Singapore baby admin, in plain words
The 17 Singapore words you meet while having a baby in Singapore, each explained in plain English and linked to what you actually have to do about it. Special Pass, GPML, confinement, polyclinic and the rest. Checked 22 September 2026.
- gynae — obstetrician
- What Singapore calls the doctor who looks after the pregnancy and delivers the baby. A private gynae is the usual expat route, because the public subsidies are for citizens and permanent residents. What to do about it
- KKH — KK Women's and Children's Hospital
- The largest public maternity hospital. Public, but a foreigner pays the unsubsidised rate there. What to do about it
- polyclinic — public GP clinic
- The government primary-care clinics that refer into public hospitals and run the childhood vaccination schedule. Subsidised for citizens and PRs; foreigners pay the standard rate. What to do about it
- GPML — Government-Paid Maternity Leave
- The 16 weeks of maternity leave for mothers of a Singapore citizen child. Mothers of a non-citizen child get 12 weeks under the Employment Act instead, 8 of them paid. What to do about it
- Employment Act — the main employment law
- The law that sets the 12 weeks of maternity leave and the 2 days of childcare leave for parents of a non-citizen child. It covers most employees, with some exceptions for managers on high pay, so check that it covers you. What to do about it
- confinement — the first month after the birth
- The traditional 28 days of rest after birth, and by extension the live-in nanny who looks after mother and baby through it. What to do about it
- levy — monthly government charge for a foreign worker
- What you pay the government each month for employing a confinement nanny or a domestic helper. For a confinement nanny it is S$300 a month when the baby is not a citizen. What to do about it
- LifeSG — the government services app
- The app and website where a birth is registered, the Baby Bonus is enrolled, and most family admin is done. What to do about it
- ICA — Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
- The agency that issues the birth certificate and the newborn's Special Pass, and extends the pass if the passport is late. What to do about it
- Special Pass — temporary permission for a foreign newborn to stay
- Granted automatically to a baby born here to foreign parents, and valid for 42 days from birth. The Dependant's Pass application has to go in before it runs out. What to do about it
- Dependant's Pass — family visa tied to a work pass
- The pass an Employment Pass or S Pass holder's spouse and children hold. Your employer applies for the baby's through the Ministry of Manpower. What to do about it
- MOM — Ministry of Manpower
- Issues work passes, the Dependant's Pass and the confinement nanny's work permit, and sets the leave rules. What to do about it
- Baby Bonus — cash gift for a citizen child
- S$11,000 for a first or second Singapore citizen child, plus the Child Development Account. Not paid for a child who is not a citizen. What to do about it
- CDA — Child Development Account
- A savings account for a citizen child, opened with a S$5,000 grant and matched dollar for dollar, spendable on approved childcare and medical costs. What to do about it
- ECDA — Early Childhood Development Agency
- Regulates infant care and preschools and runs the subsidies, which are for citizen children only. What to do about it
- infant care — nursery for babies from 2 to 18 months
- Full-day centre-based care from 2 months. Unsubsidised it runs about S$1,900 to S$2,600 a month. What to do about it
- health booklet — the child's health record
- The booklet the hospital gives you at birth with the baby's vaccinations and growth in it. Bring it to every appointment. What to do about it