Helper leaving Singapore: Work Permit cancellation checklist

By APEX Maids Agency Pte. Ltd. · MOM EA Licence 25C3180 · UEN 202547196H. Based in Jurong West and serving households across Singapore. Our website is apexmaids.sg and our phone is 8405 6661.

First choose the right route

• Still in Singapore and returning home: settle employment matters, arrange the return journey and follow the cancellation and Special Pass steps below.
• Already overseas and not returning to work for you: MOM requires cancellation within one week of departure. Use the already-left procedure, rather than preparing a new departure from Singapore.
• Work Permit already expired: MOM says an expired pass does not need cancelling. If the helper is still in Singapore, request a Special Pass through FDW eService so she has valid stay. Do not assume an expired permit permits continued work or lawful stay.
• Transferring to a new employer: follow the transfer route, not a homeward-departure checklist. Under MOM’s direct transfer procedure, the existing permit is automatically cancelled when the new employer issues the new Work Permit. Do not cancel first as a shortcut to a transfer.

Temporary home leave with a planned return is different from ending the employment. If she is missing, follow the missing-helper route and MOM’s instructions promptly; do not treat it as an agreed departure.

Before cancelling: last day, pay and the return journey

Agree the last working day and settle outstanding employment issues, including salary. Check the employment contract’s notice period or salary in lieu; notice can be waived by mutual consent. The helper’s employment contract, your agency service agreement and MOM’s cancellation deadlines are separate requirements. An agency notice clause does not postpone an official deadline.

• Final salary: reconcile pay and any compensation for worked rest days. Keep the salary payment record and settle any notice-payment obligations under the employment contract.
• Passport and belongings: ensure the passport is valid and the helper has access to her passport, Work Permit card and belongings. Do not withhold her documents.
• Transit agreement: discuss and agree the connecting flights, layover arrangements and allowance needed during transit in writing before buying the air ticket.
• Return travel: the employer pays the ticket, checked luggage and connecting transport to the international port of entry in her home country or the region nearest her hometown. Check the airline and home-country entry requirements before booking.
• Departure date: for the cancellation-and-departure route, arrange departure within two weeks after cancellation and before the Special Pass expires. Check both deadlines; neither should be assumed to extend the other.

These are employer responsibilities under MOM’s sending-home guidance, not a promise that an agency fee includes flights or every departure cost.

How to cancel when the helper is still in Singapore

1. After the departure arrangements are ready, log in to FDW eService from MOM’s cancellation page. MOM says cancellation is immediate and normally required within one week after the last day of work. The employer, sponsor or employment agent can cancel.
2. Print the Special Pass and give it to the helper. Check its actual expiry date and the booked departure date together.
3. After cancellation, the helper cannot work while waiting to leave. If work needs to continue briefly beyond permit expiry, check MOM’s short-extension procedure beforehand; a Special Pass is not permission to work.
4. At departure, the helper shows the Special Pass and her valid passport. Keep the departure confirmation with your records.
5. Cut the cancelled Work Permit card in half and discard it to prevent misuse. MOM’s current instructions do not say to mail it back.

MOM says levy is charged up to one day before cancellation. If a security bond applies, it is usually discharged one week after departure if all conditions are met. This is MOM’s conditional discharge, not a guaranteed insurance refund. Ask the insurer or bond provider separately about your actual policy and any remaining obligations.

How to cancel if she has already left permanently

Cancel within one week from her departure date if she will not return to work for you. Log in to FDW eService and select the reason covering employment ending or the helper having gone home and not returning. Check the current option on MOM’s already-left instructions; do not reuse the still-in-Singapore Special Pass sequence.

For this branch, MOM says the security bond is discharged within two weeks after it verifies departure, if all conditions are met. That differs from the usual one-week timing in the still-in-Singapore departure branch. Do not count either as a promised payout date from an insurer.

Departure record: what to check and keep

Use this as a private record checklist. It does not replace the contract or MOM’s eService, and you do not need to send identity or travel documents in an initial agency enquiry.

• Agreed last working day, notice arrangement and any written mutual waiver.
• Final salary record, worked-rest-day payments and outstanding employment issues settled.
• Written transit and allowance agreement made before ticket purchase; ticket, checked luggage and connecting transport arranged.
• Correct route selected: departure, already left, expired permit or transfer.
• Cancellation confirmation and date, or the applicable expired-pass/transfer record. If applicable, Special Pass given to the helper and its expiry checked.
• Actual departure confirmation; cancelled card disposed of; insurer or bond follow-up checked against the policy.

If the household still needs a helper, assess the next match separately. Use the helper finder and private household brief to prepare the duties and start-date questions. Check the applicable agency replacement and refund conditions in writing; a new shortlist does not settle the departing helper’s salary or repatriation obligations.