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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Beginning June 1, Singapore will extend multiple-journey visas valid for 10 years to nationals of the People’s Republic of China.
What does the change mean? Chinese nationals who have previously visited Singapore and whose visa applications are supported by relevant Singaporean agencies will automatically be granted the 10-year visas, allowing them to make repeat trips to Singapore without having to renew their visas as often.
Background: Chinese nationals applying for a visa will be considered for the 10-year MJVs if they have visited Singapore in the past. The same visas will be extended to the main applicant’s spouse and children below the age of 21. The application process and government fees are unchanged. MJV holders will also have faster border processing by being able to use automated immigration clearance service at Singapore’s airports.
BAL Analysis: The longer validity will benefit frequent business travelers from China. However, they are reminded that while the MJV allows repeat entry during the validity period, it does not lengthen the permitted duration of each stay, which generally ranges from 14 to 30 days depending on the discretion of the immigration officer.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will no longer accept manual applications for most pass types.
What does the change mean? Most pass applications for foreign workers and their dependents must be filed through MOM’s online portal beginning June 1.
Background: MOM recently announced that as of June 1, all new and renewal applications for Work Permits, Training Employment Passes, Employment Passes, S Passes and related Dependent or Long Term Visit Passes must be submitted online through MOM’s filing portal, EPOL. Manual applications will only be accepted for EntrePass, Personal Employment Pass and third-party sponsored work pass applications.
In order to submit pass applications through EPOL, the sponsor company must complete a registration process to create a work pass account. The registration process can be initiated online by a company representative using his or her personal SingPass, the company’s unique entity number and CPF submission number. The complete process for setting up the account and authorizing access for permitted users can take several weeks.
MOM has stated that currently 98 percent of applications for work pass and related dependent passes are submitted online through EPOL. Online applications are generally processed in seven to 12 business days. Manual applications are typically submitted by newly formed companies that wish to immediately hire foreign workers or by foreign employees who are submitting Long Term Visit Pass applications for their parents, common law spouses or children who are not eligible for a Dependent Pass. Manual applications generally take a month or more to be processed by MOM.
BAL Analysis: The change will have the biggest impact on companies that do not fully support Long Term Visit Pass applications for dependents of their foreign employees. Many companies require their foreign employees to file these Long Term Visit Pass applications manually themselves. This will no longer be an option under MOM’s new online filing policy and companies will need to review their internal procedures and decide how to accommodate these filings. The new online filing requirement may also cause potential staffing delays for newly formed companies that must now wait for their Work Pass Account to be completely set up before beginning work pass applications for foreign employees.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our regional office in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
IMPACT – LOW
What is the change? The Singaporean government announced in its 2015 budget that it will defer proposed hikes in the monthly levies for Work Permits and S Passes until 2016 for all sectors and until 2017 for Work Permit holders in the manufacturing sector.
What does the change mean? Companies will not see increases in the levies in July as originally planned and can continue to pay the current levies for S Pass holders until next year.
Background: The delay in raising the levies is designed to give companies, especially small and medium-size enterprises, more time to adjust to the realities of tight labor market conditions.
According to finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s budget address on Feb. 23, the measures to control foreign workforce growth beginning in 2010 have successfully slowed the inflow of foreign workers from 60,000 in 2011 to just over 16,000 in 2014 (excluding construction and foreign domestic workers).
“The significant slowdown we have seen in the last year gives us space to adjust the pace of our tightening measures,” Tharman said. However, he added “unequivocally” that the government was merely adjusting the pace of tightening foreign worker measures – not changing direction.
“It remains crucial for Singapore that we restructure towards reducing our reliance on manpower, and find new and more innovative ways to do business,” he said.
BAL Analysis: Businesses are encouraged to consider retraining staff to improve skill levels and retaining staff that are more highly skilled and productive. The deferment gives businesses more time to accomplish these staff improvements.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower will require that foreign employees obtain their Employment Pass before they can start work.
What does the change mean? Foreign employees will no longer be able to start work immediately upon arrival.
