Welcome to SG Experts

Question

1

I am looking on information about hiring an au pair in Singapore. I know you can get maids and some maid call themselves "au pair" but I'm looking for what I guess I would call a more "traditional American/European style" au pair. I'd like to hire a European or American to come and stay with my family and be a 'big sister' to my child -- look after her, help her with homework, etc. -- and most importantly be part of the family for 12 or 24 months. No cleaning (other than her own room) involved.

I know there is an official process for getting a maid from around the region (Indonesia/Philippines/Myanmar/etc), but I can't find any info on how the visa process would (or would not) work for getting someone from Europe or America to do this.

Maid agencies don't understand what I am looking for, they think that I mean a Philippino with a PR. Their is no problem finding someone online for this, the question I have is:

How would I get an American or European au pair a work permit/work pass so they could work here?

flag	asked Oct 28 at 8:23 beggs 231●1●6

Edmund Tay · Accepted Answer · 2009-10-28 14:34:43Z UTC

What follows is an analysis of the legal options available for someone who wish to work in Singapore. Please note that all the options below require the employer to be a registered business or company.

Work Permit
US and European countries are not in the list of source countries that you are allowed to recruit from.

S Pass
Minimum salary of $1800. Diploma or Degree level educational qualifications. Technical certificates can be considered. S Pass quota capped to 25% of the company's workforce. That means at least 3 non-S Pass workers need to be in the company before the first one can be hired.

Employment Pass
Minimum salary of $2500. Recognized qualifications.

Note that even if a candiate fulfils the checklist of requirements, all applications are still subject to approval by the Ministry of Manpower.

My suggestion is to have the person come in on a social visit pass. Every 3 months, they leave Singapore for at least 5 days and come back again. While it is a legally grey approach, that's the only viable option I can think of in terms of cost and administrative hassle.

Jess_strawberry · Answer 2 · 2009-10-28 10:39:57Z UTC

Apparently to get a work permit/ work pass, you need to have a company which meets certain guidelines set by MOM. Or you can find the person and ask a maid agency to engage him/her so that you can employ him/her.

Other soulution is to post your request in website such as singapore expats where they could actually recommend someone for you. If the person already has a PR status then you can employ him either formally (official by MOM) or unofficial where you two settle on a salary and you forget about CPF etc documents.

Oh after answering, I went online to search and come across this site http://www.newaupair.com/browse_nannies_results.aspx?cntry=Singapore&pg=0 where you could have a list of self-adv as au pair & nanny. Saw a German and Australian lady although mostly are filipino.

Au Pair in Singapore

2 Answers