FAQ for Employers employing a maid in Singapore

FAQ for Maid Agency

Why should you hire us?
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Because our maid agencies from Bestmaid provide selected, well trained and quality maids and we value the needs of our customers.
Are you the Licensed Maid Agency?
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Yes. All the maid agencies listed at Bestmaid are Licensed. Ministry of Man Power issues the license to operate the Maids Recruitment and Deployment business.
How long does it take to get a maid from overseas?
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If the application is done in correct manner to process the Work Permit for the maid, it takes anywhere from one week to four weeks for maid to arrive and start working for the employer. It also depends on the country of maid in some cases.
What is the Maid Levy?
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As per MOM (Ministry of Manpower) regulation, an employer needs to pay the maids levy, which is a kind of monthly tax, paid to government on every single foreign domestic worker employed in republic of Singapore.
How much is the maid levy?
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The Levy is S$300.00 per month or $9.87 per day for the period the work permit is valid. For Singaporean with young children below 16 years old, elderly at least 67 years old or Person with disabilities (PWD), certified by Singapore-registered doctor, living under the same household, the government offers a concessionary rate of $60 per month. You must pay the levy using General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO).
What are the countries Can I employ maid from?
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You can only employ maid from MOM (Ministry of Manpower) approved source country or region, including Indonesia, Philippines, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
What is a security bond and how much is it?
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Employer is responsible for the repatriation of the maid once the usual contract of 2 years expires unless it is renewed. You are required to post a security deposit (bond) of $5,000 for every maid with the Work Permit Department, MOM. If you fail to repatriate the maid after cancellation of her work permit, you risk losing the $5,000 security deposit (bond).
What are the alternatives available against the $5,000 security deposit?
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Employer can purchase an insurance policy from ANDA or NTUC Income, which is much more cheaper alternative as compared to making the $5,000/- deposit.
What is the Personal Accident Insurance?
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Employers need to purchase personal accident insurance coverage for the maid, the minimum sum insured is $10,000. You can purchase such insurance with various options at the following Insuring Agencies:

Augaries Insurance
116 Lavender Street
#02-05
Pek Chuan Building
Singapore 338730
Tel: 6293 6232

ANDA Insurance Agencies Pte Ltd
60 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-13/14 Furama Hotel & Shopping Centre
Singapore 059804
Tel: 6534-2288

NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative Ltd
75 Bras Basah Road
NTUC Income Centre
Singapore 189557
Tel: 6336-3322
Do the maid need to undergo medical check ups and how often?
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Yes, Within 14 days from the date of to Singapore, she must get herself examined by a certified medical institution and only if she passes her medical test as deemed to fit for working then she can work for the employer. Such medical examination is required every six-month for the medical screening, for VDRL, pregnancy, and HIV.
Who bears the responsibility for medical expenses of the maid?
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As an Employer, you are liable to pay full cost of the medical expense, including hospitalization. So its better to have insurance coverage for hospitalization expenses for your maid.
What are the criteria to claim tax relief for maid
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There are certain guidelines that you may be eligible for tax relief if you meet any of the following conditions:
you are a married woman and has elected for separate assessment.
you are married and your husband is not resident in Singapore.
you are separated or divorced or widowed and living with your Unmarried child for whom you can claim child relief.

How do Maid remit money to her home country?
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Your maid would like to send her monthly salary back to her family regularly. You can engage remittance service from the following.

List of Remittance Service Provider:

ActionPlus Remittance Services
133 New Bridge Road
#03-05CHINATOWN POINT
Singapore 059413
Chinatown
Phone: 6533-3083
E-mail: westernunion@actionplus.com.sg

Ameertech Remittance Services
291 Serangoon Road
#03-00SERANGOON BUILDING
Singapore 218107
Serangoon
Phone: 6297-7707

J-Dee Remittance Services
2 Beach Road
#01-4791
Singapore 190002
North Bridge Road
Phone: 6294-8720
E-mail: jdeeremit@hotmail.com

Ace Orient Exchange Pte. Ltd.
400 Orchard Road
#022-28 ORCHARD TOWERS
Postal Code : 238875
Phone No: 67355525
Fax No: 67325575

Brunphil Express (S) Pte Ltd
304 Orchard Road
#02-83 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67356204,67356205
Fax No: 67356690

CYS Express Exchange Pte Ltd
3 Shenton Way
#02-05 SHENTON HOUSE more addresses...
Postal Code : 068805
Phone No: 62262088
Fax No: 62260288

GPL Remittance Pte Ltd
5001 Beach Road
#01-77A GOLDEN MILE COMPLEX
Postal Code : 199588
Phone No: 62912991

King's Professional Cargo Service
304 Orchard Road
#04-19 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67342387
Fax No: 67343991

Lekshmi Overseas Remittance Agency
304 Orchard Road
#04-25 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67364033
Fax No: 67321910

Metro Remittance Centre
304 Orchard Road
#04-93 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67348035
Fax No: 67349326

