Whether it is transferring your maid to another family member, or transferring her from or to another employer, it is not difficult to transfer a maid with MOM. While there seems to be many steps and paperwork / forms to do so, there is only 4 easy steps you need to take.
Here is how you go about transferring a helper from one employer to another.
- Get the existing employer’s signed agreement
The existing employer must agree for the maid to transfer in writing.
However, if the existing employer is deceased, a death certificate from the deceased would suffice.
This form should have the following information:
- Name of existing employer
- NRIC for existing employer
- Name of domestic helper
- FIN number of domestic helper
- Name of new employer
- NRIC for new employer
- Date of transfer
- Signature of existing employer
- Signature of new employer
2. Apply for maid’s In Principle Approval
This is to inform Ministry of Manpower that you intend to transfer the maid from the old employer to the new employer.
Take note: you do not need to cancel the IPA from the old employer side – the approval and issuance of work permit under new employer will cancel the work permit from the old employer’s name automatically.
HOWEVER: you need to make sure the previous employer keeps the green work permit card and mail it back to MOM.
Apply at this site and login with your Singpass.
Select either a new maid, replacement maid or additional maid based on your requirements.
Key in the information from the domestic helper, along with your own details.
Once submitted, the IPA will take between 1 day to 1 week to get approved / rejected. You will receive the status confirmation via email from MOM directly.
Once IPA is approved, you can then proceed to step 3.
3. Purchase Maid Insurance + Security Bond
You can then purchase the maid’s insurance. MOM law requires the following insurance duration:
- If maid works for 1 year or less – 14 months
- If maid works for 2 years – 26 months
Along with this, MOM requires you to purchase a $5000 security bond with a bank as a pledge. This is a deposit that will be discharged back to you after your maid is successfully sent back to their home country / transferred to the next employer without any outstanding fees due.
Make sure to do the following so as not to lose your security bond:
- Pay your maid’s salary on time
- Give your maid 3 meals a day
- Pay for your maid’s off day compensation
- Pay your maid’s levy to MOM on time
- Pay for your maid’s medical expenses (from outpatient to hospitalisation, latter which is covered up to $15,000 under insurance)
- Purchase your maid’s air ticket back home
4. Sign and upload declaration form
Once your insurance is approved, you can now collect your maid from the previous employer.
You can then bring the declaration form attached in the email for IPA and bring it along with you to the existing employer.
Make sure that all 3 parties (previous employer, maid and new employer) sign the document. Once you bring the maid back to your place, immediately upload the declaration form to the same MOM website you applied IPA under.
Take note that your maid’s salary will start from the date of upload.
In addition to this, you need to send the maid for fingerprint registration at MOM building.
Congratulations – you have now completed the maid transfer process!