With high salaries, good employment opportunities, and a well-established tax system, Singapore attracts a large number of foreigners who apply for Singapore work visas. If you want to work in Singapore as a foreign worker, you need to obtain a Singapore work visa. A Singapore work visa is called a pass. Everyone, whether they have a Singapore visa or not, must obtain a work pass to work in Singapore.
Singapore work visas require you to apply for different types of Singapore visas depending on the type of work you want to do and your skill level. Singapore Mason has compiled some types of work visas for your reference only:
Singapore work visas are divided into:
Singapore Work Visa for Professionals.
Singapore offers work visas for skilled and semi-skilled workers.
Singapore Intern and Student Work Visa.
Short-term work passes.
If you are a professional worker, the types of Singapore work passes (work visas) you can obtain are:
Employment passes are available for expatriate managers, executives, and professionals. You must earn at least S$3,600 per month.
Personalised Employment Pass is available if you are a high-income foreigner or a current Employment Pass holder. PEP offers more flexibility than other work passes.
EntrePass is offered to investors or entrepreneurs who want to start a business in Singapore.
Foreign worker quotas and levies are not applicable to any of the above-mentioned passes.
If you are a skilled or semi-skilled worker, you can apply for one of the following Singapore work visas:
The S Pass is available to mid-level skilled workers with a monthly salary of at least S$2,300. Foreign worker quotas and levies apply.
Work Permit for Foreign Workers This permit is only available to foreign workers from certain countries and is only allowed to work in certain sectors (construction, manufacturing, shipyards, processing, or services). Foreign worker quotas and levies apply.
The Foreign Domestic Helper Work Permit (FDW) is only available to workers aged 23 to 50 from certain countries and regions, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.
Postnatal Nanny Work Permit is for Malaysian nannies who can work in Singapore for 16 weeks, starting from the birth of the baby. Employers must pay foreign worker taxes.
Performing Artist Work Permit is for performing artists who will be working in an eligible place of public entertainment, such as a bar, **, or hotel. Foreign worker quotas and levies apply.
The Singapore work visas that can be used by foreign students or interns are:
The Training Employment Pass is for foreigners who wish to undergo training in Singapore for up to three months. There are no foreign worker taxes or quotas.
The Working Holiday Pass is available to foreigners participating in the Singapore Working Holiday Scheme (Australia, France, Germany, China, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States). It is only available to nationals aged 18-25 (18-30 for Australians) and is valid for up to six months (1 year for Australians). It is not renewable and can only be received once by the holder.
Training Work Permit is for non-skilled or semi-skilled foreign students who will undergo up to six months of practical training in Singapore.
Foreign workers holding a Singapore Short-Term Visit Pass are generally not allowed to engage in any work-related activities. However, in some cases (e.g. journalists or speakers at public events), holders can apply for miscellaneous work passes. It allows the holder to work for no more than 60 days.
Foreign students studying in Singapore on a study visa can also work if they meet certain requirements, such as attending an approved school.
You will first need to find a job in Singapore before you can apply for a work visa. This is because your employer (or employment agency) is responsible for processing your Singapore work visa application.
Your employer or employment agency can apply for a Singapore work visa through EP Online, which is an application service available at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
The Singapore work visa application process is as follows:
1. Find a job in Singapore.
2. While you are still in your home country, your employer or employment agency (EA) will submit a work visa application through EP Online. They will have to pay a processing fee.
If the application is accepted, your employer will receive an In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter that you can use to enter Singapore.
If the application is denied, your employer will receive a rejection letter in principle. You will not be issued a work visa.
3. With your IPA letter, you can travel to Singapore.
4. Upon arrival, your employer or EA applies for the issuance of your Singapore work visa through EP Online. Again, they will have to pay another fee, this time for the work pass itself.
5. If your work pass has been issued, you will receive a notification letter. The letter contains information about whether you need to have a photograph** and fingerprints. It also allows you to start working and leave and enter Singapore until you get an employment card.
6. Within two weeks of the issuance of your pass, you must register with the Employment Pass Service Centre (EPSC).
7. Once registered, you will receive your pass – usually within 4 business days.
Yes, certain professional and skilled workers can be brought to Singapore by close relatives (married spouse and children under the age of 21) through a dependent's pass.
Family members who are not eligible for a Dependent Pass can live with a family member working in Singapore through a Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP).