Singapore has just introduced a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) from 1 January 2007 to help better attract and retain global talent. The PEP will facilitate selected Employment Pass holders to continue working in Singapore. The PEP will be granted to suitable EP holders that have worked in Singapore for a period of time.
Currently an Employment Pass (EP) is tied to a specific employer. Any change of employer requires a fresh application. If an EP holder leaves the company, his EP is cancelled and he must leave Singapore unless he finds employment with a new company. In contrast, the new PEP is not tied to any employer and will be granted on the strength of an EP holder’s individual merits. The PEP allows the holder to remain in Singapore for up to six months in between jobs to evaluate new employment opportunities.
Recommended Notes
The following groups of EP holders will be eligible for a PEP, if they had earned a basic salary of at least S$30,000 in the preceding year:
- P Pass holders that have at least two years’ working experience on a P Pass.
- Q1 pass holders with at least five years’ working experience on a Q1 pass.
The PEP will be issued only once with a validity of 5 years. It will be non-renewable. A PEP holder will retain the dependant privileges of his original EP type and the minimum annual basic salary requirement of S$30,000 will continue to apply throughout the 5-year duration.
Personalized employment pass (PEP) should be applied by the EP holder and not the employer since it's tied to an individual and not a company.
Once approved, the applicant will be given 3 months to collect the PEP. The applicant will be required to produce a cancellation letter for the existing employment pass from the current employer.
Singapore companies will be able to hire personalised employment pass holders the same way they hire Singapore citizens and PRs. However, they will need to notify MOM whenever they hire or terminate the services of a PEP holder.
No sponsor or bank guarantee is required for personalized employment pass.
The average processing time for personalised employment pass is about 3 weeks.
If you need our assistance with application for Personalised Employment Pass (PEP), we charge a fee of S$450 excluding MOM fees. If you are ready to engage our service, please make payment arrangements and contact us here.
