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Adoption Leave

Support adoptive mothers in caring for their adopted infant (below 12 months old).

About the scheme

Eligible adoptive working mothers can enjoy up to 12 weeks of Adoption Leave (AL), to be taken within 12 months from the child’s date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).

Employment type	For the 1st and 2nd child order	For the 3rd and subsequent child order
For employees	Your employer will pay for the 1st to 4th week of your AL, at the gross rate of pay. The Government will reimburse your employer for the 5th to 12th week of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $20,000 per child order.	The Government will reimburse your employer for all 12 weeks of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $30,000 per child order.
For self-employed parents	The Government will reimburse the 5th to 12th week of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $20,000 per child order. The first 4 weeks are not reimbursable.	The Government will reimburse all 12 weeks of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $30,000 per child order.

Employment type

For the 1st and 2nd child order

For the 3rd and subsequent child order

For employees

Your employer will pay for the 1st to 4th week of your AL, at the gross rate of pay.

The Government will reimburse your employer for the 5th to 12th week of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $20,000 per child order.

The Government will reimburse your employer for all 12 weeks of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $30,000 per child order.

For self-employed parents

The Government will reimburse the 5th to 12th week of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $20,000 per child order.

The first 4 weeks are not reimbursable.

The Government will reimburse all 12 weeks of your AL, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks* or up to $30,000 per child order.

*Government reimbursement is capped at a daily rate of [$10,000 / (4 x working days a week)].

Who is eligible

1. Child's profile

You apply to adopt a child in accordance with Singapore law.
Your child is below 12 months old on your Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date.

2. Parent's profile

You are not the biological mother of the child.
If your child is not a Singapore Citizen (SC), either you or your husband (if he is a joint applicant to the adoption) has been a SC since the date on which the dependent’s pass (DP) is issued.

3. Employment status

For employees: You have served your employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months right before your child’s FIA date.
If you have worked for less than 3 months, you may still qualify for Adoption Leave (AL) if your employer is agreeable to grant you leave. The Government will reimburse your employer the Government-Paid portion of your AL if:
- you have served your employer at the point of your child’s FIA date,
- you have not claimed Government-Paid Adoption Benefit for the same child, and
- provided that the information declared in the claim is complete and accurate, and it does not contain any error or any false or misleading statement, document, or information.
For self-employed parents: You have been engaged in a particular trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period of at least 3 months right before your child’s FIA date, and have lost income from ceasing to be actively engaged during your AL period.

To note
The Government or your employer may recover the whole or any part of the payment for the AL reimbursed / granted if: Adoption Order for the child is not granted within 12 months from the FIA date (inclusive of FIA date); or The child is not a SC and did not obtain SC within 6 months from the Adoption Order date (inclusive of Adoption Order date).

To note

The Government or your employer may recover the whole or any part of the payment for the AL reimbursed / granted if:

Adoption Order for the child is not granted within 12 months from the FIA date (inclusive of FIA date); or
The child is not a SC and did not obtain SC within 6 months from the Adoption Order date (inclusive of Adoption Order date).

How entitlement is calculated

For both employers and self-employed parents: You may refer here to find out how the reimbursement is calculated.

For employers, you may use the calculator here to estimate the amount of reimbursement from the Government.

How and when AL can be taken

For employees

1. Plan and notify

Please discuss and agree on your leave plans with your employer as early as possible. Details of the leave plan to agree on include:
- Whether leave will be taken in one continuous block or non-continuously in separate smaller blocks.
- Start and end date of leave period(s).
If agreement between employer and employee cannot be reached on the leave plans, Adoption Leave (AL) should be taken in one continuous block, starting from the Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date, with 4 weeks’ notice to the employer. The employer can choose to waive or shorten the notice period.

2. Important notes

When you leave your employment, AL can be used to serve your notice period for termination of employment, but you cannot bring forward your official last day (e.g. if your official last working day is 30 June and you are serving 1 month’s notice from 1 June, you are allowed to take AL during this period, but your official end date will still remain as 30 June).
If it was agreed for AL to be taken non-continuously, and you did not consume the 5th to 12th weeks (wholly or partly) of your AL before the termination of your employment, you will not be eligible for payment from your employer in lieu of leave taking, and unconsumed AL cannot be brought forward to your next employment. You may however be eligible for Government-Paid Adoption Benefit from the Government if your employment is terminated due to contract expiry or retrenchment, and you meet the criteria.