Ming Express Pte Ltd
5001 Beach Road
#01-14 GOLDEN MILE COMPLEX
Postal Code : 199588
Phone No: 62977602
Fax No: 62977585

One-Stop Remittance Centre
304 Orchard Road
#03-30 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 68340071
Fax No: 68340069

Pinoy Express Pte Ltd
304 Orchard Road
#02-30/31 & #03-76 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67379002,68360046
Fax No: 67379467

Robin Remittance Trading Centre
304 Orchard Road.
#03-14 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 62350803
Fax No: 62359115

Tsoimpex Enterprises
304 Orchard Road
#04-69 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 68873932
Fax No: 68873142

Valutapos-TKI Pte Ltd
304 Orchard Road
#02-08 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67330055
Fax No: 67372987

WG Express Remittance
304 Orchard Road
#B1-119 LUCKY PLAZA
Postal Code : 238863
Phone No: 67360892
Fax No: 68360968

Zhongguo Remittance Centre
710 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8,
#01-2611
Postal Code : 560710
Phone No: 64584456
Fax No: 64585567

Sonali Exchange Pte Ltd
587 Bukit Timah Road
#03-26, Coronation Plaza
Singapore 269707
Tel: 294-9862

Express Remittance
304 Orchard Road
#04-38 Lucky Plaza
Singapore 238863
Tel: 235-9849

Moneyhome Remittance Express
545 Orchard Road
#13-01 Far East Shopping Centre
Singapore 238882
Tel: 732-8777

AMA Remittance Pte Ltd
7500A Beach Road
#01-326 The Plaza
Singapore 199591
Tel: 293-1992

MoneyNet Remittance Service Pte Ltd
101 Upper Cross Street
#03-50
People's Parke Centre
Singapore 058357
Tel: 532-1142
Email: moneynet@magix.com.sg
Maid went missing?
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You should cancel her work permit immediately to stop the levy payment. You are then given 1 month to locate and repatriate her. Otherwise, you risk losing the $5,000 security deposit.
Maid got pregnant?
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You must repatriate the maid immediately.
Can I employ a MAID on part-time basis?
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Presently MOM regulation does not allow the part-time employment of maids.
What do you mean by "Trasfer Maid"?
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Transfer Maids are usually already available locally means they are not to be brought in from their country of origin. Mostly "Transfer Maids" are from another employer's and they are seeking a new employer for various reasons such as the expiry of 2 years contract or employers discontinuing the service of maid for whatever reasons.
What are the obligations of the employer to the Maid?
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The employer is responsible for following as per MOM regulations:
To pay her salary on a timely basis.

To provide adequate food and suitable.

To provide medical care (includes hospitalization).

To provide a safe working environment.

To give her the respect.

To treat her as a human being.

Advise on obligations of the employer to the Immigration Department?
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The obligations of the employer to the Immigration Department are stated clearly in the Security Bond.
What documents are needed for a first-time employer?
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There are 2 types of employers: Local and Expatriate

A local employer needs to provide following details to process the maids work permit application:

Identity Card (as well as those of members of his household)

Proof of income in the form of Notice of Assessment (and that of the spouse if applicable) or his authority to the Ministry of Manpower to verify his income (and his spouse's if applicable) with the Internal Revenue Authority;
or if he has recently returned after an extended absence, a letter by an officer of the company he is attached to showing

i. His position in the company
ii. His monthly income
iii. The date employment commences

If Notice of Assessment is not available and the Employer has not paid income tax in the current or previous year,

1. his income tax assessment if he was working abroad
2. and a statement from CPF showing his contribution for the last 3 months, if applicable.

An expatriate employer needs to provide following details to process the maids work permit application:

1. Passport Copy- of self and members of the family
2. Employment pass and dependent pass of family members living with him/her
3. One of the following:
What is the procedure of cancellation of the work permit?
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Ministry of Manpower (MOM) needs following set of documents in order:
1. A letter to MOM for terminating maid's services and repatriating her.

2. A ticket to the maid's country of origin.

3. Maid's passport copy .

4. Maid's work permit card.
What is the average salary of a Myanmar maid?
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Myanmar maid salary is around Singapore Dollars $450-$550 depending on maid skills, around $100 lower than Indonesian maid and Filipino maid. The more experienced Myanmar maid or Myanmar transfer maid salary is $500~$650 and above.
What is the average salary of a Filipino maid?
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The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration's stipulated for Filipino maid minimum salary of Singapore Dollars $570.

Filipino maid salary starts from $570 to $650 for new maid or transfer maid with a few months experience.

