EP Application Process

The Singapore Employment Pass (EP) is a work pass provided by the Ministry of Manpower to foreign professionals (in management, supervisor or professional positions). According to the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore, from December 1, 2020, the application conditions of the Employment Pass (EP) have undergone new changes, and the minimum salary requirements for applicants have been increased to S $4,500.

First of all, let’s understand some of the main features of EP, such as the type of people this pass is designed for, the conditions required to apply for this pass, as well as the validity period and policies related to the pass. The following table:

Before applying for an EP, applicants must first understand what eligibility criteria must be met before submitting an application. The standards are as follows:

Singapore Employment Pass template.

After understanding the characteristics and requirements of EP, what process should be used to apply for EP?

Application steps

Step 1: Generally, you can fill in the application form and upload relevant supporting documents through the website of the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore to submit the application. You can also download the application form through the Ministry of Manpower website, fill out the form and mail it to the Ministry of Manpower with supporting documents. The only people eligible to apply are the HR staff of the employer company or a formal labour intermediary company.

Step 2: After the general submission, the company HR or intermediary company can check the application results through the website of the Ministry of Manpower. If the application is rejected, HR can log in to the company EPOL to check the reason for rejection.

Step 3: After obtaining the approval letter, you need to prepare the originals of relevant materials and go to the Ministry of Manpower for EP. If a medical examination is required, a medical examination report must be prepared before going to the Ministry of Manpower.

EP approval letter.

Tips for applying for EP

1 Before applying, applicants can do a self-assessment (using the Self-Assessment Tool) on the official website of the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. This self-assessment tool can test whether they are eligible to apply for EP or SP by entering their qualifications, work experience and salary offered by the company.

2 The  company to be employed at should preferably be a local company that is actually operating in Singapore and can provide documents such as lease agreement, CPF payment certificate and sales record.

3 If the application is rejected, don’t be discouraged. You can ask the HR of the company’s Ministry of Manpower to inform you of the reason for the rejection and make a targeted appeal application . Ministry of Manpower appeal may result in a change of decision by the HR department and a successful approval of the employment pass.

In addition to the employment pass, the company can also apply for S Pass and Work Permit for foreign employees. However, the company needs to pay the foreign worker levy when applying for these two types of work visas. There are also foreign employee quota restrictions.

According to the relevant requirements of Singapore Manpower on the principle of fair employment, before hiring foreign employees, companies need to provide job opportunities to locals (citizens or permanent residents).

Therefore, before submitting an EP application for a foreign employee, the company must publish a job advertisement on the public recruitment website in Singapore. EP applications can only be submitted 14 days after the advertisement is published.

So the recommended application process:

1. Accounts required for company registration number: Corppass, CPF, EPOL
2. Post job advertisements on Singapore’s recruitment website and wait at least 14 days.
3. Submit an EP application at EPOL and pay an application fee of S $105.
4. According to the company and the applicant. Usually the Ministry of Manpower will notify the company to provide more information within 2-4 weeks. These materials include but are not limited to:
5. Applicant’s CV (English)
   b. Employment contract between the applicant and the company (English)
   c. Applicant’s job description
   d. Company’s CPF payment record for the past three months e. Company’s payroll documents (bank slip, remittance slip, transfer receipt, etc.) f. Bank statements of the company for the past 3 months
   g. The company’s existing major customers and supplier contracts,
   etc.
6. When the company’s information is completed, wait another 2-4 weeks to receive approval from the Ministry of Manpower.