Illustrative consultation table with an open document folder, a printed checklist and two cups — A CONSULTATION, NOT A CATALOGUE / CONCEPT AGENCY

Domestic helper agency · Singapore

A placement
on stated terms.

Hiring a live-in helper is a regulated process, not a purchase. The paths, the costs and your obligations as an employer are set out before anyone sits in an interview.

Request the fee schedule

Paths: New, transfer or re-employment
Shortlist: After a written household brief
Fee schedule: On request, in writing

New placementsTransfersRe-employmentWhy there is no catalogue of helpers ↓

The rules you are hiring under

An employer,
not a customer.

A live-in helper holds a work permit in her own name. These obligations belong to the employer and cannot be transferred to an agency.

What the employer must do

Leave the helper her own Work Permit card
Never hold her salary or money — credit it to her bank account
Treat her mobile phone as her property; agree house rules on when it is used
Give the rest day and time off the terms provide for
Respect her cultural and religious practices
Provide accommodation, food and medical care

What we will not do

No public catalogue of helpers, and no photographs of people to browse
No biodata shown to anyone who is not a prospective employer, and only with the helper's written consent
No salary, loan or payment terms in advertising
No "free replacement" or "fast delivery" wording — that treats a person as merchandise
No character adjectives: "obedient", "hard-working" and the like are not evidence

Summarised from MOM's Guidelines for Employment Agencies Placing Foreign Domestic Workers. Confirm the current requirements with MOM before hiring.

Three ways to hire

New, transfer,
or re-employment.

Longest path

New placement

A helper who has not worked in Singapore before, or who is between employers abroad. The most paperwork, and the one where the timeline is least in our hands.

Enquire about a new placement ↗Shorter path

Transfer

A helper already in Singapore whose current employment is ending. The release date from the current employer decides the timeline.

Enquire about a transfer ↗Simplest path

Re-employment

Your current helper stays, on a new contract and a renewed permit. Start it before the permit runs out, not after.

Ask about re-employment ↗

How each path runs

The brief, then the process.

Nothing is placed before the household brief is in writing: the home, the work, the sleeping arrangement and the language you can work in.

Household brief
Flat type, who lives there, the work needed, the sleeping arrangement and your language.
Shortlist on request
Experience, training and language, sent to you as a prospective employer — never published.
Interview
By video first, in person where that is possible. The interview is yours to run.
Applications and insurance
Work permit, insurance and the security bond, applied for in your name as employer.
Arrival and settling in
Entry approval, medical examination and the Settling-In Programme, then deployment.

Path	What decides the timeline	Relative speed
New placement	Approval, medical and travel, none of which we control	Longest
Transfer	The release date agreed with the current employer	Shorter
Re-employment	Whether the paperwork starts before the permit expires	Days, not weeks

If she is already in Singapore

A transfer is
a paperwork job,
not a search.

The gate, as closed rules: A transfer moves forward only where all of these hold: her permit is still valid, her six-monthly medical is current, and her current employer has agreed a release date. Where the current employment is ending on its own terms, the release date is whatever the employer confirms. Where it is ending early, that is a different conversation and it starts with the employer, not with us.
What cannot transfer: A permit already cancelled, a medical that has lapsed, a helper who has left Singapore, and any situation where the outgoing employer has not agreed the release in writing. Nothing here is negotiable by us.

The two shapes of a transfer, and which one you are in

The sequence and the clocks are MOM's, as published on 18 September 2026.
Situation	What decides the pace	What it feels like
Contract ending naturally	The agreed last day. Consent is straightforward because both households planned for it.	Planned: the handover day is set weeks out and nothing is rushed.
Release before expiry	The outgoing employer's written consent, then the remaining permit validity.	Tight: the clock runs on the permit, so a slow employer is the whole risk.

Handover day, in order

Consent first. The outgoing employer gives consent through MOM's own eService. Without it, nothing else starts.
Then the applications. An In-Principle Approval is issued to both employers, and the new work permit is issued before the handover day — not after.
Then the day itself: her belongings move, the new employer registers the address, the previous permit is cancelled once the new one is issued.
What we do on the day: one named consultant attends with the paperwork, checks the permit card is in her hand and not held by anyone, and confirms the terms in writing with both households.
What the employer does on the day: signs the terms, hands her the documents and confirms the salary arrangement in writing.

The steps above are MOM's published sequence. MOM's current requirements govern.

If it does not work out

A term,
not a promise.

