Employment Pass
Foreign professionals who have secured a job in Singapore will have to successfully obtain a work visa first before they can commence work. This work visa is to be applied by their employer who offers them the job opportunity, subject to them meeting the criterion set. The business owner who has a company registration in Singapore may apply for valid work pass to be employed by their Singapore business, subject to meeting the pre-requisites and criterion set by MOM.
Employment Pass (EP or e pass) is one of the work passes available to companies for their foreign employees to live and work in Singapore. Issued by Ministry of Manpower (MOM), e pass is for positions such as managers, executives, skills professionals and job specialists who meet the criterion set for the e pass. Criterion such as the tertiary qualification from a recognized and reputable tertiary institution, possess relevant work experience, being offered a competitive salary that commensurates with the job market. The e pass allows the holder to live and work in Singapore. An e pass holder can travel in and out of Singapore without having to apply for entry visas. An e pass can be valid for at least 12 months up to 2 years/ 3 years and is renewable.
Qualification of EP(e pass)
To qualify for an e pass in Singapore, the applicant needs to meet the following criterion:
1. Offered a position as Executive, Managerial, Specialists, Professionals.
2. Offered a minimum fixed salary of S$3,600 per month. Experienced candidates will need to be paid a higher salary than commensurates the work experience.
3. Possess a tertiary educational, i.e. a degree from a reputable tertiary institution.
4. There is no quota requirement for a company applying for an e pass in Singapore. Company has no limit to the number of e pass it can apply. However, companies are required to practice fair employment efforts by complying with the Fair Consideration Framework set by Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
Fair Consideration Framework – Job Banks
Employers who wish to hire foreign talent on e pass may be required by MOM to place the job advertisement in the Singapore Workforce Development Agency’s Job Bank for a period of 14 days. Exemptions may be granted for the following:
• Jobs in firms with less than 10 employees;
• Short term positions, e.g. job for less than a month;
• Jobs paying more than S$15,000 per month;
• Candidate Intra-corporate transferees (i.e. manager, executive holding senior-level position in a company, has worked with the company outside Singapore for at least 1 year, or skilled professionals who possess proprietary knowledge specific to the organization, e.g. service, equipment, technique, etc.).
How To Apply
An e pass can be applied online or manually with MOM. However, this tedious work process can be left to an experienced service provider such as Bestar who will ensure that the application of the work pass is carried out smoothly. Based on our years of experience providing company registration in Singapore, company secretarial services, bookkeeping & accounting and human resource advisory matters for our valued clients, we ensure that you do not waste unnecessary time and efforts in the e pass application process.
EP Application
There are various documents and forms to be filed before an e pass application can be submitted, namely:
• Form 8 duly completed by Singapore hiring employer
• Passport copy of the applicant
• Copy of degree and certificates of the applicant
• Resume of applicant
• Detail job description and duties of the applicant
• Hiring company business profile
Additional supporting documents may be requested such as company revenue, tenancy agreement.
EP Appeal
Contact Bestar should thee pass applied gets rejected and the employer decides to appeal. We will walk you through the tedious process to ensure your e pass appeal is processed without delay. By working closely with MOM, we assist the employer to find out the reasons for rejection and help to address these reasons in the appeal.
EP Timeline
Typically, MOM takes 3 weeks to process an e pass application. Once MOM approves the application, Bestar will assist to coordinate, process the issuance and collect e pass card for the employer. No hassle on the part of the employer.
EP Renewal
2 Months before e pass expires, MOM will mail to an employer e pass Renewal Form. We will assist the employer to submit e pass renewal application form to MOM before the expiry and ensure smooth renewal of your employee’s e pass.
Bestar team consists of experienced professionals who not only provide company registration in Singapore, company secretarial services, accounting & bookkeeping services. Our team consists of experienced HR professionals who can provide advisory and consultation on labor market practices in Singapore. Employers and business owners can leave the tedious and paper crunching process on work pass matters such as work permit, e pass, s pass, and dependent pass to us and be rest assured that the required is processed timely with no delay.