Qualifying salary for Employment Pass to be raised to S$3,600 from Jan 1: MOM

THE qualifying salary for Employment Pass (EP) applications will be raised to S$3,600 from S$3,300 from Jan 1, 2017, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) unveiled on Tuesday.

The ministry said the change is part of its regular updating of the EP qualifying salary to keep pace with rising local wages, maintain the quality of foreign workforce and enhance their complementarity to the local workforce.

The previous minimum EP qualifying salary update was in January 2014, when the minimum was revised to S$3,300 from S$3,000.

MOM said its manpower policy framework is "designed to meet the manpower needs of the economy, so that businesses can stay competitive and grow, and ultimately create more and better jobs in Singapore".

From next year, only new EP applicants who can command a monthly salary of S$3,600 or more, subject to meeting other criteria on qualifications and experience, will be considered.

Those with more years of experience are also required to command higher salaries commensurate with their work experience and skill sets, as per current practice.