Domestic Helper Salary Abroad: The USD 500 Floor
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
The Philippine minimum for a Filipino domestic worker deployed anywhere is at least USD 500 a month, raised from USD 400 by DMW Advisory No. 25 of 22 August 2025 and applying to contracts entered into or renewed 60 days after issuance. Placement fees are prohibited outright.
Every figure on this page is from official published documents: Department of Migrant Workers and POEA.
Last verified 2 sources, listed below
Department of Migrant Workers | Advisory No. 25, Series of 2025, Enhanced Reform Programs for Filipino Domestic Workers1 · POEA | Governing Board Resolutions Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 8, Series of 20062. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
Search for a domestic helper salary by country and you will find four different recruiter estimates for each one. The figure that actually governs a Filipino domestic worker’s contract is set in Manila, not in Riyadh, Kuwait City, Singapore or Dubai, and it is published.
The floor, and when it moved
| Before 2006 | US$200 a month, unchanged for more than two decades |
| From 24 October 2006 | US$400.00 |
| From 22 August 2025 | at least USD 500 |
The 2006 figure came from POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 05, Series of 2006, which resolved to increase the entry level minimum monthly salary of all household workers deployed overseas to US$400.00.
The 2025 figure comes from DMW Advisory No. 25, Series of 2025, signed by Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac on 22 August 2025. Item 1 states that the Department shall implement an increase from USD 400 to at least USD 500, without prejudice to existing rules and policies implementing a higher wage.
That is a rise of USD 100, or 25 percent, after 19 years at the same figure. Both are arithmetic on the published amounts.
What the advisory attaches to the wage
| Condition in item 1 | |
|---|---|
| Where it applies | Integrated into all employment contracts processed by the DMW |
| Why | The floor reflects recognition of domestic work as work of equal value |
| Who pushes it | Migrant Workers Offices are directed to engage host governments and foreign recruitment agencies |
Under Compliance and Enforcement, items 1 to 4 apply to newly hired domestic workers under contracts entered into, and to vacationing or returning workers under contracts renewed, 60 days after issuance.
The part most pages leave out
The advisory says the Department shall implement the increase. In September 2025 the same Secretary was reported saying it would not be forced.
We will not force it. What we will do is, if someone gives an increase, we can provide incentives by way of faster processes and other forms of incentives.
Reported by BusinessMirror on 19 September 2025, from an online press briefing. The same report says some countries, unnamed, rejected the increase.
So there are two things on the record: a signed advisory setting USD 500 as the floor for contracts DMW processes, and a public statement that compliance will be encouraged with incentives rather than compelled. This page states both rather than picking the one that reads better. Ask the agency which figure is in the contract in front of you.
Zero placement fee, since 2006
This is absolute and it predates the wage increase by 19 years.
Governing Board Resolution No. 06, Series of 2006 prohibits the collection of placement fee from household workers, whether collected prior to deployment or on-site through salary deduction.
| Penalty for collecting anyway | A grave offence, punishable with cancellation of licence |
| What agencies may do instead | The foreign placement agency and the local agency may agree a compensation scheme, provided it is not shouldered by the household worker |
The general rule for other landbased workers allows a placement fee of up to one month’s salary. Household workers are carved out of it entirely.
The deployment bans and placement fees guide covers the wider fee rules and the no-placement-fee countries.
The other three conditions from 2006
| Requirement | Source |
|---|---|
| Minimum age 25, regardless of gender | GBR No. 04, s. 2006 |
| TESDA NC II for Household Service Workers | GBR No. 08, s. 2006 |
| Country-specific language and culture orientation from OWWA | GBR No. 08, s. 2006 |
The age rule is the one that surprises people: 25, against 18 for other overseas workers. The history is in the resolution itself. GBR No. 2 of 1994 set 25 for women, GBR No. 5 of 1998 lowered it to 21 for all genders, GBR No. 3 of 2001 set 18, and the 2006 resolution put it back to 25.
Proof of the NC II and the orientation is a condition for issuing the exit clearance, so it is not advisory. The TESDA National Certificate guide covers the certificate.
