Why the transfer market is where most MDWs find their next employer — and what that means for everyone

Walk through any MDW agency in Singapore today and you will notice something. The majority of workers available for hire are not fresh arrivals. They are on transfer — already in Singapore, finishing up with one employer, and looking for the next.

This is not a new trend, but it has become the dominant one. Industry estimates suggest that transfers now make up the majority of MDW placements in Singapore. For a city-state that has long relied on a steady pipeline of first-time workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar, that is a meaningful shift.

What is driving it

Several things are happening at once. Sending countries have tightened their own processes. Flight and training costs have risen. And employers, frankly, have become more selective. A worker who already has Singapore experience — who knows how local kitchens work, how MRT lines run, how families here communicate — is a lower-risk hire for many households.

For workers, being on transfer also means more leverage. You are not starting from zero. You have a track record. You can be clearer about what kind of household suits you, what your boundaries are, and what you are worth.

But the transfer market has real friction in it

The problem is that the transfer process still runs largely through agencies — and agency incentives are not always aligned with worker or employer interests. Placement fees get charged again. Workers are sometimes pressured to accept the first offer put in front of them, especially if their current employment is ending and they feel the clock ticking on their visit pass.

Employers, on the other hand, often do not know what questions to ask. They read a profile on a form and make a decision that affects their household for years. There is very little honest, two-way matching happening.

What good matching actually looks like

It starts with information. Workers should be able to describe what they are looking for — not just what they can do. Employers should be able to explain how their household actually runs — not just list their requirements. The fit between a worker and a family is rarely just about skills. It is about communication style, expectations around rest days, how feedback gets given, whether there are pets or elderly parents or young children involved.

When that conversation happens before a contract is signed, both sides are better off. Fewer breakdowns. Fewer transfers down the line.

At Anisya, we built our platform around exactly this kind of honest, direct matching — because the transfer market deserves better infrastructure than a photocopied biodata sheet and a rushed interview.