Singapore has emerged as the business and pleasure hub for people from all around the globe. The country offers a range of options for jobseekers and employers alike. However, as always, the story has another side. In a bid to keep a check on the illegal influx of immigrants, which brings a lot of problems along, different employment passes and work permits for Singapore have been put into place.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which implements all policies relating to immigration, has decided to change some of the parameters needed to procure these immigration documents, such as increasing the salary bar and qualifications required for getting these documents. These steps have been taken keeping in view the fact that an excess of foreign manpower has led to an exclusion of local population in the hunt for jobs.  To avoid this situation of disparity, the MOM has strategically and stringently executed the steps which have shown immediate results.

Another reason for keeping such a vigil on immigrants is the fact that drug trafficking has increased in Singapore over the last few years, and the culprits involved have been found to be immigrants in most cases. The government of Singapore has a very strict policy when it comes to drugs, and this issue has raised genuine concerns. The issuance of employment passes for executive jobs and work permits for skilled trade workers keeps a check on the number of people entering the country.

When it comes to obtaining employment passes and work permits for Singapore, employment agencies can be of great help.  At the same time, they also help to keep a check on illegal immigration, as all the prospective candidates are registered and their background is thoroughly checked. In addition, such agencies also take care of the candidates they have invited and take it upon themselves to introduce the people to the culture so that there is no scope of misunderstanding and undesired events to take place.

Furthermore, employment agencies serve the employers as well, as they have an almost inexhaustible talent pool and make the candidates go through a lot of extensive screening processes to sieve out the best resources available.

Singapore, as a city, is bound to become one of the focal points of world commerce in the years to come. Playing host to an amalgamation of the torchbearers of the future, i.e. the citizens of the third world and Asian countries, this country is all set to excel in all aspects, enhancing the overall level of human development in the process.

The Ministry of Manpower Singapore is the regulating authority that handles all immigration and work pass transactions. An employment pass is one of the documents that are needed for professionals working in top executive positions and earning $3300 or more per month. There are some duties that the employer needs to fulfill before submitting the application for employment pass.

First of all, employers need to conduct a thorough screening process that should be exhaustive in its rigor to select the most suitable candidate. If they want, they can avail the specific services of employment agencies for this purpose. The employment agencies have massive resource pools that give a wide range of human resource to choose from.

After the initial screening process, the employer needs to file an application for the employment pass of the chosen candidate either online or manually.  It would be a prudent choice if the employer evaluates the candidate with the Employee Self-Assessment Tool. This gives a credible early indication on whether or not the employee has enough credentials to qualify the Employment pass eligibility as carried out by the Ministry of manpower.

Documents Needed

Along with the application, the employer/employment agency/Sponsor Company have to upload relevant supporting documents. This saves the dual effort of having to submit the physical documents at the employment service center again during verification.

The employer needs to make sure that the following guidelines are followed while submitting the documents.

Guidelines

• Copies of the documents submitted should be decipherable and in a good condition
• Scanner resolution is recommended at 150dpi or above;
• PDF file is the statutory and compulsory format for document upload. Each document file size should not be more than 2 MB
• Supporting documents made in any other language should be submitted along with an official English translation. Each of the documents must be scanned and uploaded together in a single file.

Some Essential Information

• An important guideline for those employers who are not registered in Singapore is that they can avail the services of another business having a registered office in Singapore as the sponsor on their behalf to submit the application for employment pass of the candidate.
• Employment pass for employers running Food-stalls, hawker centers, coffee shops and food courts is not required as they are not given permission to employ foreign workers. The underlying principle behind this rule is that these activities are run on a small scale and can be handled by the owner along with their family or such small unit.

Employment Pass (EP) is a type of work permit issued by the ministry of manpower (MOM) to foreign professionals, managers, and owners/directors of Singapore-based companies.

An EP enables you to work and live in Singapore, and travel in and out of the country freely without applying for Singapore entry visas. Possessing an EP is also the first step for potential Singapore permanent residence in due course. The Employment Pass (EP) is normally issued for 1-2 years which can be renewed.

The different categories of Employment Passes are:

P1 Pass: For a base salary above S$8,000 a month.
P2 Pass: For a base salary between S$4,500 and S$8,000 a month.
Q1 Pass: For a base salary between S$3,300 and S$4,500 a month.

All the EP work visas except Q1 pass allows you to bring your spouse and children if they are less than 21 years old.

As a rule of thumb, higher the pass category, the better are the chances of permanent residence approval.

Documents Required

• Employment Form 8 approved by the employing company.
• A copy of the applicant’s resume detailing the work experience
• Copies of educational certificates and past employment testimonials.
• A passport-size photograph taken within the past three months
• A copy of the personal particulars page of the applicant’s passport
• Detailed description of the job profile of the applicant
• Detailed description of activities and/or products of the company

Note: Any documents that are not in English must be officially translated into English.

Follow Up

Completed applications with the required documents have to be submitted to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) – the regulating body that reviews EP applications. The online application is generally quicker but does not allow for attachment of all the supporting documents.

The processing time of an online application varies between 1-10 working days depending on the credentials of the employing company and the qualifications of the applicant.

In case of a manual application, the processing time taken by the MOM can be anything from 3-6 weeks from the date of submission.

SOME NOTES

• The time taken for the overall application procedure can vary from a few days to a few weeks, depending on a range of factors (such as the availability of the applicant’s documents, whether the application is submitted online or manually, etc.).

• Along with the minimum salary, the applicant’s educational qualifications and work experience are also important factors for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in granting and determining the Employment Pass category.

• For Q1 pass holders, only those candidates who are qualified from reputed institutions will be considered. The minimum salary requirement of S$3,300 (w.e.f. 1 January 2014) is typically applicable to fresh graduates from quality educational institutions, whereas experienced applicants need to command higher salaries to qualify.

Contact us right now at 65 6338 9465 for all your employment pass related queries or you can also visit here for more information.