Maid Home Leave & Repatriation Singapore 2026: Cancel Work Permit, Airfare & MOM Guide

TL;DR: Maid home leave is optional, but end-of-contract repatriation in Singapore is mandatory and the employer must pay the one-way airfare, settle final salary, cancel the work permit on MOM WP Online within 7 days, and return the permit card. The security bond is released about 1 to 2 weeks after departure.

Sooner or later, every employer of a foreign domestic worker in Singapore faces one of two situations. Either your helper wants to go home for a visit mid-contract, or your contract is ending and you need to send her home for good. Both events involve airfare, paperwork, and small mistakes that can cost you hundreds of dollars or get you in trouble with MOM.

This guide walks through both scenarios step by step, using 2026 rules and pricing.

Part 1: Mid-Contract Home Leave

Is Home Leave Mandatory?

No. There is no MOM rule that forces you to send your helper home during her contract. Home leave is a private arrangement between you and your helper.

That said, most helpers expect a trip home at some point during their two-year contract. If you refuse outright, expect morale problems or a request to transfer. The norm in Singapore is one home leave trip every 18 to 24 months for Filipino helpers, and every 22 to 24 months for Indonesian and Myanmar helpers.

Typical Timing

Most employers schedule home leave around month 14 to 22 of the contract. Going earlier risks the helper not returning. Going later means it overlaps with renewal, which complicates the work permit.

A common pattern: helper takes home leave at month 18, returns refreshed, and signs a renewal at month 22. This works well because you have already evaluated her performance and she has a clear reason to come back.

Who Pays for the Airfare?

This is the most negotiated point. Customary practice in Singapore:

• First home leave during contract: employer often pays the return ticket as a goodwill gesture, especially if the helper has performed well.
• Second home leave in same contract: usually split, or helper pays.
• End-of-contract repatriation: employer must pay (MOM rule, see Part 2).

Typical 2026 fares from Singapore: Manila S$280 to S$450 return, Jakarta S$250 to S$400 return, Yangon S$400 to S$600 return. Book 6 to 8 weeks ahead to lock in the lower end.

Whatever you agree, put it in writing before she leaves. We have seen disputes where the helper assumed the employer was paying and only found out at the airport.

How Long?

Two to four weeks is standard. Shorter than two weeks and the helper barely sees her family after travel time. Longer than four weeks and you are paying for a long replacement gap, plus the work permit risks lapsing if she overstays at home.

What Happens to Salary, Levy, and Insurance During Leave

• Salary: unpaid leave is the norm. The helper is not working, so you are not obliged to pay. Some employers give a partial goodwill payment, especially for long-serving helpers. See our maid salary guide for current market rates.
• Levy: you still pay the monthly levy of S$300 (or S$60 concessionary) while she is overseas. The work permit remains active. Details in our FDW levy guide.
• Insurance: helper's medical and personal accident insurance continues. She is covered for medical emergencies abroad under most policies. Check your policy or our helper insurance overview.
• Security bond: remains in place. No action needed.

Re-Entry Requirements

Before she flies back to Singapore, your helper needs:

1. Passport with at least 6 months validity.
2. Valid work permit (still active, not cancelled).
3. SG Arrival Card submitted online within 3 days before arrival.
4. Return ticket or onward ticket.
5. Proof of employment (work permit card or printout).

Some helpers also need an exit permit from their home country embassy (Indonesians especially). Confirm with the embassy 2 weeks before her flight.

Risks: What If She Does Not Return?

It happens. The helper goes home, accepts a job offer from a richer Middle East employer, and you never see her again. Or family pressure keeps her home.

Mitigation:

• Buy a return ticket, not one-way. One-way tickets signal you expect her not to come back, and they are not refundable if she does not return.
• Keep her work permit card with you, not with her. She cannot work elsewhere in Singapore without it.
• Time leave for after she has built up loyalty, not in the first 6 months.
• If she does not return on time, give her 7 to 10 days grace. If she still does not return, cancel the work permit via MOM and forfeit the security bond claim (you cannot claim if she is overseas).

If she does not return, you will need to start fresh. See our guide on transferring or replacing a helper.

What If Your Maid Does Not Return to Singapore After Home Leave?

If your helper does not return from home leave, first confirm her intention, then cancel her Work Permit promptly via MOM's WPOL if she is not coming back, and inform your insurer so the S$5,000 security bond is properly discharged. Because she is already in her home country, the repatriation obligation is effectively settled; what matters is closing the permit correctly and on time.

Work through it in this order:

1. Distinguish a delay from a decision. Flight problems, family emergencies and document renewals happen. If she is delayed but returning, agree a new date in writing and make sure it falls before her Work Permit expiry, after expiry she cannot re-enter to work on the old permit.
2. Confirm her intention directly. Speak to her, and if she is unreachable, try her family contacts and your agency. Keep the messages, they are your record of what happened and when.
3. If she is not returning, cancel the Work Permit via WPOL, marking her departure status as overseas. Do not leave the permit hanging in the hope she changes her mind, an active permit keeps your levy running and leaves loose ends on the bond.
4. Tell your insurer. The S$5,000 security bond is furnished by your insurer as a Letter of Guarantee. Give them the facts, helper remained overseas after home leave, permit cancelled, so the bond can be discharged cleanly, MOM typically discharges it about a week after cancellation once she has left Singapore and no bond conditions were breached.
5. Stop paying salary from the date agreed, and stop levy from cancellation. Levy continues while the permit is active, which is another reason not to delay the cancellation.
6. Then plan the replacement. Once the permit is cancelled you can hire again. If this experience is what brought you here, our placement service handles the full process, and we screen for settled, verifiable work history.

