Singapore Employment Pass Visa Issued To Foreign Professionals And Businessmen

The Singapore Employment Pass (EP) is a work visa issued to foreign professionals, supervisors, and key employees who want to relocate in the country. Meanwhile, this visa is also given to foreign entrepreneurs, shareholders, and managing directors who want to personally manage their business in Singapore.

To qualify for this visa, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires foreign applicants to have a college diploma from a reputable school. However, the agency informs people that meeting this requirement does not guarantee a successful application particularly if they fall short in the other criteria.

Aside from the college diploma, another important requirement for professionals is a work-related experience (preferably at least five years) that has enhanced their skills and knowledge in their respective profession.

(Special note: Foreign entrepreneurs are first required to incorporate their company before they can apply for EP.)

Another important requirement for EP applicants is that they should have at least a fixed monthly salary of S$2,500. A fixed monthly salary does not include payment for overtime, commission, bonus, employers contributions to workers pensions, allowance, and productivity incentives.

Meanwhile, these are the documents and certifications EP applicants should present to the agency:
A completed Employment Pass Application form which can be downloaded from the agencys main website.

For professionals. If their would-be employer is a Singapore-based company, they should get sponsorship from this entity. But for those whose employer is an overseas company which does not operate a local office in the country, they must still be sponsored by a local company.

It is important that the employer signs and stamps the application form with its company seal.
A companys latest business profile which must be registered to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). If it is not yet registered, it should at least produce registration papers from its professional body.

Educational certifications.

If applicable, testimonials from previous employers.

All the relevant travel documents including a copy of passport particulars.

A passport-sized photograph of a person which must be taken within the past three months.

(Special note: Applicants who have non-English certificates and documents must submit a copy of the original papers together with its official translated-version that is certified by their respective embassy.)

About Singapore Employment Pass Application

The Republic of Singapore welcomes foreign entrepreneurs, professionals, managing directors, shareholders of Singapore companies who plans to relocate to Singapore to manage their own company operations to process a Singapore Employment Pass Application. The Singapore Employment Pass Application is processed in the Ministry of Manpower. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) allows the foreigner to apply for an Employment Pass after they have incorporated their Singapore Company to enable them to live and work in Singapore. The EP does not fall under any quota system nor is there a monthly levy charge for EP.

Ministry of Manpower provides an Employment Pass with a validity of 1 or 2 years and it is renewable as long as the pass holder remains employed in the company. With an EP, you can travel in and out of Singapore with minimum hassle at the immigration checkpoint. It also gives you the benefit of applying for Permanent Residence status.
Basic eligibility requirements of a Singapore Employment Pass:
Generally, a recognized Diploma/Degree qualification from a reputable university is expected.
Professional qualifications
Specialist skills
Work related experience

Evaluation criteria of the Ministry of Manpower:

Salary of applicant
Age of applicant
Roles & responsibility
Repute of the company
Company paid up capital
Applicant current citizenship

It is vital to have a satisfactory educational qualification but it does not guarantee a successful EP application as the applicant also need to satisfy other criteria such as relevant work experience and/or professional skills. Moreover, an applicant who does not possess a recognized educational qualification may not necessarily be rejected for EP if he possesses other compensating factors.

Application Procedure:
1.Application to obtain authorization code to submit application online for newly incorporated company. Upon submission, it takes about 7-14 days for Ministry of Manpower to send the authorization code.
2.Submission of application online. It takes Ministry of Manpower between 1-15 working days to process the application.
3.Upon receiving the In-principle Approval notification, we will make arrangement for the collection of your EP.

Basic documents to furnish:

Resume or CV stating your educational and employment history
Copies of educational certificates and past employment testimonials
A copy of the personal particulars page of your passport

Once the application is approved, you will be required to submit the following documents. the Ministry of Manpower will issue an In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter via email. The IPA
letter must be produced upon collection of the EP at the Work Pass Division at Ministry of Manpower. An IPA letter is valid for Six months from the date of notification of approval.
A copy of the IPA letter
Recently taken passport size photograph
Original passport with the entry embarkation cards
Medical exam report (if the In-Principle Approval states that you require one)
Any other documents that are requested in the approval letter

Singapore Employment Pass Important Requirements For Foreign Applicants

The Singapore Employment Pass is a visa issued to foreign businessmen, shareholders, managing directors, supervisors, and employees with specialized skills, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

To prove their eligibility, foreign applicants are required to provide MOM with these following documents and certificates:
Educational certificates, and if applicable, testimonials from their previous employers.

All the documents and testimonials should be in English, if not, these should be translated into this language by an authorized translation service.
A completed Employment Pass Application form which is downloaded from MOMs official website.

For professionals: In case that their employer is a Singapore-based company, they should be sponsored by this business entity. However, if their employer is an overseas company which does not operate a local office, they should get sponsorship from a local company which must sign the EP form and stamp this with its company seal.
A company should provide its latest business profile which must be registered to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). However, if a company is not yet registered to this agency, it should provide at least the registration papers from its respective professional body.

The applicants passport-sized photograph which must be taken within the past three months.

Relevant travel documents and passport particulars of an applicant.

It is important to note that MOM usually requires additional documents and certificates to foreign entrepreneurs. For example, they are required to secure an approval letter from the International Enterprise Singapore if they are planning to setup a representative office.

The approval letter should state the purpose of the application, duration of an applicants assignment, and activity for the maintenance and repatriation of an applicant.

Meanwhile, foreign professionals such as doctors, dentists, school teachers, nurses, lawyers, and pharmacists are also required to submit supporting documents provided by their respective accreditation agency or professional body.

Requirements for EP Applicants

One of the most important requirements is a college diploma from a reputable university. However, passing in this qualification does not guarantee a successful EP application since MOM also considers other factors.

For professionals, they should have several years of work-related experience, specialized skills, and at least a fixed monthly salary of S$2,500. And for businessmen, strong entrepreneurial skills and their companys reputation, background, and paid-up capital will determine their eligibility for this visa.

In some cases, MOM also considers an applicants age, roles and responsibility in a company, and current citizenship.