New Work Pass Requirements

By Shennen Lim, Legal Associate and Franca Ciambella, Managing Director

The Ministry of Manpower recently tightened the work pass requirements to ensure that the criteria for work passes remains relevant and responsive to the current times, as well as to encourage employers to develop a strong local workforce.

A summary of the key revisions to the Employment Pass and S-Pass eligibility criteria are as follows:

• From 1 September 2020, the minimum salary requirement will be increased from S$3,900 to S$4,500 for all new EP applicants and from S$2,400 to S$2,500 for all new S-Pass applicants from 1 October 2020 onwards.
• From 1 December 2020, the minimum qualifying salary for applicants in the Financial Services sector will be raised to S$5,000 for new applicants.
• The qualifying salaries for older and more experienced applicants will also be revised upwards.
• For renewal applications, the revised salary criteria will take effect from 1 May 2021.
• From 1 October 2020, the advertising requirement under the Fair Consideration Framework (“FCF”) will also be extended to new S-Pass applications and the minimum advertising duration will be 28 days (if applicable).

Stay tuned for future changes!