Indonesian helpers
Indonesia has supplied Singapore homes for decades, so the pool is deep and many of the helpers in it have already finished a contract here. We match on what she has actually done and on how your household runs, and we tell you when an Indonesian helper is not the right answer.
The short answer. Jaz Helpers is a MOM-licensed Singapore agency (EA Licence 24C2490) that places helpers from Indonesia and Myanmar. Most of the Indonesian helpers we place are Muslim, and Bahasa Indonesia and Malay are close relatives, so a Malay-speaking household usually understands her from the first day. A transfer helper already in Singapore can often start in around two weeks. A helper coming from Indonesia usually takes six to eight weeks or more. We match on experience and fit, not on a passport.
MOM EA Licence 24C2490 · Verify it on the MOM EA Directory
What matters
Bahasa Indonesia and Malay grew from the same root, so a Malay-speaking household and an Indonesian helper usually understand each other from the first conversation. English varies by the person, so test it at the interview rather than assume it.
Most Indonesian helpers we place are Muslim, though not all. A halal kitchen is a procedure that can be taught, and a helper who keeps halal at home already knows it. For prayer times, Ramadan and halal matching in detail, see our page on helpers for Muslim and Malay households.
Indonesia has sent helpers to Singapore for decades, so proportionally more Indonesian helpers have already completed a contract here. That is a fact about the pool, not a promise about the person, which is why we ask what she did in her last household first.
Both countries deploy through licensed training centres, and what a helper was taught varies more between centres than between countries. Ask what she learned and how long she practised it. Our guide on reading a helper's biodata shows what the paper does and does not tell you.
A helper who has never worked in Singapore attends the Settling-in Programme within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays, before she starts. The provider fee is S$76.40 to S$92.65. A transfer helper does not attend it again.
Cooking, cleaning, childcare and eldercare each ask for different experience, so tell us which one fills most of the week and we shortlist for that first. See what a childcare helper, an eldercare helper or a housekeeping helper covers day to day.
Who it is right for
If none of these describes your home, tell us anyway. The answer may be a Myanmar helper or a different route. At the interview, ask about her last household, the youngest child or the oldest parent she cared for, and what she cooked most weeks. We will tell you what her biodata leaves out.
Why Jaz Helpers
We shortlist on what she has done, counted in months and households, not in adjectives. If her experience is thin for what you need, you hear it from us before you meet her.
A transfer helper can meet you in person at our office or in your home. A helper still in Indonesia meets you by video. Either way you speak to the person, not only to her paperwork.
Speak to us in Malay or English from the first message. We stay reachable once she has started, and replacement support is included.
The honest part
Nationality is a weak predictor of how a placement goes. Language and kitchen practice track it loosely. Character does not track it at all, and we will not describe a candidate as hardworking, patient or obedient on the strength of her passport. Those words are not measurable, and they would not survive being said in front of her.
MOM's eligibility rules are the same for every source country: female, aged 23 to below 50 when you apply, with at least eight years of formal education. We place Myanmar helpers too, and for some households one of them is the better fit. If you arrived certain you want an Indonesian helper, we will still ask what the household needs, and say so if the answer points elsewhere.
On pay, Singapore sets no minimum salary for a helper, and MOM requires only that you pay what you declared. The figures that circulate online as an Indonesian minimum could not be verified against a primary source, so we do not publish a band. Our guide to the cost of hiring a helper shows what the numbers rest on, and our comparison of Indonesian and Myanmar helpers takes the household questions one at a time.
Two routes, two timelines
How it works
Who lives at home, who she will spend the day with, what the kitchen keeps and what you need done. That is enough to start.
Biodata of helpers whose past households look like yours, each with our read of what she has actually done and where her experience is thin.
In person for a transfer helper, by video for one still in Indonesia. Bring the questions from the section above, and take a second round if you want one.
Work Permit application, insurance, the security bond, the medical examination, and the Employers' Orientation Programme if this is your first helper. MOM runs the classroom version in Malay.
A first-time helper attends the Settling-in Programme in her own language within her first week. We check in after she starts, and replacement support is included.
The cost, clearly
The security bond is the number most often misread. It is a guarantee your insurer or bank furnishes, usually bundled into the insurance package, not S$5,000 you hand over, so we leave it out of every total. The levy is the monthly figure that actually shapes a budget, and the concessionary rate applies where your household meets MOM's conditions.
Singapore does not set a minimum wage for migrant domestic workers. MOM requires only that you pay the salary you declared in the Work Permit application, in full and on time. If this is your first helper, the Employers' Orientation Programme comes first, and MOM offers the classroom version in Malay. For the full picture in plain language, read our guide to the cost of hiring a helper in Singapore.
It depends on whether she is a transfer helper or a new hire from Indonesia, and on what your household needs. A number on a page is either wrong for you or vague enough to be useless, so we give it to you directly, in writing, before you commit.
Families ask us for an Indonesian helper and then describe a Malay-speaking grandmother, a halal kitchen and a toddler. The nationality was never the brief. The household was, and that is what we match.
Common questions
More questions about hiring, replacement or support? See the full list of frequently asked questions, or everything we help families with.
A huge thank you to Zai and the team. They really listened to our needs and coordinated everything from start to finish. Bringing a new helper into our home felt manageable because of their care and support.
Muhammad IrfanNew helper placementTell us about your home, in Malay or English, and we will say honestly whether an Indonesian helper is the right fit.
