Employment of Foreign Manpower Act In Singapore

The Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) regulates the employment of foreign employees and protects their well-being. Find out what it covers and your key responsibilities as an employer under the Act.

What is the EFMA

The Employment of Foreign Manpower Act prescribes the responsibilities and obligations for employing foreign employees in Singapore.
It covers regulations and enforcement for:

Work passes
Offences

Who it covers

The EFMA covers any person issued a work pass by the Ministry of Manpower. Work passes include Employment Pass, S Pass and Work Permits.

Key responsibilities

The EFMA outlines responsibilities relating to work passes, including applications, cancellations, medical insurance, levy, cancellation and repatriation. For specific requirements, see the individual work passes.
Foreign employees who are covered by the Employment Act are entitled to:

Salary
Hours of work, overtime and rest days
Public holidays
Annual leave
Sick leave

You are encouraged to have a written employment contract with your foreign employees that covers these areas.
Note: For foreign domestic workers (FDWs), their well-being and entitlements are provided for under the EFMA. FDWs are not covered by the Employment Act. For guidelines on the well-being of FDWs, read the rest days and well-being for FDWs.

Report a possible infringement

If you want to report a possible work pass infringement, you can call MOM hotlines or submit your feedback online.

Penalties

The penalties for common offences in accordance to the EFMA are listed in the table:

Offence	Penalty
Employing a foreign employee without a valid work pass	A fine between $5,000 and $30,000, or imprisonment for up to 1 year, or both. For subsequent convictions, offenders face a mandatory imprisonment and a fine between $10,000 and $30,000.
Contravening any condition of a work pass	A fine up to $10,000, or imprisonment for up to 1 year, or both.
Making a false statement or providing false information in any application or renewal of a work pass	A fine up to $20,000, or imprisonment for up to 2 years, or both.
Receiving money in connection with an employment of a foreign employee	A fine up to $30,000, or imprisonment for up to 2 years, or both.
Obtaining a work pass for a foreign employee for a business that does not exist, or is not in operation or does not require the employment of the foreign employee	An imprisonment term of 6 months and to a fine not exceeding $6,000. Offenders may also receive caning.

Relevant legislation

Please refer to www.mom.gov.sg for full legislations of:

Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (Cap 91A)
Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations – Conditions of Work Pass

Source of Information for all Work Passes & their related matters is from the Ministry Of Manpower & TAFEP.
You may wish to visit Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) online for detailed information and current updates.

Foreign Manpower Act