Employment 2025

SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Kelvin Tan, Benjamin Gaw and Lim Chong Kin, Drew & Napier LLC

each EP application, including performance on the EP qualifying salary and COMPASS (with breakdown of scores by criterion). Generally, employers submitting EP applications must first advertise the job vacancy on the national jobs bank, MyCareersFuture, for at least 14 calendar days and consider all candidates fairly. S Pass The S Pass is for foreign mid-level skilled staff who earn at least SGD3,150 a month in the non-financial services sector and SGD3,650 a month in the finan - cial services sector, and they meet the assessment criteria in terms of qualifications and work experience. Older, more experienced candidates will require higher salaries to qualify (the qualifying salaries increase pro - gressively with age, up to SGD4,650 for a candidate in their mid-forties in the non-financial services sector, and up to SGD5,650 for a candidate in the financial services sector). The qualifying salaries mentioned above apply to new applications and renewals from 1 September 2024. The minimum qualifying salary will be revised to at least SGD3,300 in the non-financial services sectors and at least SGD3,800 a month in the financial ser - vices sector for new applications from 1 September 2025, and for renewals from 1 September 2026. Older, more experienced candidates will require higher sala - ries to qualify (up to SGD4,800 for a candidate in the non-financial services sector, and up to SGD5,650 for a candidate in the financial services sector). Employers are limited by a quota and subject to a levy for each S Pass-holder employee. Generally, employers submitting S Pass applications must first advertise the job vacancy on the national jobs bank, MyCareersFuture, for at least 14 calendar days and consider all candidates fairly. Work Permit The Work Permit is generally for foreign semi-skilled workers in the construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard, process or services sector. There is no minimum salary for employees on a Work Permit, but employers are limited by a quota and subject to

a levy. Depending on the sector, there may also be restrictions based on source country or region, mini - mum age, maximum period of employment and other restrictions. 4.2 Registration Requirements for Foreign Workers Applications for work passes are made to the MOM. When making work pass applications, the prospective employer needs to get the worker’s written consent. When making an EP application, the prospective employer needs to provide particulars of the foreign worker’s passport, the foreign worker’s educational certificates and the employer’s latest business profile information. Employers are required to verify educa - tional qualifications submitted to the MOM in support of an EP application. The verification can be done through selected background screening companies, which are listed on the MOM’s website. Alternatively, the MOM will also accept verification proof obtained from online portals of countries’ governments, the Center for Student Services and Development for qualifications from China, or letters of qualification from professional bodies. Digital certificates issued by selected educational institutions and verified through the OpenCerts portal may also be accepted. For Work Permit applications and S Pass applications, the employer is required to buy and maintain medical insurance as follows. • For policies with start date effective before 1 July 2023 – providing coverage of at least SGD15,000 per year. • For policies with start date effective on or after 1 July 2023 – providing coverage of at least SGD60,000 per year. When making a Work Permit application, the employer is required to post a SGD5,000 security bond for each worker (with the exception of Malaysians).

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