S Pass quota and levyย requirements in Singapore
The number of S Pass holders you can hire is limited by a quota. You mustย alsoย pay a monthlyย levy for these workers.
What is theย foreign worker levy
The foreign worker levy, commonly known as โlevyโ, is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of foreign workers in Singapore.
As an employer, you must pay theย levy for all your S Pass holders. The levy liability starts from the day the S Pass is issued and ends when the pass is cancelled or expires.
You have toย pay the levyย usingย GIRO.
Levy rates are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required.
Quota requirement
- If you have never applied for a Work Permit or S Pass, you need toย declare your business activityย for calculating your quota.
- Under the quota, the number of S Pass holders your company can hire is subject to cap according to the industrial sectors.
- Employers who exceed the quota will need to increase their local workforce or reduce the number of foreign workers.
You can refer to MOM at www.mom.gov.sg for calculating your Quotaย or to theย Guidelines on the Calculation of Quota and Levy Bill.
How is the S Pass quota calculated if the company has more than one CPF account?
The companyโs S Pass quota will be based on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) account declared on the S Pass application form.
The following local employees are not counted when calculating your quota:
- Business owners of sole proprietorships or partnerships.
- Employees who receive CPF contributions from three or more employers.
Notes:
- You should not contribute CPF for the same employee under the different accounts to get more quota.
- If youย hired new employees recently, you wonโt see an immediate adjustment in your quota. It depends on when you pay the CPF contribution for each employee.
Dependency Ratio Ceiling
Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) refers to the maximum permitted ratio of foreign workers to the total workforce that a company in the stipulated sector is allowed to hire.
For example, the Dependency Ratio Ceiling in the Manufacturing sector is 60%. Hence, up to 60% of a Manufacturing companyโs total workforce (sum of local workers, S Pass and Work Permit holders) may consist of S Pass and Work Permit holders.
Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) |
||
Sector |
Year 2020 |
Changes From: 01-Jan-2021 |
Construction |
87.5% |
No Change |
Manufacturing |
60.0% |
No Change |
Marine Shipyard |
77.8% |
No Change |
Process |
87.5% |
No Change |
Services |
38.0% |
35.0% |
S Pass Sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling (SDRC) |
||||
Sector |
Year 2020 |
Changes From: 01-Jan-2021 |
Changes From: 01-Jan-2022 |
Changes From: 01-Jan-2023 |
Construction |
20.0% |
18.0% |
No Change |
15.0% |
Manufacturing |
20.0% |
No Change |
18.0% |
15.0% |
Marine Shipyard |
20.0% |
18.0% |
No Change |
15.0% |
Process |
20.0% |
18.0% |
No Change |
15.0% |
Services |
13.0% |
10.0% |
No Change |
No Change |
Note:
|
Foreign Worker Levy (FWL)
FWL rates will remain unchanged for all sectors. The earlier-announced foreign worker levy increases for the Marine Shipyard and Process sectors will be deferred for another year as per the announcement in Budget 2020 (18-Feb-2020).
Levy Tiers
The levy tiers determine the levy rate to be paid for each foreign worker by a company and this depends on the proportion of S Pass and Work Permit holders it has employed.
Examples:
- A Services company would currently pay a Tier 1 levy rate for each of its Work Permit holder who falls within the first 20% of its total workforce.
- It would pay a Tier 2 levy rate for each of its Work Permit holder who falls between 20% and 30% of its total workforce.
- It would pay a Tier 3 levy rate for each of its Work Permit holder who falls between 30% and 50% of its total workforce.
Man-Year Entitlement
The Man-Year Entitlement (MYE) Allocation System is a Work Permit allocation system for construction workers from Non-Traditional Source (NTS) countries and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Companies without MYE may still employ NTS or PRC Construction Work Permit holders via the MYE-waiver category, subject to compliance with the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) by paying a higher MYE-waiver FWL rate.
MYE:
- Reflects the total number of Work Permit holders a main contractor is entitled to employ based on the value of projects/contracts awarded by developers / owners; and
- Is allocated in the form of the number of โman-yearsโ required to complete a project (1 man-year = 1-year employment under a Work Permit)
Levy Rates For S Pass & Work Permit For All Sectors
If you temporarily exceed the 10% S Pass quota for the services sector due to workforce attrition, you will be charged the Tier 2 levy rate for the excess S Passes.
Sector / Pass Types |
Tier |
Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) |
Levy Rates ($) (R1 / R2) |
||
W.E.F. 01-Jul-2020 |
W.E.F. 01-Jul-2021 |
W.E.F. 01-Jul-2022 |
|||
S Pass |
Basic Tier Service: |
โค 10% 01%-10% |
$330 $330 |
$330 $330 |
To be reviewed in 2022 |
Tier 2:
Construction: Manufacturing: Marine: Process: |
11%-18% 11%-18% 11%-18% 11%-18% |
$650 $650 $650 $650 |
$650 $650 $650 $650 |
||
Construction Work Permit Holder (WPH) |
Basic Tier |
โค 87.5% |
$300/$700 |
$300/$700 |
$300/$700 |
Man-Year Entitlement (MYE)- Waiver |
$600/$950 |
$600/$950 |
$600/$950 |
||
Manufacturing Work Permit (WPH) |
Basic Tier |
โค 25% |
$250/$370 |
$250/$370 |
To be reviewed in 2022 |
Tier 2 |
26%-50% |
$350/$470 |
$350/$470 |
||
Tier 3 |
51%-60% |
$550/$650 |
$550/$650 |
||
Marine Shipyard Work Permit (WPH) |
Basic Tier |
โค77.8% | $300/$400 | $300/$400 | |
Process Work Permit (WPH)ย |
Basic Tier |
โค 87.5% |
$300/$450 |
$300/$450 |
|
MYE-Waiver |
$600/$750 |
$600/$750 |
|||
Services Work Permit (WPH) |
Basic Tier |
โค 10% |
$300/$450 |
$300/$450 |
|
Tier 2 |
11%-25% |
$400/$600 |
$400/$600 |
||
Tier 3 |
26%-35% |
$600/$800 |
$600/$800 |
Note:
- For all sectors, the S Pass quota will be counted within the Work Permit quota.
- The daily levy rate applies only to S Pass holders who did not work for a full calendar month. The daily levy rate is calculated as follows: (Monthly levy rate x 12) / 365 = rounding up to the nearest cent.
Levy Waiver For S Pass
You can get a waiver for your S Pass holder levy payments only in certainย specific situations.ย These include overseas leave and hospitalisation leave.
Learn more about Levy Waiver For S Pass
Please refer to MOM website at www.mom.gov.sg for more detailed information and up-to-date guidelines with regulations.