Verify the agency and the person first
MOM says an EA needs a licence to operate. Check the agency and registered EA personnel in MOM's live EA Directory, and match the person's registration-card details. Directory data is dynamic, so reopen it when acting; an old check, screenshot or website statement is not durable present-status proof.
Compare criteria, ratings and track record in context
After verification, ask how the EA understands needs, screens and matches helpers, provides support, and records service and fee terms. Treat MOM's live rating and performance context as one input, not a best, cheapest, guaranteed-fit or ranking claim. Choose placement, direct hire or transfer before comparing agency service.
Review written terms before comparing fees
MOM says EAs must sign a written service agreement with MDW employers. Review scope, inclusions, exclusions, replacement, termination, refund and dispute terms together. Use MOM's refund page as a boundary, not a case decision: this guide gives no ANSONMAE price, quote, payment instruction, refund entitlement or P1-08 cancellation lifecycle.
Agency assistance is separate from agency verification
An EA may assist with a placement, direct-hire or transfer pathway, but that role is separate from checking its directory record. A listing does not prove case acceptance, transaction readiness, helper availability, price, service quality, timing or outcome.
Keep first contact document-light
State only the intended hiring route, whether matching is needed, first-time-employer status, and whether the question concerns service scope or written fee terms. Do not send a passport, FIN, Work Permit, IPA, helper biodata, employment history, medical, salary, payment, bank, service-agreement or cancellation record publicly. Detailed review belongs in an approved protected handoff, which this guide does not activate.
Freshness and provenance
What changed in this review
No material-change entry is recorded for this guide. Its source-review date is not a claim that the main content changed on that date.
Read the public guide review-date and material-change rules.
Relevant service