Helper's First Month in Singapore: Day-by-Day Settling-In Guide (2026)

TL;DR: A good maid agency in Singapore hands you a settled helper, not just a Work Permit. In month 1, a first-time helper must attend the Settling-in Programme within 7 days of arrival (excluding Sundays and public holidays), have her medical examination within 14 days, and have her Work Permit issued within 2 weeks. Around those deadlines: orient her to the house, help her open a bank account, agree the rest day, and watch for the 6ME notice from MOM.

Your helper has just cleared immigration at Changi. The next 30 days will quietly shape the next two years. Employers who treat week 1 as "she'll figure it out" set both sides up for friction. A deliberate first-month plan makes expectations clear from the start.

This is a practical, day-by-day settling-in plan for Singapore employers in 2026, covering MOM's mandatory Settling-in Programme (SIP), the medical and Work Permit deadlines, house orientation, training, banking, the rest day conversation, and what "good" looks like at the end of month 1. Every MOM rule below links to the official page it comes from.

Reviewed by Yvonne, Placement Consultant at Upwill Employment Services (MOM EA Licence 24C2628). Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

The MOM deadlines in her first month

Put these in your calendar the day she lands. All come from MOM's Work Permit application page:

• Settling-in Programme: within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays, for a first-time MDW. Not on her arrival day.
• Medical examination: within 14 days of arrival.
• Issue the Work Permit: within 2 weeks of arrival. The issuance fee is S$35.
• Fingerprint and photo registration: within 1 week after the permit is issued, only if MOM asks, by appointment at MOM Services Centre.
• Card delivery: MOM delivers the card to your address within 5 working days after registration and document checks.
• Levy: for a helper new to Singapore, it starts on the 5th day of her arrival, counting the arrival date (MOM levy).

Day 1: Arrival from the airport

Day 1 is not the day to train anyone. It is the day to make a stranger feel safe in a new country. She has probably had a long journey, eaten unfamiliar food, and is adjusting to being far from her family.

What to do on Day 1:

• Collect her at the airport personally (or have your agent do the airport pick-up and bring her to your home).
• Offer water, a simple meal she recognises (rice, chicken, vegetables, keep it bland), and a shower.
• Show her where she will sleep, where the toilet is, and where to find drinking water at night.
• Give her her own phone or confirm hers works on a Singapore SIM. She should be able to call home that evening. MOM's employer guide also asks employers to give helpers access to a phone so they can call for help in an emergency (MOM employer guide).
• Let her keep her own passport. MOM says employers should not keep a helper's passport or force her to hand it over (MOM FAQ). Offer a lockable drawer instead.
• Her Work Permit card does not exist yet. It is issued in the first two weeks and delivered later. When it arrives, take a photo for your records and give the card to her; MOM's guide tells employers not to keep the original. You can check its status using our Work Permit status check guide.

Skip the house tour, the rules speech, and the cooking demo on Day 1. Those belong to Day 2 onwards.

Week 1: House orientation

Week 1 is orientation, not performance. Your goal is for her to know where things are and how the household runs, not to evaluate her cooking yet.

Day 2-3: The walk-through

• Tour every room. Show her cleaning supplies, the washing machine cycle you use, the iron, the vacuum, where chemicals are stored.
• Demonstrate appliances she may not have used: induction hob, dishwasher, robot vacuum, smart locks. Don't assume.
• Walk her to the nearest wet market, supermarket, MRT, clinic, and police post. She needs a mental map of the neighbourhood.
• Set up her phone with WhatsApp, Google Maps, and your contact numbers (you, your spouse, the agency, the nearest hospital).
• Show her how to leave the home safely in an emergency. MOM's guide asks employers to make sure the helper and the dependants in her care have a safe way out.

Day 4-7: Soft start on duties

Pick two or three core duties to start with: usually laundry, sweeping and mopping, and one simple meal a day. Build from there. The mistake is throwing the full job description at her on Monday morning.

Before she starts work you must both have signed the safety agreement, which sets the window-cleaning rules. She may clean the outside of windows above ground level only if window grilles are installed and locked, and you or another adult are physically present to supervise (MOM contracts and safety agreement).

Settling-in Programme (SIP) attendance

The Settling-in Programme is a one-day, MOM-mandated course for every first-time migrant domestic worker in Singapore. She must attend within 7 days of arrival in Singapore, excluding Sundays and public holidays, and not on the day she arrives. The programme is for first-time MDWs only, so a helper who has worked in Singapore before does not need it.

• Duration: 1 day.
• Cost: MOM lists S$76.40 to S$92.65 including GST depending on the provider, paid by the employer.
• Content: adapting to working and living in Singapore, conditions of employment, working safely, and relationship and stress management.
• Providers: three MOM-approved providers: Absolute Kinetics Consultancy, Grace Management & Consultancy Services, and NTUC LearningHub. Your agency typically books the slot for you.
• Transport: arrange transport to and from the SIP venue, or instruct her clearly on the bus or MRT route.

Source: MOM SIP page. Do not let the deadline slip: if a first-time helper does not attend within the 7 days, MOM says she will not be issued her Work Permit and will be sent home (MOM FAQ).

The SIP is also where she hears, from a neutral third party, what her conditions of employment are. Smart employers welcome that. It removes ambiguity.

Employers' Orientation Programme (EOP)

If you are a first-time employer of a migrant domestic worker, you must complete the EOP at least 2 working days before you submit the Work Permit application. It is a separate course for you: about 2 hours online or 3 hours in a classroom, with MOM-listed fees from S$29.98 to S$76.30 depending on provider, format and language (MOM EOP page).

Weeks 2-3: Routine building and training

By week 2 she has slept properly, attended SIP, and seen the house. Now you build the actual routine.

Write down the weekly schedule

Don't keep it in your head. A simple printed schedule (Monday: bedrooms and laundry, Tuesday: kitchen deep clean, and so on) heads off a lot of "why didn't you do X" arguments. Pin it to the fridge.

Cooking

Cook with her, not at her, for the first two weeks. Show her how your family likes rice cooked, how much salt, which oil. Many helper-employer cooking disputes come from unspoken assumptions on both sides. Remember MOM's guide makes you responsible for her three daily meals, with a mix of rice, meat, vegetables and fruit.

Childcare and eldercare

If she is caring for a baby, toddler, or elderly parent, shadow her for at least the first 7-10 days of that duty. Do not leave her alone with a vulnerable family member in week 1.

Phones, social media, and visitors

Agree the rules in writing: when she can use her phone, whether friends can visit, and the house Wi-Fi password. Banning her phone outright cuts off her way to call for help and is a red flag.

Banking and remittance setup

Most helpers want to send money home by the end of month 1. Help her do it properly:

• Bank account: POSB runs a Payroll Account for migrant domestic workers that she can apply for online. Its user guide lists her passport (at least 6 months' validity), the front and back of her Work Permit, a screenshot from the SGWorkPass app, and a mobile number and email address (POSB user guide). Because the Work Permit is needed, this usually happens once her card arrives. Your agency can walk her through it.
• Salary payment: MOM requires salary at least monthly, no later than 7 days after the end of the salary period, and you must pay by bank transfer if she asks. If you pay in cash, keep a salary record that you both sign. You must not hold on to her salary or money for her, even if she asks (MOM salary guidelines). See our 2026 helper salary guide for current benchmark figures.
• Remittance: she can use her bank or a licensed remittance provider. Let her choose, and do not handle her remittance for her.

Rest day arrangement conversation

Every migrant domestic worker in Singapore is entitled to one rest day a week. Since 1 January 2023, at least one rest day a month cannot be compensated away (MOM announcement). The other rest days can be compensated if she agrees to work on them. Agree these points in the first two weeks (MOM rest days page):

• Which day of the week is her rest day? It is mutually agreed; Sunday is common but not required.
• Full days or half days? MOM allows a rest day to be taken as one full day or as two half days.
• If she agrees to work on some rest days, pay at least one day's salary for each one, on top of her basic salary.
• If she cannot take a rest day in a month, it can be deferred to the end of the following month at the latest.
• Update her number of rest days in MOM's FDW eService after you have discussed it with her.
• Write it down. MOM's employer guide includes a sample Weekly Rest Day Agreement. Both of you sign and keep a copy.

Full breakdown on our rest days resource page.

Cultural and dietary considerations

• Religion: Muslim helpers need a halal kitchen workflow for their own food. Catholic helpers may want Sunday off for church. Buddhist helpers may have specific fasting days.
• Food she eats: she does not have to eat your family's food if she has religious or strong cultural preferences. Tell her clearly which food she may cook for herself, or buy her preferred staples.
• Homesickness: the first weeks are often the hardest. A short video call home every evening costs you nothing and helps her settle.

End of month 1: what good looks like

By day 30, in a well-run household, you should be able to say:

• She has attended SIP, her medical is done and her Work Permit card is in her hands.
• She has a Singapore bank account and has sent her first remittance home.
• She knows the weekly cleaning routine without being reminded daily.
• She can cook two or three dishes your family eats.
• She knows the rest day arrangement, it is signed, and it is updated in the FDW eService.
• She has called home several times and seems settled emotionally.
• You have paid her first month's salary on time, with a record, into her bank account if she asked for that.

If three or more of these are missing at day 30, slow down and fix the gaps before adding duties.

Preparing for the first 6-monthly medical (6ME)

Every migrant domestic worker under 50 must go for a 6-monthly medical examination (6ME): pregnancy and syphilis tests every 6 months, HIV every 2 years, a TB check once after 2 years, and checks on body mass index and visible signs of abuse. MOM sends you a notification letter and 6ME form by post when it is due (MOM 6ME page).

• Watch the post, and book the clinic as soon as the letter arrives.
• The employer pays for the 6ME and any medical costs arising from it.
• If she does not pass, MOM says you must cancel her Work Permit and send her home immediately.
• If you fail to send her on time, her Work Permit will be revoked; call MOM on 6438 5122 or submit an online request if you want to continue employing her (MOM FAQ).
• Helpers aged 50 and above are exempt and only need a medical when the Work Permit is renewed.

Full process and clinic options in our 2026 helper medical check-up guide. Also confirm her helper insurance is active: MOM requires at least S$60,000 of medical cover a year and S$60,000 of personal accident cover (MOM insurance requirements).

Common employer mistakes in the first month

1. Keeping her passport or Work Permit card. MOM says employers should not keep a helper's passport and its guide says not to keep her original Work Permit.
2. Missing the SIP deadline. Not optional. A first-time helper who misses it will not get her Work Permit and will be sent home.
3. Missing the 14-day medical or 2-week issuance deadline. Diary both on Day 1.
4. No phone access. Cutting her off from her family and from emergency help in month 1 works against everything you want from the placement.
5. Throwing all duties at her on Day 2. She will burn out, make mistakes, and you will lose trust in her by week 3.
6. No written rest day agreement. Verbal "we'll figure it out" rarely survives month 4. MOM can debar employers who ill-treat their helper, including by not giving adequate food and rest (MOM debarment).
7. Paying salary in cash with no signed record. If a dispute lands at MOM, you have no proof.
8. Ignoring early red flags. If she is crying daily, refusing food, or asking to go home in week 2, read our guide on what to do when a maid wants to terminate the contract.
9. Forgetting to log her employment history. Use our FDW employment history template.

First-month settling-in checklist

• Day 1: Airport pick-up, simple meal, shower, call home
• Day 1: Passport stays with her; lockable drawer provided
• Day 2-3: House and neighbourhood walk-through, emergency exits shown
• Before she starts work: Safety agreement signed
• Within 7 days of arrival (excluding Sundays and public holidays, not on arrival day): Attend Settling-in Programme (SIP)
• Within 14 days of arrival: Medical examination
• Within 2 weeks of arrival: Issue Work Permit; register fingerprints and photo within 1 week if MOM asks
• Week 1: Set up phone, WhatsApp, emergency contacts (including MOM's MDW Helpline 1800 339 5505)
• Card arrives: Give her the Work Permit card and help her open a bank account
• Week 2: Written weekly schedule pinned in kitchen
• Week 2-3: Cook together; build routine
• Week 2-3: Rest day arrangement signed and updated in FDW eService
• End of month 1: Pay first salary within 7 days of the salary period ending, with a record
• Ongoing: Watch for MOM's 6ME letter and book the clinic promptly

If you are reading this before your helper has arrived: you have done the hardest part by planning. If you are reading this in the middle of a chaotic week 2: pick three items above, do them this evening, and add the rest over the next seven days. Settling in is a process, not an event.

Reviewed by Yvonne, EA Personnel, Upwill Employment Services. MOM EA Licence 24C2628.