How to Apply for an Employment Pass Singapore?

The following types of passes are provided in Singapore for foreign individuals:

• Entrepass- For Entrepreneurs and investors willing to invest in Singapore.
• Employment Pass- For skilled workers having specific educational qualifications.
• S Pass- This form of the pass is issued for semi-skilled workforce.
• Work Pass- This form of the pass is issued to individuals taking blue-collared jobs.

In this article, we will be covering the requirements of an employment pass in Singapore.

What is an Employment Pass?

An employment pass is a work pass provided to skilled foreign workers who have specific qualifications. To be eligible for an employment pass in Singapore, the individual candidate requires to have specific qualifications which are recognized by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Eligibility Criteria for Employment Pass in Singapore

An employer in Singapore has to satisfy the following eligibility criteria for applying for an employment pass in Singapore:

• Employment Passes are only given to foreign candidates, hence an employer has to consider recruiting foreign individuals.
• Only skilled workers with specific criteria are recruited under this form of pass.
• An individual must be earning a minimum salary of S$ 4,500 (increased to S$ 5,000 as per the budget 2022) per month to qualify for an employment pass in Singapore.
• Mature individuals above the age of 40 should earn more than SG$ 4,500 (increased to more than S$ 5,000 as per the budget 2022) per month to be eligible to work in Singapore.

Procedure for Applying for an Employment Pass Singapore

Now that you know what an employment pass in Singapore is, let us understand the procedure for applying for an employment pass in Singapore. The following procedure has to be considered for employment pass in Singapore:

1. Make a Job Posting

The MOM requires all employers to post the job on the following website ‘Mycareersfuture.sg’. This is carried out in order to show that the employer has followed the relevant protocol under the ‘Fair Consideration Framework (FCF)’. There are few requirements that have to be considered as per the FCF. The following are:

• There must be no discrimination against the candidates based on age, nationality, sex, gender and other factors.
• The job post must be present for a period of 28 days on the website.
• Suppose an employer edits the job after posting it, then the job post must be kept for a period of 28 days from the date of editing.
• The salary paid for all individuals having an employment pass must meet the criteria.

Documents

The following documents have to be provided by an employer.

Documents required by a domestically incorporated company:

• Information and personnel particulars of the candidate such as passport information of the foreign individual.
• Along with this, the employer has to provide the complete business profile of his company.
• Any relevant qualifications and degree certificates have to be submitted online. If any educational institution is not present in the list of universities, then a global verification would be required.

All the documents have to be uploaded online with relevant passport information. The employer is solely responsible for verifying all documents provided by the foreign candidate. Documents that are not in the English Language must be translated.

Documents required by a foreign company for starting a representative office in Singapore:

• Approval from Enterprise Singapore for setting up the office.
• Purpose of application.
• Duration of assignment or stay of the employee.
• Some form of guarantee of maintenance and repatriation of the employee.

Documents required by a professional such as an architect, doctor, or lawyer under the employment pass:

• Along with regular documents, a professional would require approval from the respective authority. For example, a lawyer under employment pass in Singapore would require authorization from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.
  
  

Make an Application and Submit

In the next step, the employer has to file the application on ‘MyMom Portal’. While making the application, the employer must submit all documents mentioned above. The following fees have to be paid:

• Before processing the application, you would require the full consent of the candidate to apply for the employment pass in Singapore.
• Application Processing- SG$ 105.

After reviewing the application, if the pass is approved, the authority would provide a certificate known as an ‘In-Principle Approval’ (IPA). An employer must take the printout of the IPA.

When the IPA is provided, then the employer must bring the candidate to Singapore within 6 months of this approval. Usually, an application which is submitted by an employer in Singapore would take about 3 to 4 weeks to process.

For an overseas company, a similar process isutilizedd. However, a local sponsor must submit the application on behalf of the overseas company. The processing time for an overseas company would be 8 weeks.

Issue of the Pass

Once the individual comes to Singapore, then the employer must take all steps to secure the employment pass. The following must be carried out by the employer:

• A fee of SG$ 225 must be paid when the candidate is present in Singapore.

When the pass is issued to the candidate the following is required:

• Passport details of the candidate.
• Singapore contact details of the candidate.
• Immigration information such as the Short Term Visa (STVP).
• Singapore registered address of the candidate.

You may also be required to provide the following:

• Candidate passport page information.
• Medical tests of the candidate after arriving in Singapore. Not all passes require this test to be carried out.
• Declaration of the Same.

Identification

The candidate would be required to submit a passport size photo. Along with this, the employer would have to book an appointment with the Employment Pass Service Centre (EPSC) for taking the fingerprint details of the candidate. The following have to be taken with the candidate during the appointment for validation at the EPSC:

• Appointment Letter.
• Original Passport.
• Notification Letter.

Receipt of Card

Once identification details are collected, it would take about four working days for the employment pass to be processed. Once it is complete, it would be delivered to the registered address of the candidate. Hence in order to recruit foreign candidates, you must make an application for an employment pass to the MOM.

Conclusion

An employment pass is required for foreign workers in Singapore. As an employer, you may want to recruit a foreign worker. If you plan to recruit foreign workers, then you have to make an application for an employment pass.

At ScaleX Business Pte, we provide expert advice on securing an employment pass in Singapore. If you require more information on employment pass in Singapore, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.