The window, and which trigger starts it: Two triggers, and they are not the same length: a placement ended by the employer for a reason inside the terms runs one window; a placement ended by the helper runs the other. Both windows start on the date the employment actually ends, not the date it was agreed.
What the term does not mean: It does not make this agency her employer, and it does not make us responsible for her salary, her leave, her trial wages, her flight home or her accommodation. Those sit with the employer, as the law requires.
All of these must hold: Fees paid to schedule; the terms of the placement unchanged from the signed sheet; the employer's obligations met as written; a written notification to us inside the window; and no mistreatment of the helper. Where one fails, the term does not apply — and we say so plainly rather than after an argument.
What is outside it: The role changing after the placement, the household's circumstances changing, remuneration below what was agreed, a refusal to continue without cause, and any case where the helper's account and the employer's cannot be reconciled.
Counted honestly: One replacement search, once. Not after a trial that was declined, and not after a replacement has already been provided. The count is stated here so it cannot be negotiated later.
How the search ends: The obligation is fulfilled when a suitable replacement has been offered and declined, or when the household stops responding to the profiles. Where neither happens within the stated period, the search is closed and the terms are settled in writing.

What it costs

Our fee, and
everything else.

Employers are usually shown one number and discover the rest later. The categories belong on the page; the amounts belong in a written schedule.

Illustrative concept pricing, not a quotation. Fees, levy and insurance amounts change, and a current schedule is issued in writing when you ask for it — with the amounts, the refund terms, the replacement clause and the licence number on it, which is also what the MOM advertising guidelines require of an employment agency.
Item	Whose cost	How it is stated
Agency service fee	Ours	One fee, in a written schedule on request, with what it covers
Refund terms	Ours	The terms the licence conditions require, stated in writing before you sign
Work permit levy	Employer	Paid to MOM, not to us
Medical and personal accident insurance	Employer	Required cover, arranged in your name
Security bond	Employer	Required, and discharged by MOM about a week after she starts with you
Settling-In Programme, medical examination, Entry Approval	Employer	Statutory steps, quoted as they fall due
The helper’s salary	Employer	Paid directly by you to her, never held on her behalf

Three documents carry the terms

The brief, the schedule,
the contract.

Illustrative kitchen counter with containers of staples, a clipped plan and a folded cloth in daylight

Household brief · written before a shortlist exists

Scope: the terms you set · one page, both sides keep a copy

Three things decide everything that follows: the work, the sleeping arrangement and the language you can actually communicate in. A brief written down once stops the rest of the process being a conversation about preferences.

What the brief settles ↗

Flat type and household composition; the duties split into daily, weekly and occasional; the hours, and the rest day you can genuinely give; whether there is a separate space for the helper; and the language. Eldercare involving lifting, night waking or medication is a different brief from general housework. Where the household’s circumstances change later, the brief is what shows what was agreed.

Illustrative shallow wooden letter tray holding a stack of blank sheets with a paper clip, reading glasses folded beside it and a cup behind

Fee schedule · issued in writing, on request

Scope: what we charge and what we do not · in writing before you sign

The schedule names our fee and what it covers, the refund terms the licence conditions require, the replacement clause, and the columns that are yours in any employment: levy, insurance, bond, medical steps and wages.

What is on the schedule ↗

One agency fee, with the scope beside it. The refund terms and the replacement window, each with its start date and its conditions. And the licence number, on the same document, so it can be checked against MOM’s employment agencies directory. We do not advertise a fee, a salary, a loan or a payment mode, and no amount is printed in the advertising.

Illustrative closed black document wallet on a wooden table with a pen laid across it, a stoneware mug, a folded linen napkin and a vase of dried flowers

Employment contract · your document, not ours

Scope: the employment itself · signed with her, before she starts

The contract is between you and the helper. We supply wording that meets the requirements and explain each clause before it is signed, and the employer obligations in it stay with you.

What has to be in it ↗

Salary and the day it is credited; the rest day, and how it is taken; the duties and the sleeping arrangement; the notice terms; and the medical steps that fall due while she is employed. The safety agreement is signed before she starts, and the permit card stays in her hand rather than in a drawer at home or at an agency.

Written down, in this order, is what stops a placement being renegotiated later: the brief fixes the job, the schedule fixes what we are paid for, and the contract fixes the employment. An agency that will not put all three in writing has not finished the work, and we hand each of them over before anything is signed.

What is checked

Verified, and
described as verified.

Facts, not adjectives

Experience, training, languages and the certificates that go with them. A shortlist describes what a helper has done and where — never who she is.

Every field on a biodata is one we can point to a document for.

