By The Big Buy desk · Last verified 4 October 2026
Hiring a migrant domestic worker (domestic helper) in Singapore costs more than her salary. MOM charges a monthly levy of $300 for your first helper and $450 for each additional one, or a concessionary $60 if your household has a young child, an elderly member or a person with disabilities. You must buy medical insurance with at least $60,000 of annual cover and personal accident insurance with at least $60,000 sum assured, and post a $5,000 security bond (Malaysian helpers are exempt). Add the $70 Work Permit fees, training programmes, medical checks every six months, food and lodging.
A good helper can transform a busy household. Getting the costs and the rules right from day one makes for a happier home on both sides.
Quick facts
- Levy: $300 a month for the first helper, $450 for each subsequent one; $60 with the concession.
- Concession: for a Singapore Citizen child under 16, a citizen (or eligible PR) aged 67 or older, or an eligible person with disabilities in the household; up to two helpers per household.
- Insurance: medical cover of at least $60,000 a year and personal accident cover of at least $60,000; you cannot pass the cost to the helper.
- Security bond: $5,000 per helper, as a bank or insurer guarantee; not needed for Malaysian helpers.
- Salary: paid monthly, no later than 7 days after the end of the salary period, and never lower than what you declared to MOM.
- Rest days: one a week, and at least one a month that cannot be swapped for pay.
The one-off costs
| Item | Cost (October 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Work Permit application and issuance | $35 + $35 | Paid to MOM |
| Employers’ Orientation Programme | About $30 to $36 online; about $36 to $76 in class | First-time employers only, at least 2 working days before applying |
| Settling-in Programme | About $76 to $93 | First-time helpers; within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays |
| Security bond | $5,000 guarantee | You pay a premium to the bank or insurer, not the full sum |
| Insurance | Premiums vary by insurer and the helper’s age | Usually bought together with the bond |
| Agency fee and medical exam on arrival | Vary by agency and clinic | Ask for an itemised quote |
The monthly costs, with an example
MOM does not set a minimum salary for domestic helpers; you agree it in the contract and declare it to MOM. Suppose you agree a salary of $700 a month. Without the concession, salary plus the $300 levy comes to $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year, before food, toiletries, a phone top-up, insurance premiums and her six-monthly medical exams. With the $60 concession, the same helper costs $760 a month in salary and levy, or $9,120 a year. If she works on a rest day she agrees to give up, add at least one day’s salary in compensation, paid on top of her basic salary.
Hiring, step by step
- First-time employer? Complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme.
- Apply for the Work Permit through MOM’s FDW eService, either yourself or through an agency. Online applications are usually processed within a week.
- On in-principle approval, buy the security bond and both insurance policies.
- When she arrives, book her medical examination and, if she is a first-time helper, the Settling-in Programme. She can start work only after attending it.
- Get the permit issued and her biometrics registered; set up GIRO for the levy.
- During employment, pay her salary on time, keep records, give rest days and send her for the six-monthly medical exam (not required once she is 50 or older).
When the bond can be forfeited
MOM can forfeit the $5,000 bond if you or your helper breach Work Permit or bond conditions, if her salary is paid late, if she is not sent home when the permit ends or is cancelled, or if she goes missing. You may avoid liability for her breaches if you can show you told her the conditions and reported the breach promptly. Since 2019, you must not keep her salary or money for her, even if she asks.
The WahLiao Verdict
Check the levy concession first, because it can save $240 a month. Then budget for the whole year, not just the salary, and pay by bank transfer into her own account so the records keep themselves. Treat the rest day as sacred and the contract as a promise. Helpers who are paid on time and given real rest tend to stay, and a stable helper is worth far more than the cheapest agency package.
Questions people ask
Does the concession apply automatically?
For parents of a citizen child, from the child’s birth. In other cases, such as an elderly parent, you add the eligible person as a household member through MOM’s eService, and addresses on NRICs must match.
What if she leaves mid-month?
The levy is charged at a daily rate for part months: $9.87 a day at the $300 rate and $1.98 at the $60 rate.
Who pays the medical bills?
The employer is responsible for her medical care. Her compulsory medical insurance covers inpatient and day-surgery bills up to at least $60,000 a year; for claim amounts above $15,000, the insurer pays 75% and the employer 25%. You cannot pass premiums or bills on to her.
Can I keep her salary for safekeeping?
Not her salary or money: MOM forbids it even if she asks. Pay into her own bank account if she wants savings kept safe.
Sources: MOM, levy rates, levy concession, insurance requirements, security bond, Work Permit fees, rest days and salary rules. The Big Buy explains; it does not advise.
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