Singapore is overhauling visa rules to attract foreign workers and ease a tight labor market that is contributing to wage and price pressures.
The new rules would allow foreigners earning a minimum S$30,000 (US$21,431) per month to secure a five-year work pass, with a provision to allow their dependents to seek employment, the Singaporean Ministry of Manpower said.
Exceptional candidates in sports, arts, science and academia who do not meet the salary criteria are also eligible for the long-term visa under the so-called Overseas Networks and Expertise pass that would take effect on Jan. 1 next year.
Photo: AFP
“Both businesses and talent are searching for safe and stable places to invest, live and work in. Singapore is such a place,” Singaporean Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng (陳詩龍) told reporters yesterday. “It is therefore timely to leverage on this opportunity to cement Singapore’s position as a global hub for talent.”
The announcement is the latest in a string of decisions this year that are meant to address a still-tight labor market, as well as attract international business to drive the city-state’s ambitions as a global financial hub, after a COVID-19 pandemic-era slump in white-collar workers from abroad.
Effective from Sept. 1 next year, Singapore plans to exempt jobs, comparable to those held by top 10 percent of Employment Pass holders, from the need to be advertised locally before hiring foreigners under a system called Fair Consideration Framework (FCF).
The duration of FCF advertisements, where applicable, would be halved to 14 days, the ministry said, adding that processing time for all Employment Pass applications would be cut to 10 business days from the current maximum of three weeks.
The rule change would help the city-state better compete with rival business hubs like Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, and catch up with Australia and the UK, which have similar global talent visas.
More than 700 finance professionals moved to Singapore from Hong Kong last year, according to recruitment firm Robert Walters.
Singapore has had to grapple with especially challenging labor market dilemmas as it lives with COVID-19, and the need to recharge sectors like hospitality and food and beverage, which suffered disproportionately amid social mobility restrictions that are finally all but canceled.
The new rules are “targeted at the very high-end foreign talent segment,” Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (華僑銀行) Treasury Research and Strategy head Selena Ling (林秀心) said. “It will not be in significantly large numbers that will move the needle for all industries, just for the very specific high-growth industries.”
Singapore is witnessing an easing of labor market tightness, Tan said, adding that labor supply in construction and related sectors has gone back almost to pre-pandemic levels.
The problems are at the high end of the income ladder — where Singapore wants to attract top global talent particularly in next-generation, technology-heavy industries — as well as the lower end.
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