, unless you buy a plan that includes them.

Employment agencies: what they do and what they charge

MOM says more than 80% of employers hire through an agency. Agencies find candidates, handle the paperwork and arrange the safety agreement you and your helper must sign. Until she's placed with you, the agency also houses her and looks after her.

Check the agency first

Every agency placing helpers needs an MOM licence, and there are more than 2,500 of them. Look any agency up in MOM's Employment Agencies Directory before you sign. It shows how long the agency has operated and its demerit points from MOM. It also shows customer ratings, how many helpers it places, and how many stay or transfer. A separate tab lists agencies under revocation, suspension or surveillance.

What an agency can charge you, and her

• You. MOM doesn't cap agency fees for employers. Agencies price against the market, so get quotes from two or three and compare what's included.
• The typical outlay. MOM told Parliament the median upfront cost of hiring a new helper was about S$4,700. Around half of it was a loan to the helper, which the employer later recovers. Write the terms of any loan into her contract.
• Her. An agency may collect at most one month of her salary for each year of service, and never more than two months in total. Charging her more is an offence.

The six-month refund

If her job ends within the first six months, the agency must refund at least half your service fees. Some costs sit outside it, like the Work Permit, the Settling-in Programme, her medical, her flight here and her loan. You lose the refund if you cancel, transfer or send her home before telling the agency. You also lose it if you broke the law in how you treated her. A few other exceptions apply, so read your service agreement. The agency pays within 14 working days of your written request or the permit's cancellation, whichever is later.

Your duties once she starts

Helpers aren't covered by the Employment Act. Their protections come from MOM's work permit rules, and these are the ones you'll live with day to day.

Salary

• Pay at least monthly, within 7 days after the end of each salary period.
• Never pay less than what you declared to MOM.
• Pay into a bank account in her own name if she asks. MOM encourages it anyway. If you pay cash, keep a record of each payment, signed by both of you.
• Don't hold on to her salary or any of her money, or her bank book or bank card, even if she asks you to.

Rest days

MOM's rest day rules are simple:

• She gets one rest day a week, on a day you both agree.
• If she agrees to work it, you pay at least one extra day's salary.
• At least one rest day a month can't be swapped for pay.
• Record what you've agreed in the FDW eService.

Food, health and a safe place to sleep

• Meals. Three a day, without pushing food on her that goes against her beliefs.
• Health. You cover her medical costs, including a check-up every six months. It screens for pregnancy and some infectious diseases, and checks her weight and for signs of abuse. Helpers aged 50 and over skip it and are examined at renewal instead.
• Her space. Shelter from sun and rain, enough ventilation, and at least a mattress, pillow, blanket and toiletries.
• Privacy. A separate room if possible. She mustn't share a bedroom with an adult man or a teenage boy.
• Safety. She shouldn't sleep near the toilet, wet areas or anything dangerous.
• Cameras. Tell her where any home cameras are. Never put one where she sleeps, changes or showers.

Window cleaning

She may only clean the outside of windows if the grilles are fitted and locked, and you or another adult is there watching. No grilles means no cleaning outside the glass at all, even with someone supervising. Ground-floor windows and windows onto a common corridor are the exception.

Put it in writing

MOM encourages a written contract, and your agency can draft it. Cover her salary, any placement loan, her rest days and the pay for working them, and the notice period. Either of you can end it with that notice, or with salary in place of notice.

Ending the contract: a transfer or a ticket home

Contracts end for ordinary reasons. You're leaving Singapore, the children have grown, or it just isn't working. MOM gives you two clean routes. Either way, settle her salary and anything else she raises before her permit is cancelled.

Transfer her to a new employer

• Directly. The new employer asks for your consent in the FDW eService, and you approve it there. You pay the levy until their permit for her is issued. Make sure her six-monthly check-up is up to date.
• Through an agency. With her agreement, a licensed agency takes over. Once it cancels her permit, it covers her housing, upkeep and insurance. If no employer is found while her Special Pass lasts, up to 30 days, the agency pays her ticket home.
• Start early. MOM wants the transfer steps done at least 30 days before her permit expires.

Send her home

MOM's cancellation steps, in order:

1. Agree her last working day with her, and pay everything you owe.
2. Cancel her Work Permit in the FDW eService within a week after her last day. If she's still here, print the Special Pass for her.
3. Buy a ticket with checked luggage, departing within two weeks of cancelling.
4. Pay her onward travel to the international port of entry nearest her hometown, and agree any transit allowance in writing.

The levy stops the day before you cancel. Your bond is usually released about a week after she leaves.

Two things that catch people out

• The agency refund. Tell the agency before you cancel, transfer or send her home, or you lose it.
• Changing helpers often. If you're hiring your fourth helper within 12 months, MOM makes you attend a one-hour workshop first, costing S$80.

If what you need is cleaning, not live-in help

Plenty of families find they don't need someone living in. The children are at school all day, the flat is small, or nobody wants to give up a room. MOM itself suggests part-time help as an option, and says it can cost less.

• Don't hire someone else's helper part-time. It's an offence, even if her employer agrees.
• Use a company instead. Under MOM's Household Services Scheme, approved companies can employ migrant workers for part-time cleaning, grocery shopping, car-washing and pet-sitting. MOM publishes the list.
• Ask before you book. Whoever you use, ask who'll actually come, how they're trained, and whether it's the same person each week.

Your checklist, in order

1. Decide between live-in help and part-time cleaning.
2. Check you're eligible, and gather your pass and your tax assessment or employer's letter.
3. Shortlist agencies on MOM's directory and compare fees in writing.
4. Take the Employers' Orientation Programme.
5. Choose a transfer helper or a new one, and check her work history.
6. Apply, then buy the bond and both insurance policies before she flies.
7. After she lands: the Settling-in Programme, her medical and her permit.
8. Agree her contract, rest days and pay date in writing.

How Locallista helps

We'll be straight with you: we don't list helper employment agencies. For those, MOM's directory is the place to start.

We're a directory of English-speaking local service providers. Every business is screened before it's listed, reviews are phone-verified, and the ranking reflects real expat experience, not who paid the most. It's free to browse and free to get in touch. If part-time help suits you better, our English-speaking cleaning agencies in Singapore offer regular weekly home cleaning. For a one-off clean when you move in or out, try our deep cleaning companies in Singapore. Still sorting out your own pass? Our Employment Pass explainer covers how it works.