Hiring a helper in Singapore: your questions answered

Yes. Silink Pte. Ltd. is licensed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) as an employment agency: EA Licence 22C1012, UEN 201833784D. You can look us up in MOM's employment agency directory.

It depends on the helper's nationality and experience. Our packages page lists what each package includes, and the Helpering app shows the exact, current price before you commit.

On top of our fees there are costs set by the government, such as the monthly levy. They are explained below.

Yes, and we encourage it. Most helpers have a video in the app, and we arrange a video interview at a time that suits you. For helpers already in Singapore, meeting in person is often possible.

Two things decide this: MOM's approval and, for a helper overseas, her documents and travel. MOM usually gives an outcome within about a week, but the timing is MOM's decision, not ours.

A transfer helper who is already in Singapore can usually start sooner than a helper coming from overseas. We keep you updated at each step instead of promising a date we do not control.

A helper who is already working in Singapore and is moving to a new employer, with her current employer's consent. She may be finishing her contract, or her employer may be relocating or no longer need help.

She already knows life in Singapore, can often be interviewed in person, and can usually start sooner.

A fresh helper has not worked in Singapore before; she attends MOM's Settling-In Programme after she arrives. An experienced helper has done this work before, in Singapore or elsewhere. An ex-Singapore helper has worked here before and is now back in her home country.

Fresh helpers usually ask for a lower salary and need more guidance at the start. Experienced helpers need less teaching and usually expect a higher salary.

Yes. This is called direct hire: you choose the helper, and we handle the MOM application, the insurance and her arrival. See "Direct hire" on the packages page.

Tell us early. Our packages include replacement support: up to 3 replacements within 6 months of deployment with no new agency fee, provided each helper has worked at least 30 days. Application-related costs for the new helper still apply, and if the new helper is in a higher fee tier you pay the difference.

Where MOM's refund rules apply, 50% of the service fee is refunded.

The terms in your own service agreement prevail. The full policy is here: After-Sales, Replacement & Refund Policy.

A monthly fee every employer pays to the government. It is $300 a month for your first helper and $450 a month for each additional helper. If you qualify for the concession, it is $60 a month.

The levy is deducted by GIRO on the 17th of the following month. For a helper new to Singapore it starts on the 5th day after she arrives.

Households with a Singapore citizen child below 16, an elderly person aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities who needs help with at least one activity of daily living.

Each eligible person qualifies one helper, up to two helpers per household. Conditions on citizenship and registered address apply; we will check your case with you.

It is a pledge to the government that you and your helper will keep to the Work Permit conditions. You do not hand over $5,000: the bond is a guarantee issued by an insurer or a bank, and it comes together with the insurance in our packages.

It must be in place before she arrives. Helpers from Malaysia are exempt. The bond is released after her Work Permit is cancelled and she has gone home; it can be forfeited if the conditions are broken, for example if she is not sent home when her Work Permit ends.

Two kinds, both required by MOM: medical insurance of at least $60,000 a year covering inpatient care and day surgery, and personal accident insurance of at least $60,000.

Our packages include insurance that meets these requirements, together with the security bond guarantee.

No. The Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Relief was discontinued from Year of Assessment 2025. YA 2024 was the last year it could be claimed.

Salary is agreed between you and the helper. As a guide to what we see today: about $480–$500 a month for a fresh helper from Myanmar, $550–$580 from Indonesia, about $650 from the Philippines, and $600–$700 for an experienced helper of any nationality.

Each helper's expected salary is shown in the app.

A helper usually cannot pay her own costs of coming to work in Singapore, so the employer advances several months of her salary and recovers it from her monthly pay. The loan period depends on her nationality and experience.

During the loan period you pay her only the compensation for rest days she works; after that you pay her full salary. If the placement ends early, the part of the loan she has not yet worked off is returned or carried over to the replacement helper.

You must be at least 21, not an undischarged bankrupt, and able to understand and carry out an employer's responsibilities. MOM also considers whether you can afford to employ and house a helper.

First-time employers must complete the Employers' Orientation Programme (EOP) before applying. It is online, takes about 90 minutes, and must be done by the person who will be the employer. We ask you to finish it at least 2 working days before we submit your application.

MOM approves helpers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. She must be aged 23 to below 50 when the Work Permit is applied for, and have at least 8 years of formal education.

Silink places helpers mainly from Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Within 2 weeks of arriving, a Singapore-registered doctor checks her for tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis and malaria, and confirms she is fit to work.

After that there is a six-monthly medical examination: pregnancy and syphilis every 6 months, HIV every 2 years, and tuberculosis once, after 2 years in Singapore. The employer pays for these.

A one-day orientation that every helper new to Singapore attends within 7 days of arriving (Sundays and public holidays are not counted). It is taught in her own language, and she can start work only after attending.

The employer pays the fee: about $76 to $93, depending on the training centre. We book it for you.

Yes. Since 1 September 2025, if a child below 7 in your household is not fully vaccinated against measles, your helper must be immune to measles. When the Work Permit is issued or renewed you declare that she is vaccinated or immune, that your children under 7 are fully vaccinated, or that her vaccination is booked.

The MMR vaccine is two doses at least 4 weeks apart, paid for by the employer.

You do. An employer is responsible for the helper's medical costs, including hospital stays, which is why the medical insurance is compulsory.

The insurance must cover at least $60,000 a year for hospital stays and day surgery. The insurer pays the first $15,000 of a year's claims in full; above that, the insurer pays 75% and the employer 25%, up to the plan's limit. You can choose a plan with a higher limit when you buy it.

Outpatient treatment, such as a visit to a clinic, is usually not covered, so the employer pays it directly.

One rest day a week. If she agrees to work on a rest day, you pay her at least one extra day's salary. But at least one rest day every month must actually be taken: it cannot be paid off.

Her salary, on time. Enough food and rest, and proper accommodation. A safe place to work. Medical care when she needs it. And respect: she is a person working in your home.

She may work only at the home address registered with MOM, and only on household work. We go through the details with you before she starts.

No. She may work only for the employer named on her Work Permit, at the registered address. If you need her to look after your young child or your elderly parent at a relative's home, tell MOM first.

Under the Work Permit conditions, a helper must not become pregnant while working in Singapore. If the six-monthly examination shows that she is, her Work Permit is cancelled and she has to return home.

Tell us straight away and make a police report. The insurance in our packages includes cover for this. If she cannot be found, her Work Permit has to be cancelled and part of the security bond may be forfeited, so act quickly.

Tell us as soon as you have decided. If she would like to keep working in Singapore, we help her transfer to a new employer: give us up to 28 days, and she can stay on with you in the meantime. Otherwise we cancel her Work Permit and arrange her return; the employer pays for her ticket home.

Yes. Boarding is $30 a day. Contact us in advance so we can arrange it.