New Minimum Salary Requirement by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower

SIRVA Visa & Immigration Update: Reminder – New minimum salary requirement by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower for Personalized Employment Pass holders.

Policy Changes
This notice serves as a reminder that in December 2012, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that applicants meeting the following criteria would be eligible for Personalized Employment Passes (PEPs):

• Employment Pass (EP) holders who earned a fixed salary of at least SGD 12,000 per month
• Overseas-based foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed salary was equivalent to at least SGD 18,000 per month.

Employees who were existing PEP holders at that time were also given up to 31 Dec 2014 to meet the minimum fixed monthly salary of SGD 12,000 or annual fixed salary of SGD 144,000 and PEP holders whose passes were due to expire between 1 Jan 2015 to 30 Jun 2015 were advised they would be allowed to remain on the PEP until the expiry date.

More FAQs can be found here.

Impact
PEP holders whose passes are due to expire on or after 1 Jul 2015 and do not meet new PEP minimum salary requirement will need to ascertain if they can continue to work and live in Singapore on an EP or S Pass, subject to the prevailing EP and S Pass assessment criteria at the time of application.

Our Recommendation/(s)
1. All companies should identify PEP holders whose fixed monthly salary is lower than SGD 12,000 per month and make a provision to apply for an Employment Pass or S Pass.
2. Should there be any PEP holders who do not meet the new requirements, companies are encouraged to begin application for EP or S pass application in order to meet the deadline of 31 Dec 14.

For any questions, please reach out to your SIRVA Immigration Specialist in Singapore.
[SINGAPORE] Suriaty Simon | T + 65 6215.1069 | E suriaty.simon@sirva.com.sg

This blog is not meant to convey legal or tax advice, opinions or recommendations.  The blog provides general guidance based upon the author’s experience and understanding of issues that arise in the  relocation process.  The blog in for general information only. Any reliance on the information conveyed in the blog  is at the reader’s discretion. The readers should contact their own legal or tax counsel for specific legal or tax advice on their particular situation.