It is an offence for a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW), with or without her employer's consent, to engage in part-time employment. Under the existing Work Permit conditions, a Foreign Domestic Worker is employed to perform domestic chores only for her employer at the residential address stated in her Work Permit Card. There is no part-time FDW Work Permit scheme.

- Any deployment arrangement for a FDW carried out by the Employment Agency or the employer, is illegal as the FDW is only allowed to work at the residential address stated in the Work Permit Card.
- Foreigners on Social Visit Passes are not allowed to work in Singapore during the validity of their passes.

If you are going overseas for holidays, you should leave your FDW at your residence or send her back to her home country on home leave during your period of absence. However, if you are unable to do so, you can write to the Domestic Permit Section, Work Pass Division to request for permission to send the worker to a friend's or relative's home. You may fax your request to (65) 6538 7275 or email to mom_wpd@mom.gov.sg. Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will consider each request on a case-by-case basis.

You should provide the following information in your request letter:

1) Name of person taking care of your worker;
2) Relationship between you and the guardian;
3) Duration/date for which you will be away and your worker will be under the guardian's care;
4) The guardian's residential address.

It is an offence for a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW), with or without her employer's consent, to engage in part-time employment. Under the existing Work Permit conditions, a Foreign Domestic Worker is employed to perform domestic chores only for her employer at the residential address stated in her Work Permit Card. There is no part-time FDW Work Permit scheme.

Any deployment arrangement for a FDW carried out by the Employment Agency or the employer, is illegal as the FDW is only allowed to work at the residential address stated in the Work Permit Card.

Foreigners on Social Visit Passes are not allowed to work in Singapore during the validity of their passes.

a) Your worker's full name, Work Permit Number and Date of Birth
b) Your worker's return flight details
c) Employer's full name and NRIC Number/ CPF Reference Number
d) Employer's residential address and direct contact number

Employers should cancel their Foreign Domestic Worker's (FDW) Work Permit (WP) if she has gone missing or runs away from home. The employer or Employment Agency (EA) can submit WP cancellation request via Work Permit Online (WPOL).

Upon cancellation of the Work Permit, you will be given a one month grace period from the date of the cancellation to locate and repatriate your FDW. If you are unable to do so, your security deposit will be forfeited.

However, if you are able to find or have assisted the authorities in locating your missing FDW within 3 months from the date of the Demand Letter to your bank or insurance company for Security Bond forfeiture, you can appeal for a refund of your forfeited security deposit.

- Counter 3 , National Registration Office (NRO), 3rd Storey, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority Building, or
- Any Neighbourhood Police Post or Neighbourhood Police Centre.
Employers will receive an Acknowledgement Letter/ Amendment Slip about two weeks after MOM has been informed of the change. Your Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) should carry it along with the Work Permit Card.

Employers who apply for their fifth Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) within a 12 month period must attend the Classroom FDW Employers' Orientation Programme. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the rejection of their Work Permit (WP) application.

Employers who apply for their sixth FDW or more within a 12 month period must attend an interview with a Ministry of Manpower officer before the Ministry will process the WP application. The purpose of the interview is to enable us to gain an understanding of the employer's practices for assessment of the WP Application.

As a Work Permit condition, you must pay your Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) her salary due to her each month, no later than 7 days after the last day of that month. Example: Salary owed by you to your worker for the month of June should be paid no later than 7 of July to your worker.

You are also required to keep a record of the monthly salary paid to your worker which you should be able to produce at the request of a public officer.

You may apply for a waiver of the Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) levy under the following situations:

FDW is on home leave (not applicable to Malaysian worker); or
FDW is on vacation leave for at least 7 consecutive days; or
FDW fails to return to Singapore after home leave/vacation; or
FDW is on hospitalisation leave; or
FDW is under police custody or is housed at the Embassy.

You may apply Online (SingPass is required for this e-service); or Manually at the main Central Provident Fund (CPF) Service Centre located at 79 Robinson Road, CPF Building, or any CPF Board Service Centre. For manual applications, copies of the FDW's passport and boarding pass are required for verification.

Please note that applications for the waiver of levy must be within a year after the end of the month in which the levy was paid. For example, to claim for a levy refund for November 2006 (paid in December 2006), employers must apply before end of December 2007.

