New scoring system for Employment Pass

Foreign professionals looking to work in Singapore will soon need to pass a new points-based evaluation process that takes into account factors such as their qualifications and if they are being hired by a company that overly relies on workers from a single nationality.

From September next year, new Employment Pass (EP) applicants have to not only meet higher salary thresholds, but also score enough points under the Complementarity Assessment Framework (Compass).

The move will make the process clearer and more transparent for employers, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said yesterday.

"Compass is not designed to make it harder for businesses to obtain an EP. A good majority of applications today would not have issues," he added. "Some firms, however, would need to make adjustments... and they would know exactly which areas to improve on."

Future EP applications will hence undergo two stages. First, applicants must meet the qualifying salary. Next, they must score at least 40 points under Compass.

"While the qualifying salary is simple to understand and easy to administer, it is also a blunt tool," Dr Tan explained during the debate on the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) budget. "There are limits to relying solely on it to select complementary foreign talent."

The move is part of a series of policy tweaks to boost the Singaporean core, complemented by a high-quality and diverse foreign workforce.

Among the initiatives announced by MOM yesterday, the wage ceiling used to determine Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions will be reviewed as part of efforts to boost Singaporeans' retirement adequacy.

Meanwhile, employers in the service and manufacturing sectors will be able to hire selected foreign workers under work permits instead of S Passes from September next year.

But the big changes involved EPs. Apart from scrutinising each applicant's qualifications and salary relative to local PMET (professional, manager, executive and technician) wages in their sector, Compass will see if the hiring firm employs across different nationalities and supports local hiring.

Bonus points are given to jobs where there is a lack of skilled workers, such as artificial intelligence developers and cyber-security specialists, and firms that partner the Government on ambitious innovation and internationalisation activities.

The scoring rubric will be published on MOM's website. The maximum number of points that can be attained in total is 110. A candidate needs at least 40 to pass.

For EP renewals, Compass will apply from September 2024.

When implemented, employers can also obtain the indicative scores for each application before submission.

The focus is on ensuring the quality of foreign professionals here, Dr Tan pointed out. "Hence, we do not set quotas or levies on EPs."

The Compass scheme comes on top of earlier announced higher salary cut-offs to ensure the calibre of EP holders are comparable with the top one-third of local PMETs.

From September this year, the qualifying salary for new EP applicants will be raised from the current $4,500 to $5,000. For the financial service sector, which has higher wage norms, the bar will be raised from $5,000 to $5,500.

For renewals, the salary changes will apply from September next year.

"This latest move is not intended as a tightening measure," said Dr Tan, acknowledging that the market for skilled workers is sufficiently tight.

"Instead, it is part of the ministry's regular updates to ensure that our qualifying salary keeps pace with local wage growth, so that foreigners are not coming in just because they are cheaper than local PMETs."

Most EP holders will not be affected, as they earn "well above the qualifying salary", he added.

Dr Tan said the adjustments will kick in gradually.

"Singapore is and will always be committed to remaining open to foreigners who complement our local workforce, and who are able to add vibrancy to Singapore's economy," he added.