The mandatory checks

The pre-employment medical examination, Entry Approval, the work permit, and the six-monthly medical while she is employed. The Settling-In Programme where it applies.

Requirements of the employer and the agency, not a selling point.

References, checked

Previous employment described as verified, with what was verified: how long, what the work was, and whether the employer would employ her again.

A reference is never presented as a personal endorsement.

What we do not claim

No ranking of helpers, no “best” profiles, no promises about character, and no fast-delivery language. If something cannot be verified, it is not on the shortlist.

The consultant named on your schedule is the one who answers the phone.

The first month, in four lines.

Arrival, and who is with her
Entry approval, the Settling-In Programme where it applies, and the first days in the household — the employer is usually the one who has to make those days workable.
The medical steps that fall due
The pre-employment examination and the six-monthly one while she is employed. Whose cost each is, and when it is due, belong in writing rather than in a reminder later.
The terms you set, honoured from week one
Salary paid directly to her, the rest day you offered in the brief, and the duties and sleeping arrangement described in the household brief.
The review point
A check-in at a stated week, on both sides, before a small problem becomes a replacement. What was raised is written down, and so is what changes.

A clearer starting point

Your household
brief.

Three things decide the shortlist. Write them down once and the rest of the process stops being a conversation about preferences.

The home

Flat type and rooms, who lives there and their ages, and whether there is a separate room for the helper — the arrangement, not a promise about privacy.

Describe your home

The work

Housework, cooking, childcare or eldercare, and the hours you expect. Eldercare that involves lifting, night waking or medical tasks is a different brief from general housework.

Describe the work

The person you can work with

Languages you can communicate in, dietary requirements, religious practice in the household, and the rest day you can actually offer. Being honest here prevents most early endings.

Describe the household

On reviews

“The fees were written down before we signed, and so were our obligations as employers. That is the part nobody else showed us.”

Household of four · sample story

Sample story. Not a real customer review. Our licence record and any demerit points are published by MOM on the employment agencies directory, along with the retention rate MOM collects from the agency itself.

The practical questions

Before you
start hiring.

What does it actually cost?

Two sets of numbers: the agency fee, and the costs that are yours as the employer — levy, insurance, the security bond and the statutory medical steps. The written schedule states both, with the refund terms, before you sign anything.

Where do helpers come from, and can we choose a language?

Source countries and languages are stated in the brief, and the shortlist follows from it. What is not shown is a public catalogue: biodata belongs to the helper, and is sent to a prospective employer on request and with her written consent.

What happens if it does not work out?

The refund terms required under the agency’s licence conditions apply, and are stated in writing before you sign. The schedule separates them from the levy, the bond, insurance and any outstanding salary, because those are settled on their own terms and not by the agency.

Can we interview before we commit?

Yes, and the interview is yours to run: by video first, in person where that is possible. Ask about the work itself — what she did day to day, and what she found difficult — rather than about her personality.

If you are the helper reading this

Your terms,
on the same page.

Your documents are yours. The permit card stays in your hand, your passport stays with you, and nobody — agency or employer — holds them “for safekeeping”.
Your salary is paid to you, on a stated day, with a record. It is never held by us and never deducted without your written agreement.
Your rest day is yours, and your phone and your time off are your own property.
If something is wrong, there is a route that does not go through your employer first: a named contact here, and the MOM helpline for domestic workers, which is published by MOM rather than by us. Where a placement breaks down, we speak to both sides before anyone's paperwork moves.
You are not obliged to accept a transfer, a household or a term you have not seen in writing. A transfer that ends early does not mean you did not work well — it usually means the household changed.

The documents, in the order you sign them

The safety agreement and the terms of the placement, in a language you read.
The In-Principle Approval, with the employer's and your own details checked against your passport.
The insurance and security bond papers, applied for in the employer's name.
The employment contract, with salary, rest day and the day payment arrives written into it.
The release papers from the outgoing employer, on the transfer route.

Our licence number and our record are on the MOM register, which is public — check them there before you sign anything.

This week

Where the
searches stand.

Open searches this week: three households in briefing, two at interview stage, one at application.
Helpers in the pool today: none available for immediate placement. This is the honest state rather than a dead link — a transfer pool moves within days, and a household that needs someone this week should be told no today.
What moves a search forward: a written household brief and the release date of the outgoing employer, where the transfer route applies.

Start a conversation

Begin with the
household brief.

Tell us who lives in the home and what the work is. That is enough to begin.

Concept only. Nothing is sent or booked.