The total cost of hiring a domestic helper has several components: a one-time agency/placement fee, external parties fee example work permit issuance, medical etc and helper’s placement loan. Other fees includes monthly levy fee paid to MOM and also 6 monthly medical check up fee. 

Agency placement fees in Singapore aren’t fixed by MOM and vary by agency, typically depending on the helper’s nationality and experience. What is regulated is how much the agency can charge the helper herself: under MOM’s Employment Agency licence conditions, agencies may charge a foreign domestic worker no more than one month’s salary per year of Work Permit validity, capped at two months’ salary in total.

The Foreign Domestic Worker levy is a monthly payment made to MOM by the employer — not the helper. The standard rate is $300/month. A concessionary rate of $60/month applies if you have an eligible household member (see below).

>>MOM Levy

You qualify if your household includes:

• A Singapore Citizen child under 16 years old
• A Singapore Citizen or PR aged 67 or above
• A person with disabilities requiring help with at least one activity of daily living, certified by a Singapore-registered doctor

Levy concession is capped at one helper per eligible person, and a maximum of two helpers per household.

>>MOM Levy

Two policies (usually bundled as One) are mandatory before your helper arrives:

• Medical insurance: minimum $60,000/year claim limit for inpatient care and day surgery (enhanced requirement effective 1 July 2023)
• Personal accident insurance: minimum $60,000 sum assured, covering permanent disability or death from sudden, unforeseen incidents

You cannot pass either cost on to your helper.

>>MOM Insurance Requirements

A $5,000 security bond is required for every helper (except Malaysian helpers, who are exempt). It’s a pledge to MOM, not a cash outlay you keep — most employers fulfil it via an insurance bond bundled with their medical/PA insurance.

>>MOM Security Bond Requirements

A one-day orientation course required for all first-time helpers, completed within 7 days of arrival. Cost ranges from $76.40 to $92.65 (GST inclusive) depending on the training provider, and is borne entirely by the employer. Ex Singapore / Transfer Helpers are not required to attend this course as they have previously attended.

>>MOM SIP Requirements

Beyond cost, MOM requires a specific sequence of steps before and during your helper’s employment. Missing any of these can delay her Work Permit or put you in breach of its conditions.

1. Apply for In-Principle Approval (IPA) for the Work Permit
2. Purchase security bond, medical insurance, and personal accident insurance
3. Ensure the security bond is confirmed active before or on the day of her arrival — if it isn’t, immigration will refuse her entry
4. Apply for ICA entry permit
5. Upon arrival, proceed for medical check up
6. For Fresh helper only, register her for the Settling-In Programme, to be completed within 7 days of arrival (she cannot attend on her arrival day itself). 
7. Upon issuance of work permit, book and proceed for thumbprint registration with MOM. 

Yes — a Six-Monthly Medical Examination (6ME), screening for pregnancy and infectious diseases (VDRL every 6 months, HIV every 2 years, TB once after 2 years’ stay), conducted at a clinic with results submitted directly to MOM. Helpers aged 50 and above are exempt from 6ME and only need a medical exam at Work Permit renewal.

>>MOM 6 monthly medical checkup

As the employer, you are fully responsible for repatriation costs when employment ends, regardless of who initiates the end of contract. This includes a flight home with check-in luggage and any onward transport to her hometown after landing. 

This is also where our repatriation support service comes in — we arrange the full process for you: immigration exit clearance, transport pickup, and flight booking, so you’re not managing logistics on top of an already administrative process.

>>Contact us

>>MOM FDW Repatriation

MOM places specific, non-negotiable obligations on employers. These protect your helper and are conditions of the Work Permit itself — breaching them puts your security bond and your ability to hire at risk.

>>MOM’s Guide on Employer’s Resposibilities

Yes. You must provide a weekly rest day, or compensation in lieu if she agrees to work on it.

>>MDW Rest Day

No, not for broken items or poor performance — these are never grounds for a deduction, regardless of circumstances. The one situation where a settlement against her final pay applies is notice period compensation: if she wants to end her contract early without serving the required notice period, she is contractually required to either serve it or pay salary in lieu of notice — the same rule that applies under any employment contract. If she has outstanding salary owed to her at that point, this is settled as part of her final pay, not treated as a punitive deduction. 

Note: MOM’s general salary-deduction rules (including any percentage caps) apply to workers covered by the Employment Act — migrant domestic workers are excluded from the Employment Act and governed separately under Work Permit conditions. Don’t apply Employment Act deduction percentages to MDWs.

>>MOM FDW Off In Lieu

No. You must not keep her original Work Permit, passport, bank book, or bank card. She must have full access to her own bank account and salary.

>>MOM Guide on FDW Passport

You must report it to the Controller of Work Passes within 7 days.

>>MOM Guide – Missing Helper

You bear the full cost of her upkeep and maintenance — food, accommodation, and medical/dental care (including non-work-related treatment) — for the duration of her employment.

>>MOM Guide – Helper’s upkeeping