The more experienced/transfer Filipino maid salary is $600 to $750 or more. The more the experienced or the more skill, the higher the salary.
What is the average salary of an Indonesian maid?
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Indonesian maid salary starts from Singapore Dollar $550-$570 for new maid. Experienced Indonesian maid salary is from $600 to $750 and above. The more the experience or the more skill sets, the higher the salary.
What is the average salary of a Sri Lankan maid?
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Sri Lankan Maid salary is around Singapore Dollars $480.00 to $550.00 for new maid. Experienced Sri Lankan Maid salary starts from $650 and more. The more the experience, the higher the salary.
What is the average salary of Indian maid?
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Indian maid salary is around Singapore Dollars $400.00 to $600.00. The more the experience, the higher the salary.
What is the salary of Bangladeshi maid?
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Around Singapore Dollars $400.00 to $600.00. The more the experience, the higher the salary.
What is the salary of an Punjabi maid
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From Singapore Dollars $480. The more the experience, the higher the salary.
What are transfer maids?
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Transfer maids refer to those maids who have are currently staying in Singapore.

Transfer maids can be interviewed in person.
What are new maids?
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New Maids refer to those maids who are currently not staying in Singapore. Even if they have worked in Singapore or other countries, they are still classified as "New Maids" as long as they are currently not in Singapore.
Why should I approach a maid agency?
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Maid agencies provide you professional and comprehensive service in maid recuitment and employment. A maid agency saves your a lot of effort in maid training, Work Permit application, security bond, insurance, travel arrangement, immigration clearance, medical screening, etc.
Which countries can I employ a maid from?
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You can employ a maid from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) approved source of countries as a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW). The countries are: Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.
Can I claim tax relief for maid levy?
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You can claim tax relief if:

1. you are a married woman and has elected for separate assessment; or
2. you are married and your husband is not resident in Singapore; or
3. you are separated or divorced or widowed and living with your unmarried child for whom you can claim child relief.

The relief is two times the amount of maid levy paid for one maid. It can only be set off against the earned income of the wife. Single taxpayers are not eligible for this relief. You can get the relief even if the levy is paid by the husband.

How to hide an existing maid.
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If you want to hide an existing maid due to whatever reasons, such as this maid is reserved, or this maid is blacklisted, etc, you may use the "Hide this Maid" function to hide this maid from public.

After you login your agency account, click "EDIT/DELETE MAIDS", and then under the maid you want to hide, you can click "Select for hide", and then click the "Hide the selected maids" button. The details are shown in the following figure.

You still have access to the hided maids. You can click "EDIT/DELETE MAIDS", then click Maids Hided, as shown below.

Now you can select the hided maid for deleting or un-hiding, as shown below.
Why should maid agencies list maids at www.bestmaid.com.sg?
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It is all about looking for maid employers!

We actively advertise at the TOP 3 search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN. We help bring more potential employers to you. For more details, please read the following facts: Successful Secrets.
How to login Bestmaid?
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To take a tour to our service, please login bestmaid using the following username and password for a trial.
- Username: demo
- Password: demo
After login, you can try to addd/edit/delete maid's bio-data, photos, videos. It is full of fun!

There are two ways to login bestmaid.com.sg.

The first method is to login from the homepage, as shown below:

At other pages you may also login bestmaid, as shown here:

After you login, you will see the following homepage as your administration area. Here you have various options to manage your account, you can click ADD MAIDS, EDIT/DELETE MAIDS to add/modify/delete/hide maids, you can also click COMPANY PROFILE to update your company profile. You can click CHANGE PASSWORD to change your login password.
How to add a maid?
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To add a maid, you can click "ADD MAIDS" at the top bar menu. You can fill in the maids'bio-data, including name, code, nationality, height, weight, english level, experience, perference, etc.

You may also add a complete introduction about the maid.

After entering her bio-data, you can add her photos (up to 5 photos). The first photo is always the passport-sized, i.e., 100 (pixel) x 125 (pixel). The next photo is the full-sized.

Once you have submitted the photos, you can submit a video file. The video file taken should be compressed by professional video editor, e.g., ULEAD (available at www.ulead.com).

Now, finished adding a maid. You can click "ADD MAIDS" again to add another maid.
How to edit or delete the existing maid info?
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Once you have added a maid, you will be able to edit or delete the maid info at any time.

To edit, please press the EDIT/DELETE MAIDS button.

After you click the MAIDS IN PUBLIC (or MAIDS HIDED), you will see the following page, where you will be able to edit or delete the maid info.

When you click her photo, you will see the following page. Here you can click the links shown below to (1) modify her bio-data (2) change her photos, or (3) change her video file. You may also click the links to return to your maid listing, or delete this maid.
How to update your company profile?
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You can click COMPANY PROFILE from the top bar menu. you will see the following page, where you can update your company profile.

After you have submitted your company info, you will see the following page for your to review your latest company profile. If you wish to modify it again, you can click the COMPANY PROFILE again.

If you wish to have a more complicated format of your company profile, or if you have other requests on the web design, please feel free to contact us at:

Address Dana Pte Ltd
190 Middle Road #19-05
Fortune Centre
Singapore 188979

Tel (+65) 6640-8017
Contact Person Charles
6640-8017
Email admin@danapte.com