Summary:
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Your new maid in Singapore has just landed. You have taken time off work, sorted the airport pickup, and somewhere between the arrival hall and your front door, the Settling-In Programme (SIP) came up.
You know it is mandatory. You have heard a figure somewhere between $76 and $93. What you do not know yet is whether it has already been booked, who handles it, and what happens if it is missed. This guide gives you those answers before the week gets away from you.
Why the Mandatory MOM Settling-In Programme Applies to Your New Helper
If your new maid in Singapore has never held a Work Permit as a migrant domestic worker (MDW) before, she must attend the SIP. It does not matter how experienced she is back home. First-time MDW status is the threshold, and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) applies it without exception.
She must complete it within 7 days of arriving, with Sundays and public holidays not counted, and she cannot work a single day until it is done. If she misses the window, MOM will not issue her Work Permit. She will be repatriated at your cost.
Before she flies, it is worth working through this checklist:
- Book her SIP slot with an MOM-accredited training provider.
- Confirm the booking in writing before her flight date.
- Check that her travel itinerary allows for a rest day before her training day.
- Keep a copy of her registration confirmation.
Starting a new job in a foreign land and household is genuinely hard, especially without family or friends nearby. The pre-departure training cannot fully prepare someone for that. The SIP is designed to close that gap on arrival.
What Happens at the SIP Training Centre?
3 training providers are appointed by MOM to run the SIP:
- Absolute Kinetics Consultancy
- Grace Management and Consultancy Services
- NTUC LearningHub.
All 3 deliver the same programme to the same standard, and your helper attends whichever centre her slot is booked with.
The programme covers 4 areas across the course of a single day. The table below gives a straightforward overview of what each one involves.
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Module Area |
What It Covers |
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Adjusting to life in Singapore |
Living and working in a Singapore household, high-rise living, and cultural expectations |
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Rights and obligations |
Her entitlements as a domestic worker and her responsibilities to you as her employer |
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Legal and safety framework |
Singapore employment law, MOM regulations, and home safety specific to local conditions |
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Getting help |
Where to go, who to contact, and how to raise concerns if something goes wrong |
One thing that sets the SIP apart from general pre-employment courses is language. Training is conducted entirely in her native language, whether that is Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, or English, so she does not sit through content she can only partially follow. She understands it well enough to act on it from day one.
Your role on this day is a simple one: the right training centre, the right documents, and the right time. The next sections cover what the programme actually teaches and what she needs to bring.
Want to know how to get her slot confirmed in time? The Jayamaids team handles SIP registration as part of the onboarding process. Get in touch with your nearest branch and we will sort it from there.
Employment Law and Home Safety: What the SIP Actually Teaches
The SIP covers 2 areas that are worth understanding as an employer: employment law and home safety. Both are practical rather than theoretical.
On the employment law side, the SIP covers:
- Rest day entitlement and how to agree or compensate for it
- Salary payment requirements, including timelines and methods
- Permitted salary deductions and what falls outside them
- Dispute options and which MOM channels she can use.
The home safety content focuses on hazards specific to Singapore households:
- High-rise windows and the risks of cleaning at height
- Cleaning chemicals in enclosed spaces without adequate ventilation
- Tasks near open corridors or ledges in an HDB flat or condominium.
These are not things she files away and forgets. They shape how she moves through the household from her first day, and an employer who knows what was covered is well placed to reinforce those habits early.
How Stress Management Techniques Fit into the SIP Syllabus
Arriving to work in a stranger’s home, in a country where she may not know the language well, can be rather challenging. The SIP dedicates part of the programme to this directly, giving her practical strategies for when she feels overwhelmed or does not yet know how to raise something with you.
For first-time employers, this module can help reframe a slow start. Quiet behaviour or hesitation in the first few weeks is often normal. It is not a sign that the placement is not working.
The most useful thing you can do before her first working day is let her know how to come to you with questions or concerns:
- Tell her the best time of day to speak with you if she needs to raise something.
- Let her know that small questions are welcome and will not be treated as complaints.
- Make clear that she should not wait until something becomes a bigger issue before saying something.
A helper who feels safe raising small things early almost never lets them become larger ones.
SIP Fees in Singapore: What’s Included and Who Pays It
The fee starts at $76.40, including Goods and Services Tax (GST). The employer pays it in full. It cannot be deducted from her salary, offset against her levy, or recovered from her in any form.
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Included in the SIP Fee |
Not Covered |
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Full one-day course delivery in her native language |
Transport to and from the training centre |
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All supporting course materials |
Meals on the day (though some centres provide these) |
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SIP e-certificate issued on completion |
Repeat attendance if she misses the session |
The e-certificate is required before MOM will issue the Work Permit. There are no additional charges by language stream or nationality. The published fee is the total fee.
When you engage an agency, ask whether the SIP fee is bundled into their package or invoiced separately. What matters is having a clear picture of total onboarding costs before her In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter is issued.
Want a clear picture of total onboarding costs before you commit? Contact Jayamaids, and we will walk you through everything from the SIP fee to the Work Permit application.
What Does Your Helper Need to Bring to the SIP?
Your new maid in Singapore needs 4 documents on the day. Missing any one of them puts the 7-day window at risk.
- Her full IPA letter (not a summary or screenshot)
- Her passport
- A copy of her educational certificate
- Her ICA digital arrival card.
She also cannot attend on the day she arrives. MOM requires her to rest first, and training centres have registration cut-off times, typically 24 hours before the class. Your chosen agency should send you the document checklist before she travels, book the SIP slot around her arrival date, and confirm it with you in writing. They should not be scrambling for availability after she lands.
If you are still choosing an agency, ask them these 3 questions before you commit:
- How do they handle the SIP slot booking, and when in the process?
- What is their approach if her arrival is delayed?
- Do they confirm the booking with you in writing?
An agency that answers all 3 without hesitation has done this many times before. One that hedges is likely to leave the details to you.
Get Your New Maid Singapore-Ready with Jayamaids
Jayamaids handles the full onboarding process for every new helper, from SIP registration and Work Permit application through to document preparation and everything up to her first working day.
Specialising exclusively in Indonesian and Myanmar domestic helpers, our teams across Hougang, Bedok, and Bukit Timah know where delays tend to happen and how to prevent them.
Ready to get started? Speak to the Jayamaids team at your nearest branch on WhatsApp or give us a call, and we will be more than happy to walk you through what comes next.
