By Massita Ahmad
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Singapore is raising salary criteria for the Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass while setting for the first time, higher salary requirements in the financial services sector.
For EP, it will be raised further to S$4,500 for all new applicants from Sept 1, 2020, according to the republic’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on its website.
The minimum qualifying salary for EP which allows foreign professionals, managers and executives to work in Singapore, was raised to S$3,900 from May 1, 2020.
MOM said the qualifying salaries for older and more experienced EP candidates in their 40’s would be raised correspondingly and remain around double the minimum qualifying salary for the youngest applicants.
For renewal applicants, the new salary criteria will come into effect from May 1, 2021.
“The government’s criteria for approving work passes have been regularly updated to enable businesses to grow as well as to support employment opportunities for locals.
“Since the most recent round of adjustments announced in Budget 2020, the government has been closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global and domestic economic conditions, to assess if further updates are necessary,” said MOM.
From Dec 1, 2020, the minimum qualifying salary for EPs in the financial services sector will be further raised to S$5,000 for new applicants.
The new salary criteria for EPs that take effect from Sept 1, 2020 will equally apply to the financial services sector which, according to the ministry, salaries in the sector “have been consistently higher than in other sectors.”
Similarly, MOM said the qualifying salaries for older and more experienced EP candidates in the financial services sector would be raised, with those in their 40’s needing to meet around double the minimum qualifying salary for the youngest applicants.
For renewal applicants, the new salary criteria will come into effect from May 1, 2021.
As for the S Pass which allows mid-level skilled individuals to work in Singapore, the salary requirements will also be raised, but with no changes to the levies and quota.
The S Pass minimum qualifying salary will be further raised from S$2,400 to S$2,500, with the qualifying salaries for older and more experienced S Pass candidates revised accordingly.
The changes to the S Pass qualifying salaries will apply to new applicants from Oct 1, 2020 and to the renewal applicants from May 1, 2021.
There would be no further changes to the levies and quotas in this round of adjustments, said the ministry.
— NNN-BERNAMA