Employment Pass – The Basics

What Is Singapore Employment Pass?

The Singapore Employment Pass (EP) is one of the common work passes issued to foreign employees, business owners, professionals, and executives of Singapore companies/businesses.

Unlike work permit and S-Pass, the Employment Pass is not under any quota system and there are no monthly levy charges for EP holders. There is no requirement for the companies to have any local employees to apply for an employment pass, hence once the company is incorporated, EP can be applied provided that the EPOL account has been set up.

Who can apply for Employment Pass (EP)?

Singapore Registered Company or Business
Foreigners with a minimum fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,600 and have obtained recognized qualifications

However, there are often cases whereby the applications for Singapore Employment Pass (EP) are rejected. The applications are usually evaluated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) based on both the individual’s and the company’s qualifications.

Indicators that can affect the success rate of the applications:

Employee’s salary, citizenship, education, previous work experience, and skills
Position of the applicant in the hiring company
Credential of the company and its paid-up capital

Upon submission of the Employment Pass (EP) application on EPOL, it takes about 2 weeks to receive the result. For paper applications, it may take up to 6 weeks for the hiring company to receive the result of the application. The application can be done almost entirely online, and candidates will only need to fly down to Singapore to receive a physical employment pass when their application is successful. This makes it much more convenient for foreign working professionals who do not have time in their schedule to come down physically.

To better understand how employees’ salaries can affect Singapore EP application, companies often employ payroll services in Singapore for a comprehensive calculation of employee salaries and claim submissions. Payroll outsourcing in Singapore is especially prevalent among companies who are not well-equipped to process the relevant guidelines and regulations and prefer to focus on business strategy and their customers rather than HR matters. WLP Group also provides HR shared services. Contact us for more information regarding our HR shared services or Singapore EP application services!