Monthly salary threshold for S Pass applicants raised to at least $2000

Employers of existing Employment Pass and S Pass holders will be given a one-time renewal of up to 2 years to meet salary thresholds.

According to Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Manpower, Mr Liang Eng Hwa was concerned about Employment Pass holders competing with local Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians. The strong growth last year had added to the strong demand for PMETs.

Given the tight labour market for PMETs, salaries of local PMETs hace moved up in recent years. Qualifying salary thresholds for EP and S Pass applicants need to be raised accordingly to keep pace with the local PMET labour market and to encourage companies to be more selective in hiring foreign talent who can contribute to our economy.

From 1 July 2011, to qualify for S Pass, applicants' monthly salaries will have to be $2,000 or more, up from $1,800. Similarly, the qualifying salary thresholds for Q1, P2, and P1 Passes will be raised to $2,800, $4,000, and $8,000 respectively.

Mr Gan Kim Yong said, Singapore cannot close its doors to foreign talent as they continue to be critical to Singapore's economic growth.