Type of arrangement	When AL can be taken	Total Duration
Default arrangement; or No agreement between employer and employee	Start date: Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date^. 12 weeks* taken in one continuous block. ^ With 4 weeks' notice to employer. Employer can choose to waive or shorten the notice period.	12 weeks*
With mutual agreement between employer and employee	Start date: No earlier than FIA date and no later than Adoption Order date. 8 weeks (taken in one continuous block), and another 4 weeks (either continuously or non-continuously) within 12 months of the child’s date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).

Type of arrangement

When AL can be taken

Total Duration

Default arrangement; or

No agreement between employer and employee

Start date: Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date^.

12 weeks* taken in one continuous block.

^ With 4 weeks' notice to employer. Employer can choose to waive or shorten the notice period.

12 weeks*

With mutual agreement between employer and employee

Start date: No earlier than FIA date and no later than Adoption Order date.

8 weeks (taken in one continuous block), and another 4 weeks (either continuously or non-continuously) within 12 months of the child’s date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).

* For the 1st and 2nd child order, your employer will pay for the 1st to 4th week of your AL at the gross rate of pay and the Government will reimburse your employer for the 5th to 12th week of your AL. For the 3rd and subsequent child order, the Government will reimburse your employer for all 12 weeks of your AL. Reimbursement is subject to a reimbursement cap (see About the scheme above).

For self-employed parents

1. Record your AL dates

2. Important notes

If you do not qualify for Adoption Leave (AL) due to your employment arrangements, you may still be eligible for Government-Paid Adoption Benefit.

Type of arrangement	When AL can be taken	Total Duration
Self-employed parents	Start date: Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date. 12 weeks taken in one continuous block. Or Start date: No earlier than FIA date and no later than Adoption Order date. 8 weeks (taken in one continuous block), and another 4 weeks (either continuously or non-continuously) within 12 months of the child’s date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).	12 weeks*

* For the 1st and 2nd child order, the Government will reimburse the 5th to 12th week of your AL and the first 4 weeks are not reimbursable. For the 3rd and subsequent child order, the Government will reimburse all 12 weeks of your AL. Reimbursement is subject to a reimbursement cap (see About the scheme above).

How to apply and claim

For employees

1. Plan and notify

Notify your employer on your leave arrangements early so that they can verify your eligibility and make alternative work arrangements.

2. Apply for AL

Your employer may require you to submit your required supporting documents and for you to apply for Adoption Leave (AL) according to your employer’s leave application procedures.
Should you be applicable for AL under your employer, no submission of claim is required – your employer will submit any claims for reimbursement*, as applicable.

For self-employed parents

1. Record your AL dates

Adoption Leave (AL) can be taken:
For 12 weeks in one continuous block starting from your child’s Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date; or
For 8 weeks (taken in one continuous block) starting no earlier than your child’s FIA date but no later than the Adoption Order date, and another 4 weeks (either continuously or non-continuously) within 12 months of your child’s date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).

2. Submit your claim

Submit your claims online via the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal after you have commenced your Government-paid portion* of AL.
You may submit a claim for reimbursement for any part of the AL that has been taken, and for the Government-paid portion. There is no need to fully complete the Government-paid portion of your AL before you submit a claim, and multiple claims are allowed.
Submission should be made no later than 3 months after the last date of your AL.

3. Check application status

You may check your application status on the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal.
If additional information is required, an officer will follow up with you after your submission.

To note
As a self-employed parent, you will be eligible for payment for the income lost during the Government-paid portion of the AL taken. This is calculated based on your relevant Notice of Assessment from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Please refer to our service standards for the processing time.

For employers

1. Verify employee’s eligibility

Confirm your employee qualifies for Government-Paid Leave schemes before their leave starts.
You may use MSF’s declaration form, or your own form/system to capture your employee’s declaration.
- This declaration form is to guide you in verifying the employee’s eligibility. You are not required to submit this form when submitting the claim for reimbursement.

2. Submit reimbursement claim

Submit your claim for reimbursement online via the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal after your employee has taken the Government-paid portion* of Adoption Leave (AL).
You may submit a claim for reimbursement for any part of the AL that has been taken, and for the Government-paid portion. Your employee does not need to fully complete the Government-Paid portion of AL before you submit a claim, and multiple claims for the same employee are allowed.
Submission should be made no later than 3 months after the last date of your employee’s AL.

3. Check application status

You may check your application status on the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal.
Please refer to our service standards for the processing time.
A notification will be sent to you and your employee once your application is approved.

* For your employee’s 1st and 2nd child order, the Government-paid portion of AL is the 5th to 12th week of the AL. For your employee’s 3rd and subsequent child order, the Government-paid portion of AL is all 12 weeks of the AL. Reimbursement is subject to a reimbursement cap (see About the scheme above).