Cancel a Domestic Helper Work Permit in Singapore

Work Permit cancellation is the legal end of a helper’s authority to work for you. It should come after a humane employment close-out: agree the final day, follow the contract notice terms, settle salary and other issues, decide whether the helper will transfer or return home, and make a workable travel plan. Cancelling too early can leave a helper unable to work while still living in the household; cancelling too late can extend levy billing or create immigration risk.

Choose transfer or repatriation before cancelling

MOM’s Work Permit cancellation page says employers can consider a direct transfer or an employment-agency transfer instead of cancellation and repatriation. If a transfer is genuinely agreed, follow the transfer workflow; the current permit is automatically cancelled when the new employer issues the new permit. Do not cancel first and assume the transfer can be reconstructed later.

Employment termination and immigration cancellation are related but different. MOM’s contract guidance says either party may end the employment by giving the notice stated in the contract, paying salary in lieu of notice if notice cannot be given, or mutually waiving notice. Complete that employment step before using the cancellation transaction.

Complete the final-day checklist

Before cancelling, MOM requires the employer to agree the last day, settle outstanding employment issues including salary, and ensure that the helper has a valid passport. Use the final salary records described in MOM’s salary guidance. Return the helper’s belongings and documents; the passport is needed for travel and should remain accessible to its bearer.

If the helper is returning home, discuss the route before buying the ticket and record the agreed transit arrangements and allowance. MOM requires an air ticket with check-in luggage and the connecting transport costs to the international port of entry in the home country or region nearest the helper’s hometown. The departure must be within two weeks after cancellation. Check airline, health, visa and destination-entry requirements against current official sources.

• Write down the mutually agreed last working day and notice arrangement.
• Calculate salary through the final day and settle documented outstanding amounts.
• Ask the helper to check that her passport is valid and in her possession.
• Agree the destination, connections, layover duration, baggage and transit allowance.
• Book departure within the period MOM specifies after cancellation.
• Keep copies of receipts and acknowledgements without withholding original documents.

Cancel through the FDW eService at the right time

The employer, sponsor or authorised employment agent can cancel the permit. MOM states that cancellation is immediate and levy is charged until one day before cancellation. Submit only after the helper has finished her final authorised work. If an agency performs the transaction, confirm who will print and deliver every required document rather than assuming the agency has completed the household handover.

MOM allows an eligible employer to request a four-week short Work Permit extension within two months before expiry when more time is needed before renewal or cancellation. This is a specific official route, not permission to keep employing someone after an ordinary cancellation.

Give the Special Pass and stop all work

When the helper is still in Singapore, print the Special Pass generated by the cancellation flow and give it to her. It provides lawful stay while she prepares to leave; she must show it with a valid passport at departure. Check the exact expiry printed on the pass. After cancellation she cannot perform chores, childcare, eldercare or any other work, even while she is waiting for the flight.

Accommodation, food, medical needs and safety do not disappear during the waiting period. Plan a short, respectful non-working stay or other appropriate arrangement. If the proposed travel date no longer fits the Special Pass, contact MOM through the official route before expiry rather than improvising.

Close the card, levy and security-bond records

After cancellation, cut the cancelled Work Permit card in half and discard it to prevent misuse. Check later levy and bond records against the official transaction. MOM says the bond is usually discharged one week after a helper departs from Singapore when all conditions are met; for a helper who had already left before cancellation, the page states discharge within two weeks after departure is verified, if all conditions are met.

If the employment is ending because the match did not work, the trial-period guide explains contract notice versus agency replacement terms. If a new employer is ready, use the transfer-helper guide. For wage records, see how to pay a helper’s salary.

How this guide avoids overlap

This page owns the cancellation transaction and the sequence immediately surrounding it: final work, Special Pass, travel, levy, card disposal and bond discharge. It does not repeat the transfer guide’s new-employer process, the trial-period guide’s replacement analysis or the overseas-leave guide’s temporary travel rules.

Sources and review note

Reviewed on 26 September 2026 against current MOM pages on Work Permit cancellation, contract termination, repatriation, short extensions, transfer, salary and the security bond. Always follow the dates and instructions generated for the actual worker in the FDW eService and Special Pass.