What else the 2025 advisory added
| Item | Reform |
|---|---|
| 2 | Annual medical check-ups, initially on a voluntary basis; employers must cause hospitalisation or treatment for work-related accidents and illnesses |
| 3 | Mandatory Know Your Employer protocol: video conferencing with the employer before the contract is finalised |
| 4 | Kumusta Kabayan digital welfare monitoring, run with OWWA |
| 5 | Reskilling and career mobility with TESDA, covering caregiving, household management, hospitality, digital literacy and language |
| 6 | Stricter standards for agency accommodation houses, under Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2025 |
| 7 | Whitelisting of agencies, under Memorandum Circular No. 04, s. 2024 |
| 8 | AKSYON Fund for legal, medical, financial and emergency assistance |
Item 3 is the most practically useful. The video call must happen before the contract is finalised, must cover job duties, workplace conditions, household composition, rest periods and accommodation, and DMW and the Migrant Workers Offices may monitor or audit it.
Item 8 restates something worth memorising: passports are the property of the Philippine Government and must remain with the worker at all times, under Section 13 of RA 8239. Employers, recruiters and third parties are prohibited from withholding them except for justified purposes such as visa stamping.
The Standard Employment Contract guarantees decent accommodation, adequate living conditions and at least one full rest day per week.
Where a destination sets its own figure
Only one destination in this site’s coverage publishes a household worker minimum of its own.
| Destination | Published minimum |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | HK$5,100 a month, for contracts signed on or after 30 September 2025 |
The domestic helper salary in Hong Kong guide covers the Minimum Allowable Wage in full.
No official wage figure was found for domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE or Singapore while researching this page. Singapore in particular sets no minimum for migrant domestic workers, leaving the source country’s floor as the operative one. That absence is why this page is organised around the Philippine figure rather than by destination.
The government fees, which are separate
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| DMW processing, manual OEC through a landbased agency | ₱200.00 |
| OWWA membership | USD 25 |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱600.00 |
A placement fee is what an agency charges and for a household worker it is zero. Government fees are separate and payable regardless.
Charging above the allowable schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022, carrying 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and a fine of ₱1,000,000.00 to ₱2,000,000.00.
Related
The domestic helper salary in Hong Kong guide covers the one destination with its own published minimum, the caregiver salary abroad comparison covers the care work the 2025 advisory pushes domestic workers towards, and the PEOS guide covers the free seminar to take before applying.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the minimum salary for a Filipino domestic worker abroad?
- At least USD 500 a month. DMW Advisory No. 25, Series of 2025, signed 22 August 2025, raised it from USD 400, without prejudice to existing rules and policies implementing a higher wage.
- Does it depend on the country?
- The Philippine floor does not. It is set by DMW and integrated into all employment contracts DMW processes, wherever the worker is deployed. A destination may set a higher figure of its own, and Hong Kong does.
- When did it take effect?
- Items 1 to 4 of the advisory apply to newly hired domestic workers under contracts entered into, and to vacationing or returning workers under contracts renewed, 60 days after issuance. The advisory issued on 22 August 2025.
- Is the USD 500 actually being enforced?
- The advisory says the Department shall implement the increase and integrate it into all contracts it processes. Separately, DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac was reported in September 2025 saying the Department would not force it and would instead offer incentives such as faster processing to employers who pay it. Those two positions sit side by side and this page states both.
- How much can an agency charge me?
- Nothing. POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 06, Series of 2006, prohibits the collection of placement fee from household workers, whether before deployment or on-site through salary deduction. Any collection in violation is a grave offence punishable with cancellation of licence.
- How old do I have to be?
- 25. Governing Board Resolution No. 04, Series of 2006, reverted the minimum age for household workers to twenty-five years old regardless of gender, higher than the 18 that applies to other overseas workers.
- What do I need before I can be deployed?
- A TESDA National Certificate for Household Service Workers, NC II, and a country-specific language and culture orientation from OWWA. Proof of both is a condition for issuing the exit clearance.
- What is the Know Your Employer rule?
- Item 3 of the 2025 advisory requires mandatory video conferencing between the prospective domestic worker and the employer before the contract is finalised, covering job duties, workplace conditions, household composition, rest periods and accommodation, with DMW and MWOs able to monitor or audit those meetings.