Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Mrs Josephine Teo on Rejections of Applications For Hiring of Migrant Domestic Workers

NOTICE PAPER NO. 354 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 11 MAY 2021

QUESTION NO. 944 FOR  WRITTEN ANSWER TO QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER NOT ANSWERED BY END OF QUESTION TIME

MP: Ms Tin Pei Ling

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past two years, how many applications for the hiring of foreign domestic workers have been rejected; and (b) what are the key reasons for the rejections and percentage of each reason.

Answer: 

For the two years of 2019 and 2020, about 5% of applications for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) were rejected. The key reasons were the prospective employer’s lack of or instability of income, or inability to meet the criteria for hiring a second MDW. In 2020, in addition to these two reasons, rejections became more common due to enhanced border controls. Entry approvals were subject to strict daily limits to help control the risk of importing COVID-19. However, from around October 2020, MOM has given entry approvals for more new MDWs as the COVID-19 situation improved in Singapore.