Singapore: Temporary Increase in Work Pass Quotas for Eligible Companies

• Eligibility. Applicants must meet both the following two conditions in order to be eligible to apply for additional quotas under the M-SEP:
  • The company applying for additional quotas must either be already part of at least one industry deemed part of the country’s economic scheme (i.e., investments supporting Singapore’s ‘hub strategy’, innovation or research and development and internationalization), or been deemed to meet certain economic criteria by any of the following Singapore government agencies:
    • Economic Development Board (EDB);
    • Enterprise Singapore;
    • Infocomm Media Development Authority;
    • Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA); and
    • Singapore Tourism Board.
  • The company applying for additional quotas must commit to hire, or send for training the same number of locals as the additional quota it seeks within two years.
    • These local workers sent for training must be enrolled in one of 10 recognized training programs from the EDB, SkillsFuture, Workforce Singapore or MPA.
    • Companies who are considered industry leaders that fill critical skill gaps and benefits their sector also can be considered to meet the second condition.
• Additional quotas. Successful applicants, which the government will cap at 1% of all registered business entities in Singapore, will receive an additional 5% quota of their existing base work force but cannot exceed an additional 50 workers for two years at a time (renewable) under the M-SEP scheme. Generally, companies are capped at hiring S Pass holders at 10% of the company’s total workforce in the services sector and 18% (15% starting January 1, 2023) in the construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process sectors.

• Addressing skills shortage. Eligible applicants benefit from additional S Pass and Work Permit slots that will allow them to access a larger talent pool beyond the local labor market in Singapore, especially those in the construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process sectors where the S Pass quota is set to decrease from 18% to just 15% starting January 1, 2023.
• Compliance. Applicants seeking to apply for or renew the increased quota grant will be required to show that they have met their commitments and maintained their local workforce share. Companies who fail to do so will be ineligible to apply for renewal for two years and may jeopardize future participation in government-led programs. 

• Exception to the regular tightening of quotas. This is the first time the MOM is introducing an exception to quota requirements, which is regularly reviewed and has been progressively cut since July 2012.
• Complementing forthcoming immigration framework. The changes are in line with the government’s aim of supporting companies’ contributions to Singapore’s economy, which would have otherwise been restricted by the forthcoming immigration schemes, such as the points-based system for Employment Pass assessments.

It is likely that the Singapore government will continue to tighten on the general number of S Pass and Work Permit holders but may continue to introduce new temporary immigration schemes that will allow high-value companies in certain industries to address skills shortages as exceptions.