Going on Home Leave with Temporary Work Permit Cancellation
Going on Home Leave without Work Permit Cancellation

However, for a FDW who loses the WP card while overseas, she should use the Disembarkation/ Embarkation form for visitors when returning to Singapore. After which, the employer may then apply for a replacement WP card.

The employer will then bring the following items to Work Pass Services Centre (Tanjong Pagar Complex, #02-27/29, 7 Keppel Road, Singapore 089053):
Application form for Replacement of WP card ; and
The FDW's original passport; and
The destroyed/ defaced WP card (if applicable).

Please note that there will be a fee of $30 for each replacement of WP card, and it is payable in cash only. Click on "FDW Work Permit Card Replacement" for more details.

Under Work Permit conditions, employer is responsible for and must bear the costs of the Foreign Worker's upkeep and maintenance. This includes the provision of medical treatment.

A worker must be certified medically fit by a Singapore registered medical practitioner prior to the issuance of the Work Permit. Subsequently, the worker is also required by the Ministry to go for regular medical screening, or the 6-Monthly Medical Examination (6ME).

a) Your worker's full name, Work Permit Number and Date of Birth
b) Employer's full name and NRIC Number/ CPF Reference Number
c) Employer's residential address and direct contact number

Employers are required to pay a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) levy of $265 (normal) or $170 (on concession) every month. Levy charges begin one day after the FDW arrives in Singapore. For first-time FDWs, the levy will begin on the 4th day of the worker's arrival (excluding the day of arrival).

Payment should be paid via GIRO. The FDW's Work Permit (WP) will be cancelled if you fail to maintain a valid GIRO account. Employers can view their levy bills online using the Internet Foreign Worker Levy Billing (iFWLB) System. You may login using your SingPass.

a) File a police report regarding your missing FDW; and
b) Inform Work Pass Division to cancel the FDW's Work Permit. The request for cancellation of Work Permit can be done electronically via Work Permit Online.

Condition A
(i) The employer or spouse has a child who is a Singapore Citizen below 12 years old, and is living with him/her; or
(ii) The employer or spouse has a grandchild who is a Singapore Citizen below 12 years old, and is living with him/her

Condition B
(i) The employer or co-residing spouse is a Singapore Citizen who is aged 65 years old and above; or
(ii) The employer or spouse is a Singapore Citizen and the other party is a Singapore Permanent Resident aged 65 years old or above, and both are living together at the same registered address as in NRIC.

Condition C
(i) The employer or spouse has a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandparent-in-law who is a Singapore Citizen aged 65 years or above, and is living with him/her at the same registered address as in the NRIC; or
(ii) The employer is a Singapore Citizen and has a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandparent-in-law who is a Singapore Permanent Resident aged 65 years or above, and is living with him/her at the same registered address as in NRIC.

Condition D
Employers with disability or those who have family members with disability and require a full-time caregiver's assistance in Activities of Daily Living. For more information on the eligibility criteria and application procedures, please visit the Disability Portal.
An employer is eligible for levy concession for up to a maximum of two FDWs at any one time, subject to the above conditions being met for each FDW.

Employers who do not meet the condition for levy concession will continue to pay the current monthly FDW levy of $265 (or daily rate of $9).

- when the child turns 12 years old; or
- when the elderly person passes away; or
- when the elderly persons address in his/her NRIC is changed and differs from that of the employer.

Applicants must complete the “Application form for Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Levy Concession (Persons With Disability)” and obtain an assessment from an appointed medical practitioner for the Persons with Disability (PWD).

The completed “Application form for Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Levy Concession (Persons With Disability)” and the “Doctor’s Assessment Form” must be submitted to the medical practitioner who will then submit the completed application form together with the medical assessment report to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) directly. NCSS will process the medical report and inform the Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) employer of the outcome of the disability assessment.

NCSS will send supported applications to Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for processing. MOM will inform employers of the outcome of the levy concession application. If application is approved, the monthly concessionary levy will be $170.

E.g. If the application is approval date is 15 January 2008, the concession will start from 1 February 2008.

-a Singapore Citizen; and
-staying with the employer at the same address as in the NRIC; and
-requires assistance in at least one of six Activities of Daily Living (ADL), as assessed by a medical practitioner on the appointed list. The six ADLs are washing/ bathing, feeding, toileting, transferring, dressing and mobility.

The PWD can be the FDW employer himself/ herself, or is of any of the following relations to the employer: spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, sibling-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law.