Singapore Employment Pass
Singapore Employment Pass requirements has been made stricter by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower in recent years. Since the implementation of the COMPASS framework in 2023, the Singapore Ministry of Manpower has been more demanding before giving the nod for a Singapore Employment Pass (EP). This is more so for employers with more than 25 employees within their organization.
Employers with 10 or more employees are required to advertise their job vacancies at the government-administered job portal known as mycareerfuture for a period of 2 weeks, and if there is no suitably qualified local applicants, only then an application for a Singapore Employment Pass for foreign candidates can commence. More details can be found at this link https://mycareerfuture.gov.sg
The COMPASS framework is divided into 2 stage with stage 1 being the minimum salary requirement to qualify for either as a new applicant or as a renewal candidate. The minimum salary requirement is tied to the industry (either financial or non-financial industry), job title and age of the applicant. Senior applicants would require a higher qualifying salary compared to a younger and more junior applicant for the same role.
If the candidates meets Stage 1 of COMPASS requirements, stage 2 criteria will be applied and these would include factors such as educational qualification, diversity of employees in terms of nationality profiles within the sponsoring employer, and how well the employers support the hiring local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) in terms of their proportion to foreign employees within the organisation. A minimum of 40 points are required for an applicant to qualify for a Singapore Employment Pass.
The Ministry of Manpower examines the extent of the company’s contribution to the economy and society when evaluating all Singapore employment pass applications. So, bonus points are added for companies operating within strategic priorities. The quality of education qualification also plays a part in terms of meeting the 40 points criteria. Graduates from prestigious or top tier universities can obtain additional 10 points on top of their basic 10 points for qualification. This can allow such candidates to be hired by employers who may not meet the other factors such as the diversity criteria. The additional 10 points gain from being a top tier university graduate can compensate for the shortfall of 10 points from the diversity criteria or support for local employment criteria.
Applicants especially senior business owners without proven or verifiable tertiary educational qualification can still qualify for Singapore Employment Pass despite their seeming lack of education qualification. The lack of points for verifiable tertiary educational qualifications can be compensated with additional 10 points by meeting a higher salary requirements. However, such applicant should be aware that higher salary requirements means higher personal income tax obligation.
One of the Singapore government’s priority in the coming years will be to build a strong Singaporean core in all employment sectors in Singapore. Business owners, senior management and human resource managers of new and existing companies in Singapore should take note of the above policy directions and take them into account as part of their manpower planning and strategies going forward. Given the more challenging criteria to obtain Singapore Employment Pass approval, it is advisable for business owners and sponsoring employers to plan ahead strategically or work with experience professional firm licensed by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower for such purpose. This will reduce the anxiety and time needed to process a successful application.
The stricter Singapore employment pass requirements is expected to remain for the foreseeable future as the Singaporean workforce matures and more educated locals are able to perform higher skills work.
Please feel free to consult us for a free non-obligation preliminary advice if you are planning to apply for a Singapore Employment Pass.
