MyBusiness in Asia organizes monthly 30-minute meetings to share relevant insights and information to its clients. This month, MBiA’s experts covered the new COMPASS framework that redefines the Employment Pass applications for foreign talents in Singapore.
This article summarizes some of the information shared during this first session.
How to Obtain an Employment Pass in Singapore?
The Employment Pass (EP) is the most common visa to work and live in Singapore. The Pass is targeting foreign talents willing to come and work in Singapore.
Obtaining an EP consists of different steps:
1. Passing Eligibility Criterion #1: Salary threshold
Each candidate must pass 2 eligibility criteria for their EP application, the first one consists of a salary threshold. Candidates to the EP must be paid at least a fixed salary of SGD 5,000 per month. The threshold increases along with the candidates’ experience. A candidate with 10 years of relevant professional experience is often recommended to apply for EP with a fixed monthly salary of at least SGD 10,000.
To learn more about the exact definition of a fixed monthly salary, you can review the MOM’s website.
2. Passing Eligibility Criterion #2: COMPASS Framework
The COMPASS Framework is the second eligibility criterion to apply for an Employment Pass in Singapore. Passing the COMPASS criterion requires for each candidate to score at least 40 points. This requirement applies from September 1st 2023 onwards. The COMPASS framework will be required for EP renewals starting September 1st 2024.
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3. Complying with the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF)
As the EP is sponsored by the future employer of the candidate, the company will have to ensure complete compliance with the Fair Consideration Framework. This means that companies must consider each candidate fairly and do no discriminate against race, religion, local applicants, etc.
The FCF also requires posting the job description of the opened position on the governmental portal MyCareersFuture, where local candidates can apply. The position should be posted for a minimum of 14 days before foreign candidates can be considered for the EP application.
Small companies will less than 10 employees are exempted from the 14 days job posting requirement.
Moreover, candidates with a fixed monthly salary of SGD 22,500 and above are also exempted from the 14 days job posting requirement.
4. Application to Employment Pass (EP)
Upon eligibility to both Criteria #1 and #2 and completion of the FCF requirements, the company can prepare the EP application of the candidate.
The employer (this can also be done by an Employment Agency of the authorized filing agent) will need to assemble the candidate’s supporting documents such as passport, and diplomas (which require to be verified).
The EP application is then reviewed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the stated timeline is 3 weeks.
5. Application acceptance and In Principal Approval letter (IPA)
Candidates whose application is successful will receive an In Principal Approval (IPA) letter. The letter allows for candidates to enter Singapore without tourist visa and prepare for the issuance of their pass.
MBiA Can Manage your Visa Applications
An important point is that the IPA letter is valid 6 months. This means that upon acceptance of the EP application the candidate will have 6 months to organize relocation to Singapore and starting work. It is also possible to start working in Singapore as soon as the candidate reaches Singapore (provided the pass is properly issued).
The Employment Pass application is sponsored by the future employer. Although the process can be tedious, and your corporate services provider is often able to support with extensive experience and know how to avoid delays.
How to Score 40 Points on COMPASS Framework?
The COMPASS framework consists of 6 criteria to score points for candidates to the Employment Pass application. To understand in greater details how to score points for the COMPASS framework, you can refer to the MBiA COMPASS article that cover the topic extensively.
There are 4 main criteria onto which 0 to 20 points can be scored:
- COMPASS Criteria #1: Salary: Candidates with a higher salary (relative to the relevant industry standards of the applicant company) can score up to 20 points.
- COMPASS Criteria #2: Qualification: Candidates who hold a degree from top-tier institutions can score 20 points while candidates holding a degree can score 10 points.
- COMPASS Criteria #3: Diversity: Candidates whose nationality is seldom represented within the hiring company can score up to 20 points.
- COMPASS Criteria #4: Local Employment: Hiring companies with a higher percentage of local employees (relative to the relevant industry standards of the applicant company) can score up to 20 points for their candidate.
The 2 additional criteria are considered bonus:
- COMPASS Criteria #5: Shortage Occupation List (SOL): Job positions corresponding to the Shortage Occupation List grant up to 20 points to their applicants.
- COMPASS Criteria #6: Strategic Economic Priorities: Companies partnering with specific local government bodies and agencies’ programs can score an additional 10 points.
By summing up the points gained through each criterion, candidates shall score at least 40 points to be eligible for EP application.
Review our Complete Guide on Compass Framework
Since some criteria depend on the company industry for scoring, the sponsors of the application (companies) can determine the COMPASS score of their candidates by accessing the Assessment Test available on the Employment Pass Online platform (eService) of the MOM. This enables to determine if the candidate will be eligible before starting the application process.
What are the exemptions to the COMPASS Framework?
Since a lot of small and medium companies have no internal Human Resource structure we recommend referring to the following points to understand how SMEs are impacted by COMPASS.
The main exemption to the COMPASS framework is for candidates with a fixed monthly salary of SGD 22,500 and above. Not only will the candidates be exempted from COMPASS but also from the salary criterion and the job posting of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF).
You can also note that candidates with a fixed monthly salary of SGD 30,000 and above might be eligible to the ONE Pass, which gives extra flexibility for both the employer and the employee to work in Singapore. You can read more about the ONE Pass and the advantages of this pass on this page.
Increase your EP Application Acceptance
For Small and Medium Companies, the COMPASS framework scoring is slightly different. Indeed, companies with less than 25 PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians, which include all employees earning at least SGD 3,000 per month) will score 10 points by default on some criteria:
- COMPASS Criteria #3: Diversity: Small companies (less than 25 PMETs), score by default 10 points
- COMPASS Criteria #4: Local Employment: Small companies (less than 25 PMETs), score by default 10 points
This means that small companies can score 20 points on Criteria #3 and #4 but require their candidates to score an additional 20 points, most likely through the Salary criterion and the Qualification criterion. Indeed, the bonus criteria are less frequent for small and medium companies in our experience.
MyBusiness in Asia’s experts are available to answer your questions and discuss with you how to bring the most fitted talents to your company in Singapore.
Ready to Check Your EP Eligibility?
If you are a foreign professional looking to work in Singapore, it is essential to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria for an Employment Pass (EP). Our EP Eligibility Calculator simplifies this process, giving you a quick and accurate way to determine if you qualify and represent a quick alternative to the Ministry of Manpower’s Self Assessment Test (SAT).
