Earlier, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced the latest minimum wage requirement adjustment, introducing higher requirements for foreign employees' Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass (SP).
➥ Employment Pass (EP)
EP is a work pass set up by the Ministry of Manpower for foreign professionals (management, supervisor or professional positions), which is the highest level of work pass.
➥ S Pass Work Pass (SP)
SP is a work permit set up by the Ministry of Manpower for foreign employees with intermediate technical standards. Have relevant qualifications and work experience.
From September 2023, the EP pass approval review will be stricter, and a complementary professional assessment framework COMPASS will be added
Image source: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
The new points system for the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS).
Some companies may have to make adjustments, but because of the transparency, clarity and predictability of the framework, companies will know where to improve.
COMPASS activation time:
New applications are available from 1 September 2023
Applications for renewal of passes are available from 1 September 2024
There is still no limit on the Employment Pass, but applicants or renewals of the Pass must achieve at least 40 points in the four basic items of the Complementary Professional Assessment Framework.
Image source: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
The four items are:
- C1 salary (compared to local peer fixed monthly salary)
The applicant's monthly salary reaches or exceeds 90% of peers of the same age, 20 points;
10 points are awarded between 65% and 90%;
Below 65%, 0 points
- C2 is based on the applicant's academic qualifications
20 points for applicants who graduated from a top school;
10 points for equivalent university degree;
0 points without a university degree
- C3 Diversity of employees (ratio of applicants' nationalities to white-collar employees)
The applicant's nationality accounts for 5% or less of the total number of employees of the company, 20 points;
10 points are awarded between 5% and 25%;
Exceeding or exactly 25% is 0 points
- C4 Support for hiring local workers (the proportion of local white-collar workers employed by enterprises in their industries)
The company's local employees exceed or just 50%, 20 points;
10 points are awarded between 20% and 50%;
Less than 20% is 0 points
Let's take a look at what changes have changed in the work permit application criteria in recent years:
In 2014
The monthly salary application standard for Employment Pass (EP) has been raised from S$3,000 to S$3,300.
Note: In 2014, as long as you meet this basic salary and academic requirements, the probability of approval is very high. However, in 2012, the monthly salary was S$2,800.
In 2015
To apply for a dependant pass for spouses and children, the monthly salary application standard for the main application will be increased from S$4,000 to S$5,000.
Apply for a long visa for parents, and the monthly salary application standard will be raised from S$8,000 to S$10,000.
In 2016
The update of the hard requirements has finally stopped for a year...
In 2017
The monthly salary application standard for Employment Pass (EP) has been raised from S$3,300 to S$3,600. Only new employment pass applicants with a monthly salary of at least S$3,600 and meeting other qualifications and experience criteria will be considered.
Note: Starting from 2017, in addition to meeting the mandatory requirements of basic salary and academic qualifications, the Ministry of Manpower will also focus on reviewing the applicant's experience and require the applicant to obtain a salary commensurate with the work experience and skills.
In 2018
To apply for a dependant pass for spouses and children, the monthly salary application standard for the main application has been raised from S$5,000 to S$6,000.
Apply for a long visa for parents, and the monthly salary application standard will be raised from S$10,000 to S$12,000.
2019-2020
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower recently announced that it will make another revision of the foreign worker regulations to ensure skilled jobs and improve the quality of foreign workers. This statement covers significant changes to the policy that may affect a large number of expats and their employers in Singapore.
➮ Starting from 2019, SP's monthly salary application standard will be raised from S$2,200 to S$2,300.
➮ Starting from 2020, SP's monthly salary application standard will be raised from S$2,300 to S$2,400.
Singapore has always had a Manpower Policy Framework designed to meet the manpower needs of the economy, enabling businesses to remain competitive and growing, and ultimately creating more and better jobs in Singapore.
Nearly 6 out of every 10 local workers in Singapore are professionals, managers, executives and local skilled personnel (PMET), which is one of the highest ratios in the world, and the ratio of employment pass holders to local skilled personnel (PMET) in Singapore is 1:7.
Singapore continues to welcome companies that can bring in scarce skills or explore new opportunities, but at the same time, the Singapore government is asking companies to invest more in developing and strengthening the core of Singaporeans in their workforce.
In addition, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower will continue to promote a progressive salary model in the future to raise the salaries of low-income workers. Over the past five years, the monthly income of full-time employees in the cleaning, security and landscaping industries, which pioneered the model, has increased by 30%, which is well above the increase in median wages. These efforts require long-term input from employers, purchasers of services and society as a whole.