Updates to Employment Pass qualifying salary from 1 September 2022 for new applications: Allen & Gledhill

31 August 2022

From 1 September 2022, Employment Pass (“EP”) holders must meet a higher qualifying salary for new applications. The higher qualifying salary will apply to renewals from 1 September 2023. This benchmarks the EP qualifying salary to salaries of the top one-third of the local professional, managerial, executive, and technical (“PMET”) workforce and is to ensure the quality of EP holders.

Older candidates will require a higher salary to qualify and the financial services sector will continue to have a higher qualifying salary due to higher wage norms.

With this benchmark, employers should expect regular updates to the qualifying salary to reflect local PMET wage trends, taking into account prevailing economic conditions.

Sectors	Current minimum qualifying salary	Revised minimum qualifying salary
All (except financial services)	S$4,500 (increases up to S$8,400 for candidate in mid-40s)	S$5,000 (increases up to S$10,500 for candidate in mid-40s)
Financial services	S$5,000 (increases up to S$9,300 for candidate in mid-40s)	S$5,500 (increases up to S$11,500 for candidate in mid-40s)

(Source: MOM Updates to EP qualifying salary webpage)

Background

The Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”) will be progressively implementing changes to the EP eligibility framework over the next few years to strengthen the quality of EP holders and their complementarity to the local workforce. More information on the upcoming changes, including the introduction of a
points-based Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) from 1 September 2023 for new applications, is set out in our article titled “MOM announces upcoming changes to Employment Pass eligibility” published in March 2022.

Reference materials

The MOM Upcoming changes to Employment Pass eligibility webpage is available on the MOM website www.mom.gov.sg.