Background: The Ministry of Manpower has announced that, effective March 16, 2015, foreign employees cannot begin work until their Employment Pass is issued. Current practice allows foreign employees who have received approval for an Employment Pass to start work immediately upon entry into Singapore with a valid In-Principal Approval letter. They then have 30 days to complete the issuance and registration processes before invalidating the letter.
Once the new regulation goes into effect, Employment Pass applicants must obtain a notification letter confirming issuance of the pass before starting work. However, they do not have to wait to complete their biometrics appointment and receive the identification card before starting work. The expected delay should be relatively short, typically one or two days, provided that the documents required from both the employee and employer to issue the Employment Pass are finalized and collected quickly.
The new regulation does not affect S Pass holders. The current practice for S Pass holders already requires that the S Pass be issued on the first day of work, since that is when the employer’s first foreign-worker levy for that worker is applied.
BAL Analysis: Employers will need to be sure that Employment Passes are issued before new foreign employees start work. Companies should change their onboarding processes to make sure that if the request for issuances of the Employment Pass is not submitted by the employee’s first day of work, the foreign employee is limited to activities allowed as a business visitor (such as attending meetings or new-hire orientation) until the notification letter is obtained. If the employee is expected to immediately start productive, hands-on work, the employer should make sure the Employment Pass is issued before or on the employee’s first day of work.
What is the change? In the latest in a series of recent enforcement actions, the Ministry of Manpower has charged a company director with making false salary declarations on work pass applications and renewals.
What does the change mean? Employers should take this as a compliance reminder that MOM is prosecuting employers who are making false statements on work pass applications and applying heightened scrutiny to work pass applications in general.
Background: On Nov. 20, MOM charged a restaurant director with falsely stating the salaries of 12 foreign employees, including three managers and several chefs and cooks, on S Pass and Employment Pass applications and renewals. After the passes were approved, the employees were paid less than the stated amounts.
Regulations contained in the Employment and Foreign Manpower Act make it illegal to provide false salary information to obtain a work pass. The offense is punishable by up to 20,000 SGD in fines and/or two years in prison, as well as prohibition from employing foreign workers.
The case is evidence of the continuing crackdown since enactment of the amended regulations in 2012. In February, several foreign employees were convicted for inflating their salaries on applications and providing fake school records. In June, a computer company director was charged with 20 counts of inflating salaries on work pass applications for software engineers.
BAL Analysis: The continued enforcement actions highlight the increased scrutiny on work pass applications. Employers are cautioned that the overall environment has grown increasingly strict in the past year. In addition to stepping up enforcement, MOM appears to be applying a more exacting interpretation of eligibility criteria for work passes.
What is the change? Beginning next year, foreign spouses of Singapore citizens and permanent residents on Long Term Visit Passes may obtain Letters of Consent from the Ministry of Manpower allowing them to work.
What does the change mean? Companies that hire foreign spouses can obtain Letters of Consent instead of separate work authorization.
Background: Effective Jan. 1, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower will issue Letters of Consent to foreign nationals who are married to Singapore citizens and permanent residents and who are staying in Singapore on Long Term Visit Passes. Previously, only foreign spouses who were eligible for Long Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) were issued Letters of Consent. This meant that foreign spouses who were not eligible for an LTVP+ had to obtain a work pass. In order to obtain an LTVP+, the foreign spouse must either be the parent of a child who is a Singapore citizen or be married to the Singapore partner for at least three years. The new change primarily affects newly married foreign spouses, particularly those without children.
While the relative numbers are small, businesses may now find foreign spouses on Long Term Visit Passes more attractive as employees, as hiring them after obtaining a Letter of Consent will be simpler than other work authorization options. If the foreign spouse could have been eligible for an S Pass, the employer will no longer have to use quota space or pay levies. If the foreign spouse could have been eligible for an Employment Pass, the employer will be freed from possible job advertisement requirements needed to fill the position with a foreign national.
