NTS Occupation List

Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) Occupation List

From 1 September 2023, firms in Services and Manufacturing sectors can hire Work Permit holders from NTS countries for a restricted set of occupations in the NTS Occupation List.

What is the NTS Occupation List

Firms in the Services and Manufacturing sectors are generally required to hire Work Permit holders from the following countries or regions:

• Malaysia
• People’s Republic of China (PRC)
• North Asian sources (NAS):
  • Hong Kong (HKSAR passport)
  • Macau
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

Under the NTS Occupation List, firms will be allowed to hire Work Permit holders from NTS countries for a restricted set of occupations:

• Bangladesh
• India
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand

Note:

From 1 June 2025, non-traditional sources (NTS) will also include the following countries:

• Bhutan
• Cambodia
• Laos

Requirements

Firms must meet all of the following requirements:

• Keep within a sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) of 8% for NTS Work Permit holders in the NTS Occupation List.
• Pay their Work Permit holder in this list with at least $2,000 fixed monthly salary.
• Work Permit holders must only perform the occupation stated on their Work Permit.

NTS Occupation List

The NTS Occupation List comprises:

• Cooks in Indian restaurants. This will better support Singapore’s multi-ethnic food culture.

Tip: Restaurants (Services sector) can already hire Work Permit holders from Malaysia, PRC and North Asian Sources.

MOM has put together a panel comprising industry and government stakeholders in Indian cuisine to assess firms’ eligibility. To be eligible for the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) for cooks in Indian Restaurants, restaurants must meet the following requirements:

• Have a valid SFA food licence with a Business Trade Description as ‘Restaurant’, ‘Restaurant with catering’, ‘Small Restaurant’ or ‘Coffeeshop/eating house’.
• Serve primarily Indian cuisine, such as biryani, prata, or Indian snacks e.g. vadai, paniyaram.

To see if your firm is eligible, please apply online.

Upon approval, you can apply to hire cooks from NTS.

Indian restaurants will be able to hire cooks from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Work Permit level under the NTS Occupation List.

You can apply for a Work Permit for the other NTS occupations listed below.

• Housekeeping workers and porters in licensed hotels
• Food processing workers
  Excludes:
  • Food processing supervisors and general foremen.
  • Other food and beverage jobs like tasters, graders, bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery makers.
• Workers in manufacturing firms such as general manufacturers, precision engineering, transport engineering, automotive firms, working as:
  • Sheet metal workers
  • Welders and flame cutters
  • Metal moulders and coremakers
  • Riggers and cable splicers
  • Structural metal preparers and erectors

More details on the additional occupations and requirements to hire NTS workers in these occupations will be provided by MOM before 1 September 2025.

For more information or FAQ

• Refer to MOM’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Source of Information for all Work Passes & their related matters is from the Ministry Of Manpower, Singapore.

Please refer to MOM website at www.mom.gov.sg for more detailed information and up-to-date guidelines with regulations.

Please CONTACT us if you wish to know more about this service or many other services.