Direct Hire vs Agency for a Myanmar Maid in Singapore (2026): Real Costs, Pros & Cons
Most Singapore families hire a Myanmar helper through an agency. Some hire directly, and save the agency fee. Both are legal. The difference is who does the work, and who carries the risk when something goes wrong.
Here is what each route actually involves, from the 240 Myanmar placements on our books. HippoMaid is operated by Legit Star Services Pte Ltd, an MOM-licensed employment agency (EA Licence 26C3463).
Can I hire a Myanmar helper without an agency?
On the Singapore side, yes. MOM lets any eligible employer apply for a Work Permit online, without an agency.
On the Myanmar side, not really. Before a helper can leave Myanmar, she needs an Overseas Worker Identification Card (OWIC), departure approval from Myanmar’s Ministry of Labour, and a stack of documents. The rules changed in March 2025 and again in January 2026, and they’re applied inconsistently. A helper on her own rarely gets through. She needs a Myanmar agent who knows the process and can get her to the airport.
So you can’t skip agents completely. At minimum, one agent in Myanmar will be involved. The real questions are:
- Can you trust that agent? You can’t easily check a Myanmar agent’s record from Singapore, and a bad one means a delayed or cancelled departure, or a helper who arrives owing far more than she should.
- Do you also want help on the Singapore side, or will you handle MOM yourself?
Which Myanmar helpers can realistically be hired direct?
| Helper | Direct hire realistic? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ex-Singapore worked here before, now home | Most realistic | She has done the process before and usually holds an OWIC, but still needs a Myanmar agent to depart |
| New to Singapore | Hard | Full Myanmar red tape, and no Singapore work history to check |
| Transfer working in Singapore now | Possible, but few available | Only a handful are free at any one time |
Ex-Singapore helpers are also the biggest group: 190 of the 364 Myanmar helpers on our site right now.
What does each route cost?
Your monthly cost is the same either way: salary plus the MOM levy.
| New to Singapore | Ex-Singapore | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary (median, what families paid) | $550 | $650 |
| MOM levy | $300 | $300 |
| Monthly total | $850 | $950 |
If your household has a child under 16, someone aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities, you may qualify for the $60 concessionary levy instead of $300. Check if you qualify on MOM’s site.
The one-off costs are where the routes differ:
| One-off cost | Direct hire | Typical agency |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore agency fee | $0 | $1,000 – $3,000+ |
| Work Permit (MOM) | $35 + $35 | $35 + $35 |
| Employer Orientation Programme (first-timers) | About $30 – $36 online | Same — you attend it either way |
| Insurance: $60,000 medical + $60,000 personal accident minimum | You buy it | Usually arranged for you |
| $5,000 security bond | You arrange it, usually through the insurer | Usually arranged for you |
| Arrival: airport pickup, medical, Settling-In Programme | You organise it | Included |
What are the pros of hiring directly?
- No agency fee. That’s often $1,000 to $3,000 kept in your pocket.
- You choose. You find, interview and pick her yourself, instead of from a shortlist.
- You see everything. You deal with MOM directly, so no cost is hidden inside a package.
What are the cons of hiring directly?
- The paperwork is yours. Work Permit, insurance, security bond, medical within 14 days of arrival, the Settling-In Programme. Miss a step and the delay or penalty lands on you.
- No replacement. Agencies usually offer a free or discounted replacement if it doesn’t work out in the first few months. Hire directly and you start again, and pay again.
- No one in the middle. If a dispute comes up, you resolve it with her yourself, or through MOM.
- Vetting is on you. You verify her work history and check that her documents are genuine.
- You still need a Myanmar agent, and you’re choosing them blind. Someone has to get her through the paperwork in Myanmar. From Singapore, you have no easy way to tell a reliable agent from one who will stall, overcharge her, or disappear.
What does an agency actually give you?
A good agency earns its fee by doing the work above: it screens candidates, handles MOM, arranges insurance and the bond, meets her at the airport, and gives you a replacement if the match fails.
A weak one charges the same fee and does less. Before you pay, ask for an itemised list of what the fee covers, and check the agency’s licence on MOM’s EA Directory.
Who pays the helper’s loan?
It’s the question few employers ask. Most Myanmar helpers arrive owing several months of salary to the agent in Myanmar who processed them. It’s usually repaid by deductions from her early pay.
Two things to know:
- Singapore agencies are capped by MOM. They can collect at most one month of her salary per year of contract, up to two months.
- Fees charged in Myanmar are outside MOM’s reach.
Whichever route you choose, ask before you sign: how many months does she owe, and to whom? A helper sending nothing home for her first six months is more likely to struggle, and to want to leave early.
So which should I choose?
Direct hire suits you if:
- You’re hiring an ex-Singapore helper whose work history you can verify
- You’ve hired a helper before and know the MOM process
- You have time to manage the paperwork and the arrival week yourself
An agency suits you if:
- This is your first helper
- You’re hiring someone new to Singapore
- You want a replacement guarantee and someone to call if things go wrong
Neither choice is better or worse. It depends on how much of the work you want to do yourself.
What does HippoMaid charge?
HippoMaid is operated by Legit Star Services Pte Ltd, an MOM-licensed employment agency (EA Licence 26C3463). You can check the licence on MOM’s EA Directory. Same licence, same compliance, but nothing is bundled: you pay only for the parts you want.
| Browsing helper profiles | Free |
| Agency fee to you | None |
| MOM paperwork — Work Permit, IPA, bond and insurance setup | No service charge — optional, or do it yourself |
| Maid insurance | $390 incl. GST — optional |
| Arrival Services — airport pickup, medical, Settling-In Programme, thumbprinting, transport home | $260 new / $160 experienced — optional |
MOM’s own fees still apply and go to the government, not to us.
The part direct-hire families find hardest is trust: in the helper, and in the agent bringing her from Myanmar. That’s where we come in.
Our team spent more than 10 years in helper recruitment before founding Legit Star. In that time we’ve learned which Myanmar agents get helpers through the paperwork on time and charge fairly, and which don’t. We keep our own list of vetted Myanmar agents, and every agent is checked before they go on it, not after something has gone wrong with your helper.
Every helper is screened by our trusted partner agents in Myanmar before she’s listed, and we verify her work history ourselves.
Tell us your budget and what you need done. WhatsApp +65 8695 2060 and a real person will reply with profiles that fit.
See available Myanmar helpers →
More on pay: Myanmar maid salary in Singapore 2026
Where these numbers come from: Myanmar salaries are what families paid on 240 placements we arranged (160 new to Singapore, 52 ex-Singapore, 28 transfer). Helper counts are from our site on 23 October 2026. The levy and insurance minimums are from MOM, checked 23 October 2026. The agency fee range is from Income, and the EOP price is from Upwill. This is not legal advice. Myanmar’s departure rules change often, so confirm them with the Myanmar Embassy in Singapore.