Singapore is implementing stricter rules for hiring foreign professional workers and raising the salary benchmark from next year.

From 1 January 2025, the Ministry of Manpower will be increasing the EP (Employment Pass) minimum qualifying salary from SGD 5,000 to SGD 5,600 (USD 3,720 to 4,166) per month. The qualifying salary will continue to increase progressively with age, up to SGD 10,700 for a candidate in their mid-40s. According to the Ministry, this maintains a level playing field for locals across all age groups.

The benchmark for the Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salary is based on the top one-third of local PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) wages, to ensure that EP holders are of ‘high quality’, the Ministry added.

The changes are part of the Ministry’s updates to its foreign workforce policies. The updates aim to “maintain a high quality and complementary foreign workforce; support industry transformation to achieve a more productive, manpower lean foreign workforce and create better jobs for locals; and uplift lower-wage workers and maintain the effectiveness of foreign workforce controls.”

For foreign workers in the financial sector which has higher wage norms, a higher EP qualifying salary will continue to apply. The EP minimum qualifying salary for the Financial Services sector will be raised from SGD 5,500 to SGD 6,200 (USD 4,092 to USD 4,613) per month. This will also continue to increase progressively with age, up to SGD 11,800 (USD 8,779) for a candidate in their mid-40s.

As part of Singapore’s Progressive Wages moves, firms hiring foreign workers are required to pay all their local workers at least the LQS (local qualifying salary). The number of local workers paid the LQS is used to determine the firm’s foreign worker quota entitlement. The LQS is regularly reviewed to keep pace with wage growth, to continue to uplift lower-wage workers and maintain foreign workforce controls. The move to raise the LQS was first announced in Singapore’s Budget 2024.

The government will raise the LQS from SGD 1,400 to SGD 1,600 (USD 1,041 to 1,190) per month with effect from 1 July 2024.