Types of Employment Pass

The employment pass is meant for a foreigner whose fixed monthly salary is S$3,300 and above with requirements depending on his/her qualifications as well as experience.

• Young graduates from good institutions can qualify if they earn at least S$3,300.
• Older applicants would have to command higher salaries to qualify, commensurate with the work experience and quality expected of them.
  
  

While an individual employment pass is tied to an employer, the PEP allows its holder to remain in Singapore without a job for up to six months while evaluating employment opportunities. It is issued only once with a validity period of three years and non-renewable. PEP holders must earn an annual salary of at least S$144,000 in each calendar year of the PEP.

A foreigner whose fixed monthly salary is at least S$2,200 is eligible for an S Pass. S Pass applicants will be assessed on a points system, taking into account various criteria such as salary, educational qualifications, skills, job type and work experience.

Currently, the number of S Pass holders a company can employ is capped at a sub-Dependency Ceiling (sub-DC) of 15% of the company’s total workforce in the Services sector and 20% in the remaining sectors.

A foreigner whose fixed monthly salary is not more than S$2,200 will need to apply for a Work Permit. The permit can be categorised into ‘semi-skilled’ and ‘unskilled’ depending on the educational level and industry sector the applicant is employed under.

An employer that wishes to bring workers from North Asian Sources, Non-Traditional Sources and the People’s Republic of China into Singapore needs to furnish a security bond of S$5,000 per worker, and pay foreign worker levies for them. Please refer to MOM website for more information.