The Answer in 60 Seconds
An employer must buy and maintain medical insurance for each Work Permit holder it employs, and for each S Pass holder, covering inpatient care and day surgery, including hospital bills for conditions that are not work-related. MOM sets the coverage at least $60,000 per year per worker, requires the insurance details to be submitted online before it issues the Work Permit, and states that the cost cannot be passed on to the worker. The requirement is a condition of the work pass under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, and section 22(1)(a) makes contravening a pass condition an offence carrying a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
The minimum was raised to $60,000 on 1 July 2023, with a co-payment of 75% by the insurer and 25% by the employer for claim amounts above $15,000. The second stage, on 1 July 2025, changed no dollar figure: it standardised the exclusions an insurer is allowed to apply, introduced premiums in two age bands, and required insurers to pay hospitals directly (MOM). Work injury is a separate duty under WICA; this policy is for inpatient care and day surgery that is not work-related.
The Sourced Detail
What the policy must provide
MOM's medical insurance requirements for migrant workers, last updated 1 July 2025, state the duty in one sentence: "You must buy and maintain medical insurance (MI) for each migrant worker you employ." The policy must cover inpatient care and day surgery, "including hospital bills for conditions that may not be work-related", and "the coverage for each Work Permit holder has to be at least $60,000 per year". Where a plan carries sub-limits, for inpatient care, day surgery, or per disability or medical condition, each sub-limit must itself meet the $60,000 minimum.
The same requirement applies to S Pass holders. MOM's press release of 4 March 2022 announced the enhanced coverage for "Work Permit and S Pass holders", and the obligations specific to S Pass employers are set out in what are S Pass employers' medical insurance obligations.
Two rules sit beside the coverage figure, both from MOM: the plan must cover the full period of the Work Permit's validity, and no separate policy is needed where the Work Permit holder also holds a Dependant's Pass with a plan that already meets the Work Permit minimum.
The two stages, and what each changed
MOM enhanced the minimum in two stages, each applying to policies, renewals or extensions with a start date on or after the stage date, for all new and existing Work Permit holders, including migrant domestic workers (MOM).
| Stage (MOM) | From | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 1 July 2023 | Annual claim limit raised to at least $60,000, with co-payment of 75% by the insurer and 25% by the employer for claim amounts above $15,000 |
| Stage 2 | 1 July 2025 | Standardised allowable exclusion clauses; age-differentiated premiums in two bands, 50 and below and above 50; direct payment by the insurer to the hospital on admissibility of the claim |
Stage 1 set the money. MOM's 2022 announcement states that employers "will continue to be fully insured (first dollar coverage) for the medical expenses of their Work Permits and S Pass holders up to $15,000", with the co-payment applying only to the amount above that, up to the annual claim limit of at least $60,000.
Stage 2 set the terms. The dollar figures did not move on 1 July 2025; the three changes are the exclusion list, the age bands and direct payment. The procedures for an employer at Stage 2 are in how to comply with FWMI Stage 2 requirements, and the premium structure in Migrant Worker Medical Insurance Stage 2: age-differentiated premiums.
What an insurer is allowed to exclude from 1 July 2025
MOM's List of Allowable Exclusions applies to all policies, renewals or extensions with a start date on or after 1 July 2025: "Insurers are only allowed to exclude the following treatment items, procedures, conditions and activities in their medical insurance product for Work Permit and S Pass holders." The list has three groups.
Group A is treatment that is elective and not medically necessary: ambulance fees; cosmetic surgery for self-beautification; dental treatment not necessitated by an accident; any vaccination; contraceptive procedures; assisted conception and treatment of infertility; sex re-assignment surgery; related outpatient expenses after the seventh calendar day from being certified fit for discharge with a feasible discharge option; optional ward items such as television, telephone and special meals; screening or tests unrelated to inpatient care or day surgery; and treatment of a preventive nature.
Group B is treatment resulting from the employer's or the worker's acts: a condition arising from a malicious, unlawful or wilful act of the employer, or, for a domestic worker, of the employer's family; a condition arising from the worker's criminal act; pregnancy, childbirth and abortion; injury from voluntary participation in hazardous sport, with winter sports, underwater activities, aerial activities and motor sport named; nuclear fallout; war and terrorism; sexually transmitted disease, AIDS and ARC; addiction to a controlled drug; and the second or subsequent occasion of treatment arising from alcohol or non-controlled-drug addiction, participation in a strike, riot or civil commotion, attempted suicide or self-inflicted injury, and psychiatric or nervous conditions.
Group C is the remainder: treatment within the first 12 months of employment with the same employer for a pre-existing medical condition known to the employer or the worker before the cover commenced; birth defects, congenital abnormalities and hereditary conditions; treatment received outside Singapore; private nursing fees; the purchase of medical equipment; medical repatriation; outpatient rehabilitation such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy unless recommended by a medical practitioner during the day surgery or hospitalisation; traditional, complementary or alternative medicine; and treatment already reimbursed under work injury compensation insurance required by the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 or under other insurance (MOM).
