FDW Security Bond, Insurance and Repatriation: What Employers in Singapore Must Maintain

Employers who hire a migrant domestic worker (MDW), commonly known as a foreign domestic worker (FDW), in Singapore take on a set of financial obligations that go well beyond the monthly salary. Before a helper even lands in Singapore, her employer must have bought a security bond, medical insurance and personal accident insurance in her name, and must be ready to fund her return flight home when the Work Permit ends. These are not optional add-ons: they are conditions of the Work Permit itself, enforced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 (EFMA) and its subsidiary regulations.

Many households treat these requirements as a one-time administrative step handled by the employment agency at the point of hire. In practice, the security bond, insurance coverage and repatriation duty remain live obligations for the entire length of the helper’s employment, and lapses can result in forfeiture of the bond, exposure to uninsured medical bills, or the employer being personally liable for the cost of sending the helper home. This article sets out exactly what MOM currently requires, with the current dollar figures verified directly against mom.gov.sg.

For corporate entities and family offices in Singapore that also employ Work Permit or S Pass holders in other capacities, such as a household manager or driver engaged through a company rather than an individual, the same underlying MOM framework for migrant workers applies, and it pays to understand where the FDW-specific rules diverge from the general Work Permit regime.

Who needs to buy a security bond, and how much

Under MOM’s security bond requirements for MDWs, an employer must buy a $5,000 security bond for each helper employed, in the form of a banker’s guarantee or an insurer’s guarantee. The only exemption is for Malaysian helpers, who do not require a security bond at all.

The bond is not a fee paid to the government; it is a pledge that becomes payable to MOM if the employer or the helper breaches the conditions attached to the Work Permit. Employers cannot pass this cost on to the helper, and the bond must be arranged, together with the required insurance, before the helper arrives in Singapore. The employer’s bank or insurer must notify MOM of the bond details, a step that can take up to three working days, and the bond must be in effect from the day the helper arrives. If it is not, immigration will refuse her entry and the employer must send her home immediately at their own cost.

When the bond is discharged

The bond is only discharged, and the employer’s liability released, once all of the following are met: the Work Permit has been cancelled, the helper has returned home, and there has been no breach of the security bond conditions. Where these conditions are satisfied, MOM typically discharges the bond about one week after the helper has left Singapore, and notifies the employer by post.

When the bond is forfeited

MOM may forfeit the bond where the employer or helper violates Work Permit or bond conditions, where salary is not paid on time, where the employer fails to send the helper home once her Work Permit has expired, been revoked or been cancelled, or where the helper goes missing. Employers are not automatically liable for a helper’s own violations (for example, matters relating to pregnancy) if they can show they informed her of the applicable conditions and reported any violation as soon as they became aware of it. This is a useful protection, but it depends on the employer keeping a documented record of that briefing, which is exactly the kind of paperwork that gets skipped when a helper is engaged in a hurry through an informal referral rather than a licensed employment agency.

Medical insurance and personal accident insurance: the two policies that are not the same thing

Employers frequently conflate the medical insurance (MI) and personal accident (PA) insurance requirements, but MOM treats them as two distinct, mandatory policies, and both must be in place before the helper arrives.

Under the current insurance requirements for MDWs, the medical insurance must cover inpatient care and day surgery for the duration of the helper’s stay, with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000. Where the policy carries sub-limits, for example separate caps for inpatient care, day surgery, or a “per disability/medical condition” limit, each sub-limit must independently meet that $60,000 threshold.

MOM has been rolling out an enhanced MI regime in two stages:

Separately, the personal accident insurance must carry a sum assured of at least $60,000 per year, must cover sudden, unforeseen and unexpected incidents resulting in permanent disability or death, and must not contain exclusion clauses beyond those permitted under the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations. Compensation under the PA policy must be payable to the helper herself or her named beneficiaries, not to the employer. As with the security bond, employers cannot recover the cost of either policy from the helper’s salary.

