Hiring a Domestic Helper in Singapore: Guide

Many families moving to Singapore hire a live-in domestic helper — what the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) calls a migrant domestic worker (MDW) — to manage the home, childcare or eldercare. She works on a Work Permit, which the Government ties to a set of employer duties and costs you cannot pass on to her. This guide walks a newcomer through who can hire, who can be hired, every cost, the step-by-step process, and your duties once she arrives.

Can you hire a helper

Residency status is not the gate — your profile and means are. You may hire if you have a genuine need (such as young children or elderly family members) and the finances to support a helper properly. Employment Pass, S Pass and Personalised Employment Pass holders can employ an MDW, as can citizens and permanent residents, subject to MOM’s assessment.

Who can be an employer

To hire a helper you must:

• Be 21 years old or above.
• Not be an undischarged bankrupt.
• Have the mental capacity to understand and carry out your responsibilities as an employer.

MOM also weighs your care-giving needs and financial ability to hire, maintain and house the helper in acceptable accommodation. You should not have a medical condition (such as dementia) that would stop you supervising her well-being. If you are a first-time employer, you must complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme (EOP) before you can apply.

Who can be hired

The helper herself must meet MOM’s criteria:

• Female, aged 23 to below 50 at the time of application. A helper aged 50 and above can only renew her permit, up to age 60.
• From an approved source country or region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan or Thailand.
• At least 8 years of formal education with a recognised certificate (for first-time helpers).
• Not related to you, and not already in Singapore when you apply — you bring her in only after approval and the bond are in place.

The real monthly and upfront cost

There is no minimum salary set by MOM for a helper — her monthly pay is fixed by contract, and source-country embassies often set their own minimums, so confirm the figure with your agency. What MOM does fix are the mandatory costs around that salary.

What a newcomer must budget beyond the helper’s salary.

The levy

You pay MOM a monthly levy for the privilege of employing a helper — this is separate from her salary:

Monthly levy by household situation.

• First helper: S$300 a month (S$9.87 a day for part-months).
• Each subsequent helper: S$450 a month (S$14.80 a day).
• Concessionary rate: S$60 a month (S$1.98 a day) if you qualify.

For a first-time helper the levy starts on the 5th day after she arrives (counting the arrival date) and ends when the Work Permit is cancelled or expires.

The security bond

For every non-Malaysian helper you must buy a S$5,000 security bond — a banker’s or insurer’s guarantee that you forfeit to the Government if you or she breaches the Work Permit conditions. You buy it from a bank or insurer, and it must take effect the day she arrives: if it is not in force, the immigration officer will refuse her entry and you will have to send her home. The bond is usually discharged about a week after she leaves Singapore, provided you cancelled the permit and breached nothing. It can be forfeited if you pay her salary late, fail to send her home when the permit ends, or if she goes missing.

Insurance you must buy

Before she arrives, you must buy two policies:

• Medical insurance covering inpatient care and day surgery, with an annual claim limit of at least S$60,000. For claims above S$15,000, insurers pay 75% and you co-pay 25%.
• Personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least S$60,000 a year, payable to her or her beneficiaries for permanent disability or death from an accident.

How to hire, step by step

Most newcomers use a licensed employment agency, but you can also apply yourself with Singpass.

1. Attend the EOP (first-time employers) before applying.
2. Submit the Work Permit application through MOM’s FDW eService (or via an agency), paying S$35. Online cases are usually decided within one week; paper forms take up to three weeks.
3. Get the In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter — it lets you bring the helper into Singapore.
4. Buy the security bond and insurance so the bond takes effect on her arrival day.
5. Bring her in, ensuring she meets the latest ICA entry requirements and, if you have children under 7 who are not fully vaccinated against measles, that she has measles immunity.
6. Send a first-time helper to the Settling-in Programme (SIP) within 7 days of arrival (excluding Sundays and public holidays) — a one-day orientation in her language, costing roughly S$76–S$93, which you pay.
7. Send her for a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor within 14 days of arrival, screening for tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis and malaria. The permit is issued only if she passes.
8. Get the Work Permit issued, paying another S$35. You receive a Temporary Work Permit valid for one month, and the physical card arrives within about five working days.

After that, send her for a medical examination every six months, and pay the levy monthly by GIRO.

If your income is low or you live alone

If you cannot meet the income bar on your own, you have options. Married couples can combine their incomes in the application. The Joint Income Scheme lets you add the income of one non-spouse family member living with you (a parent, sibling or child). The Sponsorship Scheme lets a citizen or PR senior aged 60 or above, not earning and not living with working adults, apply based on the income of up to two sponsors such as children or siblings.

Your duties once she arrives

Hiring a helper comes with legal obligations to her well-being:

• Rest days: at least one a week on a mutually agreed day. At least one rest day a month cannot be compensated away; if she agrees to work another rest day, you pay her at least one extra day’s salary.
• Accommodation: proper shelter with a mattress, pillow, blanket and toiletries, ventilation, safety and privacy — she must not share a room with a male adult or teenager.
• Food: three meals a day, sensitive to her dietary and religious needs.
• Medical care: you cover all her medical costs, including the six-monthly examinations, on top of the insurance.

If things go wrong

If a working relationship breaks down, MOM provides channels to resolve disputes with the helper or the agency, and you can transfer her to a new employer or send her home. Abuse or ill-treatment of a helper carries severe penalties, and employers can be debarred from hiring for serious breaches. If she goes missing or you end the employment, cancel the Work Permit promptly to protect your security bond.

Planning the wider move? See our guides to the Work Permit system, childcare and preschool for expats, and healthcare for newcomers.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum salary I must pay a helper? MOM sets none. Her pay is set by contract and often by her source-country embassy’s minimum, so confirm the figure with your agency before you commit.

Can I hire two helpers? Yes, if you meet the criteria. The levy for a second (and each subsequent) helper is S$450 a month unless a concession applies, and the concession is capped at two helpers per household.

Do I need an agency? No — you can apply yourself with Singpass through MOM’s FDW eService. Many newcomers still use a licensed agency to source and match a helper.

Who pays for the Settling-in Programme and medical exams? You do. The SIP (about S$76–S$93) and all medical examinations are the employer’s cost.

General information only, from MOM, with the date each figure was checked. We are not an employment agency; confirm the current rules and your eligibility on the official MOM page for your own case.