Security Bond for FDW Singapore: Complete Employer Guide (2026)

The S$5,000 security bond for FDW is one of the most misunderstood line items in hiring a helper in Singapore. Employers often confuse it with maid insurance, assume it is a cash deposit, or worry that S$5,000 will be debited from their bank account. In reality, the bond is a guarantee the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) holds against your obligations as an employer — and almost every employer satisfies it by buying a bundled maid insurance plan for a fraction of the headline figure.

This guide explains what the bond actually is, who must furnish one (Malaysian helpers are the key exception), how it compares with maid insurance and the Letter of Guarantee, when MOM forfeits it, and how the discharge process works after your helper departs Singapore.

Written by Wendy Tan, EA Personnel, Upwill Employment (EA Licence 24C2628). Last updated May 2026. About the reviewer.

What is the FDW Security Bond?

The FDW security bond is a S$5,000 banker's guarantee or insurance guarantee that an employer must furnish to MOM before a Work Permit is issued for a non-Malaysian migrant domestic worker (MDW). It is not a cash payment. No S$5,000 is taken from your account at the point of hire.

What it really is: a written promise from a bank or insurer to pay MOM up to S$5,000 if you or your helper breach the bond conditions. MOM holds this guarantee for the duration of the helper's Work Permit. If everything goes to plan — helper finishes her contract, departs Singapore, no breaches — MOM releases the guarantee and the matter ends without a single dollar changing hands.

The bond exists as MOM's enforcement mechanism. It gives the government a financial lever to ensure employers meet their statutory duties (upkeep, medical care, on-time salary, repatriation) and that helpers do not overstay or abscond. Without the bond, MOM would have no quick way to recover repatriation or enforcement costs.

Which helpers require a bond, which are exempt

MOM requires a security bond for every foreign domestic worker except Malaysian nationals. The exemption reflects the long-standing bilateral arrangement between Singapore and Malaysia that simplifies cross-border employment.

Practical implication: if you are hiring an Indonesian, Filipino or Myanmar helper through us, you will buy a bundled maid insurance plan that includes the bond. See our nationality-specific guides for Filipino helpers, Indonesian helpers, and Myanmar helpers. If you are hiring a Malaysian helper, you only need the medical insurance and personal accident cover required under MOM rules — no bond.

How much is the bond, who pays, how it's funded

The bond amount is fixed by MOM at S$5,000 per helper. It is the employer's responsibility to furnish it; you cannot pass the bond cost to your helper, and you cannot deduct it from her salary. There are two ways to fund it:

• Bank guarantee. You ask a Singapore bank to issue a S$5,000 guarantee in MOM's favour. The bank ring-fences the amount or charges you a fee plus collateral. This route is rarely used today because banks charge meaningful annual fees and it ties up capital.
• Insurance guarantee, bundled with maid insurance. An MOM-accepted insurer issues a S$5,000 guarantee in MOM's favour as part of a maid insurance policy. You pay an insurance premium (typically S$250–S$450 for 26 months in 2026) and the insurer carries the contingent liability. This is how 99% of employers in Singapore satisfy the bond today.

So when you compare maid insurance plans on our 2026 maid insurance comparison, you are not paying S$5,000 — you are paying a premium of a few hundred dollars to have the insurer stand behind the S$5,000 guarantee on your behalf.

Security Bond vs Maid Insurance vs Letter of Guarantee — what's the difference?

This three-way confusion costs employers hours every week. Here is the cleanest comparison.

Key point: the security bond is for MOM's benefit, not the helper's. Maid insurance is for the helper's and the employer's benefit. The LOG is an internal commercial arrangement between the helper, the agency and the loan financier — MOM has no direct interest in it.

Which insurers bundle the bond cheapest in 2026

Every MOM-accepted maid insurer in Singapore bundles the S$5,000 security bond guarantee into the premium at no extra charge. The differences live in medical limits, hospitalisation co-pays, repatriation expense limits and outpatient benefits. Below is a snapshot of how the six insurers we review most often stack up; click through for the full plan reviews.

The lesson: do not pick a plan on bond inclusion alone — they all include it. Compare on medical limit, outpatient cover and repatriation expense limit. Our pillar comparison ranks them on those factors.

Bond discharge: timeline and process

MOM discharges the bond automatically once three conditions are met:

1. The helper's Work Permit has been cancelled.
2. The helper has physically departed Singapore (immigration exit recorded).
3. Neither employer nor helper breached the bond conditions during the permit period.

In practice, MOM typically issues the discharge letter within about one week of the helper's departure. The letter arrives by post. Once it lands, you can return it to your insurer or bank — the contingent S$5,000 liability is released.

If two weeks have passed since departure and you have not received the discharge letter, MOM has a follow-up form: submit the helper's passport page with her arrival immigration stamp in her home country (or her air ticket / boarding pass) as proof of departure. Cancellation of the Work Permit should be done within one week of the last day of work using the FDW eService — see our Work Permit cancellation walkthrough for the detailed flow.

If the helper transfers to a new employer instead of going home, the discharge logic is different — see the transfer guide below.

When MOM forfeits the bond (and how to avoid it)

MOM forfeits some or all of the S$5,000 if the bond conditions are breached. The common forfeiture triggers are:

• Helper overstays after the Work Permit ends — for example, the permit is cancelled but the helper does not depart by the deadline.
• Helper goes missing and the employer fails to report it to MOM and the police within the required window.
• Employer fails to pay the helper's salary on time, fails to provide acceptable food and accommodation, or fails to send the helper for the mandatory 6-monthly medical examination.
• Employer fails to bear repatriation costs when the helper's permit ends or is revoked.
• Illegal deployment — sending the helper to work at a different address or for another household.

How to avoid forfeiture in practice: cancel the permit within one week of the last working day, buy the air ticket home, keep evidence of departure (passport stamp or boarding pass), and report any absconding to MOM and the police within 24 hours. If a breach is on the helper's side and you have done your part, write to MOM with evidence — bonds can be discharged in full when the employer is clearly not at fault.

What happens to the bond during a maid transfer?

When your helper transfers to a new employer without leaving Singapore, the old employer's bond is discharged on Work Permit cancellation rather than on physical departure, provided the new employer has already furnished a fresh S$5,000 bond. The new employer's insurer takes over the contingent liability from the moment the new permit is issued. There is no gap and no double bond.

The full sequence — including timing, paperwork, and how to avoid a permit lapse — is in our how to transfer a maid in Singapore guide. If you are the new employer, you can buy the bundled bond + insurance from any insurer listed above, or speak to us directly via the helper insurance page.

Employer bond checklist

• Confirm helper nationality — Malaysian helpers do not need a bond.
• Buy maid insurance with the bundled S$5,000 security bond before the Work Permit is issued.
• Keep the policy schedule and bond reference number with your hiring documents.
• Pay salary on time, provide medical care, send for 6-monthly exams.
• On contract end: cancel the Work Permit within 7 days, buy the helper's ticket home.
• Keep proof of departure (passport stamp or boarding pass) for at least 6 months.
• Wait for MOM's discharge letter — typically arrives within a week of departure.
• If no letter after 2 weeks, submit MOM's follow-up form with proof of departure.

About the reviewer: Wendy Tan is an EA Personnel with Upwill Employment (EA Licence 24C2628). She has arranged S$5,000 Security Bonds for over 400 employers since 2019 and writes Upwill quarterly insurer reviews. Source documents reviewed: MOM Security Bond rules.