One caution: do not book anything on her behalf or make promises to her family about re-employment until she has confirmed in writing whether she is returning. Mixed signals at this stage are the most common cause of a permit left active for months with the levy still running.

Part 2: End-of-Contract Repatriation

End-of-Contract: Scheduling and Handover

Your helper's 2-year work permit is ending and you have decided not to renew (or she has decided to leave). Start the process 4 to 6 weeks before the permit expiry date.

Checklist 4 to 6 weeks out:

• Confirm her last working day.
• Book her flight home (one-way is fine here).
• Calculate final salary, including unused leave and prorated rest day pay.
• Settle any outstanding loans or salary deductions.
• Help her pack and ship belongings if needed.

If you plan to hire a replacement, work backwards from her departure date. Our hiring timeline guide shows the typical 3 to 8 week gap.

Mid-Contract Termination

If you are ending the contract early (her performance is unacceptable, family situation changes, etc.):

• Notice: standard contracts require 7 days' written notice from either side, or 1 month for some contracts. Check her contract.
• Salary in lieu: if you terminate without notice, pay her salary for the notice period.
• Final pay: up to and including her last working day, plus any unpaid rest days.
• Ticket: you pay the one-way ticket home. This is mandatory under MOM rules, regardless of who initiated the termination.

The one exception: if she commits a serious offence (theft, abuse), you may have grounds to claim against the security bond. Speak to your agency first.

The MOM Repatriation Process

Here is the official flow from booking the ticket to seeing her off at Changi.

1. Book the flight. One-way to her home country. Cancel the Work Permit within 1 week of her last working day, and the departure date must be within 2 weeks of the permit cancellation.
2. Cancel the work permit on WP Online. Log into MOM's WP Online portal, select Cancel Work Permit, enter her FIN and the cancellation date (usually her last working day or departure day).
3. Settle final salary. Pay her in full, in cash or bank transfer, before she leaves. Get her to sign a settlement receipt.
4. Embassy clearance (some nationalities). Indonesian helpers may need exit clearance. (Note: the Overseas Employment Certificate / OFW Travel Pass is an exit document for departing the Philippines to work abroad, so it applies to a Filipino helper re-exiting for home leave, not to final repatriation.) Agencies handle this routinely.
5. Return work permit card. Cut it in half and dispose, or hand it back at the airport repatriation counter.
6. Send her to the airport. Most employers escort her to Changi or arrange agency pickup. Make sure she has her passport, ticket, and clearance documents.
7. Levy stops. MOM stops charging levy the day after the work permit cancellation is effective.
8. Security bond release. MOM releases the S$5,000 bond (or refunds the bond insurance premium balance) within 1 to 2 weeks after she leaves Singapore, assuming no claims.

Employer's Obligations Summary

• Pay the one-way ticket home (economy class, direct flight where reasonable).
• Pay salary up to and including the last day of work.
• Allow her to take all personal belongings.
• Hand back her passport (you should never have held it anyway).
• Cancel the work permit within 7 days of her ceasing work.

Tax Clearance (IR21)

Foreign domestic workers are not employees for Singapore income tax purposes, so you do not need to file IR21 for your helper. IR21 applies to foreign employees on Employment Passes, S Passes, and similar work passes, not Work Permits for FDWs.

The only tax-like obligation is the monthly levy, which stops automatically once the work permit is cancelled.

What If She Refuses to Leave?

Rare, but it happens. If your helper refuses to board the flight or disappears before departure:

1. Notify MOM immediately at the FDW helpline.
2. File a missing persons report with the police if she has gone underground.
3. Do not cancel the work permit until MOM advises. Cancelling while she is missing makes her an overstayer, which can lead to security bond forfeiture.
4. Let MOM and ICA handle the recovery. They will locate her and arrange repatriation. You may still be liable for the ticket.

This is one of the few scenarios where you can lose part of the security bond, so move quickly.

Renewing Instead of Repatriating

If you want to keep her on for another 2 years, you do not repatriate at all. Just renew the work permit before it expires. See our work permit renewal guide. If you are unsure whether to renew, our employment history checker helps you review her track record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my maid did not return to Singapore after home leave? Confirm whether she is delayed or has decided not to return. If she is not coming back, cancel her Work Permit promptly via MOM's WPOL and inform your insurer so the security bond is discharged. See the step-by-step section above.

Will I lose the S$5,000 security bond if my helper does not return from home leave? Not in the typical case. The bond's repatriation condition is about the helper leaving Singapore, and she is already in her home country. Cancel the permit properly and notify your insurer, and the guarantee is discharged in the normal way.

Do I keep paying levy if my maid has not come back? Yes, the levy runs for as long as the Work Permit is active, regardless of whether she is in Singapore. That is the main financial reason to cancel promptly once she confirms she is not returning.

Can my helper come back to work for me after not returning? Once her permit is cancelled she would need a fresh Work Permit application, which is the same process as a new hire. If she genuinely intends to return and the dates are close, extending the agreed leave before expiry is simpler than cancel-and-reapply.

Can my helper extend her home leave? Yes, with your written approval. Make sure she returns before her work permit expiry, otherwise she becomes an overstayer.

Do I pay levy while she is on home leave? Yes, as long as the work permit is active. The S$300 (or S$60 concessionary) monthly levy continues.

Can the helper buy her own ticket? For home leave, yes. For end-of-contract repatriation, the employer must pay even if the helper offers.

What if I lose her passport before repatriation? She needs to apply for an emergency travel document at her embassy. Allow 1 to 3 weeks. Notify MOM of the delay.