MOM to raise salary criteria for Employment Passes and S Passes

Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said the adjustment is to enable firms to access the manpower they need while ensuring a strong Singaporean core.
By: | August 27, 2020
Topics: Asia-Pacific | Employment Law | News | Singapore | Southeast Asia

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore will raise the salary criteria for Employment Passes (EP) and S Passes (SP).

It announced on August 27 that the minimum salary requirement for EP will be raised to S$4,500 from the current S$3,900 for all new applicants from September 1, while the salary criteria for SP will be increased to S$2,500 from S$2,400 from October 1.

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For older and more experienced EP candidates in their 40s, the qualifying salaries will be raised correspondingly and are set to remain around double the minimum qualifying salary for the youngest applicants.

For renewal applicants, these new salary criteria will come into effect from May 1 next year.

However, the financial services sector will be subjected to a higher minimum qualifying salary for EPs which was raised to S$5,000 for new applicants from December 1.

Similarly, more experienced candidates will need to meet a higher qualifying salary.

From September 1 to December 1, the minimum salary requirement for EPs (S$4,500) will apply equally to the financial services.

Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo, who will be speaking at the HR Tech Festival Asia Online 2020 from September 29 to October 1, explained that the latest measure is to encourage fair hiring in these challenging economic climate.

“It’s important that Singapore remains an open and connected hub for international businesses, and we do value the contributions of foreign workforce because they do complement the local workforce in keeping Singapore an attractive host to investors from around the world,” she said

“Still, we have to understand these Employment Pass and S Pass changes in the right context. They are updates that help to keep them current with the prevailing conditions, and also make sure that the policies remain responsive.”

Teo also added that nearly six in 10 locals in the workforce are employed in professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) jobs, and that for every EP holder, there are nearly seven locals employed in PMET roles.