Effective May 1, 2021, all Dependent Pass (DP) holders who wish to be employed during their stay in Singapore will need an applicable work pass, such as an Employment Pass (EP), S Pass or Work Permit, instead of a Letter of Consent to Work (LOC).
Existing LOC holders may continue to work until the expiry of their LOCs. If the existing LOC holders wish to continue working after the expiry of their LOCs, their employers will need to apply for an applicable work pass for them. Should the existing LOC holders and their employers wish to do so, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will facilitate their transition to a work pass. However, please note that the qualifying salary, dependency ratio ceilings, and/or levies for the respective work passes will apply.
Planning ahead
Should the affected employers wish to continue employing their existing LOC holders after the expiry of their LOCs, they should start assessing the work pass eligibility of their existing LOC holders to make sure that the prevailing criteria for the respective work passes are met.
Affected employers are advised to start the work pass applications for their existing LOC holders early, so that they can secure the In-Principle Approval (IPA) in time before the expiry of the existing LOCs.
As per the current requirements of the Fair Consideration Frameworks (FCF), S Pass and EP applications that are submitted for existing LOC holders before the expiry of the LOC is exempted from job advertising requirements.
LOC or Pre-approved Letter of Consent (PLOC ) of Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) holders who are spouses or children of Singapore citizens and Singapore PR are not affected.
Employers who may be affected are encouraged to contact an immigration specialist for general or case-specific advice.
Please note that this is general information only and not intended as advice on a specific matter. Please feel free to contact Fakhoury Global Immigration directly with questions exclusive to your situation. This news alert may have been prepared using information from Peregrine Immigration Management, which is licensed to Fakhoury Global Immigration.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