Repatriation: the employer’s duty to send the helper home

The security bond and insurance obligations are matched by a repatriation duty at the other end of the employment relationship. Under MOM’s guidance on sending an MDW home, once employment ends, the employer must settle any outstanding employment issues, including unpaid salary, ensure the helper holds a valid passport, and agree with her in writing on transit arrangements such as connecting flights and layover allowances before booking her air ticket.

The employer must buy the air ticket, inclusive of check-in luggage, and pay for connecting transport to the international port of entry nearest her hometown in her home country or region. Critically, her departure must take place within two weeks of the Work Permit’s cancellation. Employers should obtain written acknowledgement of the transport payment from the helper to avoid later disputes, particularly where the employment ended acrimoniously. Failure to repatriate a helper within this window is itself one of the grounds on which MOM can forfeit the $5,000 security bond described above, so the repatriation duty and the bond are, in practice, two sides of the same compliance obligation.

The monthly levy sits on top of the bond and insurance

In addition to the bond and insurance, employers must pay a monthly foreign worker levy for each helper, on top of her salary, and no CPF contributions are payable for an MDW. Under MOM’s current levy rates for MDWs, the figures are as follows.

The concessionary levy rate is available to households with a young child, an elderly family member, or a person with disability who qualifies under MOM’s levy concession rules; households that do not have a qualifying dependant fall under the normal rate. Levy for a first-time helper begins from the fifth day after her arrival, while levy for a helper who has previously worked in Singapore begins the day after arrival, and it continues to accrue until the Work Permit is cancelled or expires, which is precisely why timely repatriation matters financially and not just administratively.

Employer eligibility is a gate as well

These financial obligations sit on top of MOM’s baseline eligibility criteria for employers themselves: an employer must be at least 21 years old, must not be an undischarged bankrupt, and must have the mental capacity to understand and discharge the responsibilities of employing a helper. First-time employers must also attend the Employer Orientation Programme before a Work Permit application can be made. Corporate structures used to house domestic staffing arrangements, such as a family office employing a helper for a principal’s household, need to be alert to the fact that the natural person nominated as the employer of record, not the corporate entity, is the one assessed against these criteria and the one who ultimately carries the bond and repatriation liability.

Employers who are also managing Work Permit or S Pass holders in a business context should note that the quota mechanics differ from the FDW regime; our guide to S Pass and Work Permit quotas for Singapore companies and our overview of the Work Permit foreign worker levy framework cover the sector-based dependency ratio ceilings and levy tiers that apply outside the domestic worker context. Employers dealing with a helper who has absconded should also read our note on employer obligations when a foreign employee absconds, which covers the reporting duty and how it interacts with bond liability. For Work Permit cancellations more generally, including timelines and common employer mistakes, see our article on cancelling a work pass in Singapore, and for a broader employer-side overview see our complete Work Permit employer guide.

Practical compliance checklist for employers

Before an MDW’s Work Permit application is submitted, an employer should confirm that: the $5,000 security bond (unless she is Malaysian) has been arranged with a bank or insurer and will take effect on her arrival date; medical insurance meeting the current $60,000 claim limit and enhanced MI conditions has been bought; personal accident insurance with a $60,000 sum assured is in place; and a plan exists for funding repatriation, including the air ticket and connecting transport, should the employment end. Employers should also diarise the monthly levy due date (the 17th of the following month) and set up GIRO to avoid late payment penalties that can, after two consecutive missed months, result in the Work Permit being revoked.

Because the security bond, insurance and repatriation duty are contractual conditions tied to the Work Permit rather than a one-off cost, they should be reviewed whenever a helper is renewed, transferred between employers, or replaced, not just at first hire. Getting the corporate or household structure right at the outset, including identifying who the correct employer of record is, avoids disputes over bond forfeiture and repatriation cost further down the line.

Conclusion

The $5,000 security bond, the $60,000 medical and personal accident insurance minimums, and the two-week repatriation deadline are not administrative formalities: they are enforceable conditions under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 and its subsidiary regulations, and MOM will forfeit the bond or revoke the Work Permit where they are not met. Employers who treat these obligations as a standing compliance checklist, reviewed at every renewal and transfer, are far less likely to face a forfeited bond, an uninsured medical bill, or personal liability for an undischarged repatriation.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

– The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services