BAL Analysis: Businesses will welcome having another option to employ foreign spouses of a Singapore citizen or permanent resident that does not require obtaining a work pass and managing the issues involved in either an S Pass or Employment Pass application.
What is the change? In a reciprocal agreement, Singapore and Hong Kong will allow eligible travelers to enroll in each other’s automated border clearance systems.
What does the change mean? The arrangement will streamline border procedures for eligible travelers.
Background: Hong Kong SAR passport holders age 11 and older can enroll in Singapore’s enhanced Immigration Automated Clearance System as long as they have visited Singapore at least three times in the preceding 12 months, are in good standing with Singaporean authorities and their passport is valid for at least six months. Parents must accompany applicants 17 years old and younger when applying.
Hong Kong SAR has imposed similar criteria for Singapore passport holders to enroll in Hong Kong’s e-Channel service, except that applicants who have not visited Hong Kong SAR three or more times in the past 12 months may still be eligible for e-Channel if they hold a SAR Travel Pass, APEC Business Travel Card with “HKG” printed on the back, a Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Frequent Visitor Card, or a frequent-flyer program membership card issued by airlines that have joined the Frequent Visitor scheme.
BAL Analysis: Frequent business travelers will benefit from automated clearance at the airports and removal of long waits upon arrival and departure.
What is the change? The Diwali (Deepavali) holiday will be celebrated Oct. 22 – 24 in India and Oct. 22 in Singapore and Malaysia.
What does the change mean? Government offices will be closed in observance of the holiday and immigration services will be suspended.
Background: Diwali or Deepavali is the Hindu Festival of Lights signifying emergence from physical and spiritual darkness. Times may vary in different parts of India based on variations of the lunar month. Offices in Singapore and Malaysia will be closed in observance of the holiday on Oct. 22.
BAL Analysis: Employers and employees should submit applications before the holiday break to avoid delays.
What is the change? Singapore is growing more stringent in its review of applications for Long-Term Visit Passes for unmarried common-law partners of Employment Pass holders.
What does the change mean? The Ministry of Manpower is applying more scrutiny and may reject applications for unmarried partners whose home countries do not legally recognize common-law marriages. MOM has also recently questioned the documents normally accepted for partners whose countries do recognize common-law marriage.
Background: Long-Term Visit Passes are often used by unmarried partners or stepchildren of Employment Pass holders to stay in Singapore. Until two weeks ago, Singapore had accepted notarized statutory declarations by work pass holders stating that their common-law relationships are recognized in their home countries. Those declarations were part of the Long-Term Visit Pass application process, but MOM recently rejected them as insufficient without further explanation. It is unclear what brought on the change. It is also unknown whether Singapore will extend its heightened scrutiny to stepchildren’s applications.
BAL Analysis: What is clear is that Singapore has made it significantly more difficult for Long-Term Visit Pass applications to be approved in some circumstances. This not only makes things more complicated for partners of Employment Pass holders, but could eventually have a negative impact on Employment Pass applicants themselves if their partners cannot join them in Singapore. The situation remains fluid and Employment Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass applicants with concerns about the heightened scrutiny should contact their BAL attorney for advice.
What is the change? Companies that seek to transfer employment pass holders to a subsidiary company or group of companies must meet new criteria. If they do not meet these criteria, they must apply for a new employment pass under the name of the new entity.
What does the change mean? Companies will no longer be able to transfer employment pass holders between entities for secondment or career progression purposes by simply notifying the Ministry of Manpower.
Background: Companies may change entity (e.g. from sole proprietorship to private limited company), but the old entity must terminate its registration with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority if it wants to keep the ability to transfer employment passes. The business activity of the new entity must be the same as the old one and all outstanding levy charges under the old entity must be paid. In addition, at least one of the directors, partners or sole proprietors of the new entity must have been a director, partner or sole proprietor of the old one. Existing passes will not need to be canceled prior to application for the new pass.
BAL Analysis: For transfers of an employment pass holder from one entity to another for secondment or career progression, the new company should apply for a new employment pass as soon as possible.