Your maid may wish to take leave to visit her family back in hometown. You can get a levy waiver for the time she is away and defer her 6-monthly medical examination if needed.
Preparing for overseas leave
Before your helper goes for her home leave, you need to:
- Make sure she has a valid passport.
- Check her home country/region’s immigration requirements with her embassy.
- Ensure she brings along her Work Permit card and passport so that she can re-enter Singapore.
- Keep a copy of her travel ticket or departure itinerary.
If your maid is away for an extended period of time, you can choose to cancel her Work Permit.
If you do so, you will need to apply for a new Work Permit to hire her again.
Applying for levy waiver
You will continue to be charged levy while your helper is on overseas leave. You can apply for a levy waiver when she returns to Singapore.
To qualify for levy waiver, the overseas leave must be at least 7 consecutive days and the waiver period is capped at a maximum of 60 calendar days per calendar year.
Postponing the 6-monthly medical examination
If required, you can also request to postpone your helper’s 6-monthly medical examination (6ME) while she is on overseas leave.
If the maid does not return
If your helper does not return to Singapore from overseas leave, you must:
- Cancel her Work Permit to stop the levy.
- Keep a copy of her travel ticket or departure itinerary as proof.
After MOM has verified that your maid has left and did not re-enter Singapore, we will proceed to discharge the security bond. If she re-enters Singapore before the security bond is discharged, you must send her back immediately. Otherwise, your security bond may be forfeited.
You can also apply for a levy waiver for the whole period of her absence, provided you do so within 1 year of the levy bill. To avoid paying levy which cannot be waived,you can consider cancelling your maid’s Work Permit immediately if she has not returned after 1 year.
