From time to time, the Government adjusts the salary requirements of our foreign workforce applicants to ensure Singapore receives the right calibre of ‘imported talents’.
On Friday (18 Feb), Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced increases in salary requirements for Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass applicants this year.
From September, S Pass and EP applicants will have to meet the qualifying salary of $3,000 and $5,000 respectively — an increase of $500 from the prevailing requirements.
Justifying the salary requirements during the Budget 2022 speech, Minister Wong said “how much the employer is prepared to pay” is a good indicator of the quality of a foreign worker.
For EP holders, who ought to be “professionals and senior executives”, the minimum qualifying salary will increase from $4,500 to $5,000.
Those in the financial services industry, which typically pays higher salaries, will have to earn at least $5,500 — up from the current $5,000.
The salary requirements will reportedly ensure that EP applicants are comparable in quality to the top 1/3 of our local PMETs.
The Government will also review its assessment of EP applications, with a view to improving the complementarity and diversity of our foreign workforce.
Additionally, they hope to increase certainty and transparency in this aspect for businesses.
Similarly, the qualifying salary for S Pass applicants will also increase, from $2,500 to $3,000 come Sep this year.
Meanwhile, applicants in the financial services sector will have to meet the minimum salary requirement of $3,500.
Moving forward, the Government will be raising the qualifying salaries for S Pass applicants again in Sep 2023 and Sep 2025. The exact figures will be announced closer to the dates.
The requirements for older EP and SP Pass applicants, who are subject to higher qualifying salaries, will also rise in tandem.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News.
A record of more than 553,000 travellers crossed both checkpoints on 13 Dec.
There has been no year-end Covid-19 wave, as had been expected.
The beef was imported without a veterinary health certificate and halal certification.
One fan started queueing as early as 7am.
The company made the change after parents said they wanted to make sure their gifts…
An incredible twist of fortune for the police -- and a stroke of bad luck…