An exclusion outside that list is not an allowable term on a policy with a start date from 1 July 2025.
Co-payment with the worker
The 25% employer share is the employer's. Separately, MOM permits a co-pay arrangement with the Work Permit holder for medical bills, excluding migrant domestic workers, only where all three conditions are met: the co-pay amount is reasonable and does not exceed 10% of the worker's fixed monthly salary; the duration does not exceed 6 months for every 2 years of employment; and the option is explicitly in the employment contract or collective agreement with the worker's full consent. The insurance premium itself cannot be passed to the worker.
Submitting and maintaining the details
The MI details go to MOM online before the employer requests the issue or renewal of a Work Permit, and again when the details change. MOM lists what is kept up to date on WP Online: the name of the insurer, the policy number, the policy commencement date and the policy expiry date. A policy that expires before the Work Permit does is a gap in a pass condition, not an administrative lapse.
The same rule for migrant domestic workers
MOM's insurance requirements for migrant domestic workers carry the same enhanced medical insurance: an annual claim limit of at least $60,000, the Stage 1 co-payment above $15,000, and the Stage 2 changes on the same dates, together with personal accident insurance. The salary co-pay arrangement above does not apply to domestic workers. The renewal mechanics are in how to renew FDW insurance before the Work Permit expires.
What this policy is not
Work injury and occupational disease are a separate statutory duty under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019, insured with an MOM-designated insurer; the full regime is in WICA: the complete guide for Singapore employers. The security bond for a non-Malaysian Work Permit holder is a third obligation, in how to obtain the MOM security bond for foreign worker hiring. How the three sit together is in foreign worker medical insurance vs WICA vs group health.
The offence
The medical insurance requirement is a condition of the work pass. Section 22(1)(a) of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 makes any employer who "contravenes any condition (other than a regulatory condition) of the work pass or in-principle approval" guilty of an offence, and section 22(1)(h) sets the penalty for that paragraph at a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both.
Common Mistakes
- Saying the minimum "went up to $60,000 last year". It went up on 1 July 2023. The 1 July 2025 stage changed the terms, not the figure (MOM).
- A plan with a sub-limit below $60,000. Each sub-limit must meet the minimum on its own.
- Deducting the premium from the worker. The insurance cost cannot be passed on to the worker. The only permitted co-pay is on medical bills, within MOM's three conditions, and never for a domestic worker.
- A policy that ends before the Work Permit does. The plan must cover the full period of the pass; the expiry date is one of the four fields MOM keeps on WP Online.
- Accepting an exclusion that is not on MOM's list. From 1 July 2025 the allowable exclusions are standardised; a policy start date on or after that date carries only the listed ones.
- Treating medical insurance and WICA as one policy. Two Acts, two duties, two insurers' obligations.
What This Means for Your Business
Put the four fields MOM keeps beside every Work Permit in your own record: insurer, policy number, commencement date and expiry date, and read the expiry against the pass expiry, not against the calendar year. Where the plan carries sub-limits, check each one against $60,000, not only the headline.
For a policy starting on or after 1 July 2025, read the exclusions against MOM's list and the premium against the two age bands. Budget the 25% employer share above $15,000 as a cost that arrives with a large claim, and keep any salary co-pay inside MOM's three conditions and out of any domestic worker's contract.
Covarage holds the medical insurance policy and the WICA policy for each worker in one place with their expiry dates, and introduces you to a licensed intermediary when a policy needs to be arranged or renewed. The pass conditions are yours; the record is what we keep.
Questions to Ask Your Adviser
- Does each worker's plan carry at least $60,000 for the year, with every sub-limit at that level?
- What is the policy's start date, and does the exclusion wording match MOM's standardised list for a start date on or after 1 July 2025?
- Which age band does each worker fall in, and how does the premium change when a worker crosses 50 at renewal?
- Does the policy period run to the Work Permit's expiry, and is the expiry date on WP Online?
- If a claim exceeds $15,000, how is the 25% employer share billed, and does the insurer pay the hospital directly?
- For S Pass holders and domestic workers, which policy carries which requirement?
Related Information
- Foreign Worker Insurance in Singapore: WICA, Medical, and Repatriation, End to End
- How to Comply with FWMI Stage 2 Requirements (1 July 2025+)
- Migrant Worker Medical Insurance Stage 2 (1 July 2025): Age-Differentiated Premiums
- What Are S Pass Employers' Medical Insurance Obligations?
- Foreign Worker Medical Insurance vs WICA vs Group Health: What Each Actually Covers
- How to Obtain MOM Security Bond for Foreign Worker Hiring
- How to Renew FDW Insurance Before Work Permit Expiry
- WICA: The Complete Guide to Work Injury Compensation for Singapore Employers
Published 11 September 2026. Source verified 11 September 2026.
