The Singapore Employment Pass

All working individuals in Singapore who are foreign workers are required to hold on to a work visa. One example of a work pass would be the Employment Pass (EP)

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Source: Offshore Company Formation

The EP is a work visa granted to foreign workers who hold college degrees from recognized universities and have a minimum fixed monthly salary of $3,600 and professional experience.

There are three different types of EP – P1, P2 and Q1.

P1: Minimum fixed monthly salary of $8,000 with acceptable qualifications

P2: Minimum fixed monthly salary of $4,500 with acceptable qualifications

Q1: Minimum fixed monthly salary of $3,600 for young graduates. Older applicants should be earning higher salaries to qualify. Work experience and quality will be taken into consideration.

In order to qualify for an EP, you must meet certain criteria:

1)    You must have a job offer from a Singapore company
2)    You must have managerial/executive or specialized task-related experience
3)    You must have a minimum fixed salary of $3,600 for young graduates, and higher salaries for older or more experienced workers
4)    You must hold a degree from a recognized university with acceptable professional qualifications or specialized skills

For first-time applicants, the validity of the EP is up to 2 years and renewals will depend on a case-by-case basis and they can be valid for 3 years.

There is a specialized employment pass known as the personalized employment pass (PEP) which is meant for high earning professionals that offers great flexibility in switching jobs.

To be eligible for the PEP, an applicant must have a minimum fixed monthly salary of $18,000 overseas and should have drawn salary within the last 6 months. The applicant must also have been an EP holder earning a minimum fixed salary of at least $12,000.

While holding the PEP, you must not be unemployed for more than 6 months at any point of time and have a minimum fixed salary of $144,000 per year.
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