S Pass quota and levy requirements in Singapore

The number of S Pass holders you can hire is limited by a quota. You must also pay a monthly levy for these workers.

What is the foreign worker levy

The foreign worker levy, commonly known as “levy”, is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of foreign workers in Singapore.

As an employer, you must pay the 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 to pay the levy using GIRO.

Levy rates are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required.

Visit MOM to learn more about levy.

Quota requirement

If you have never applied for a Work Permit or S Pass, you need to declare your business activity 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 Quota or to the 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 company’s 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 you hired new employees recently, you won’t 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.

Visit MOM to learn more about DRC.

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 “man-years” required to complete a project (1 man-year = 1-year employment under a Work Permit)

Dismantling of MYE w.e.f. 01-Jan-2024

The MYE framework will be dismantled from 1 Jan 2024 onwards, and firms will no longer need to apply for Man-Year Entitlement (MYE) or Prior Approval (PA) before applying for a Work Permit for NTS or PRC workers. The revised steps for a Work Permit application will be updated closer to 2024.

Levy Rates For S Pass & Work Permit For All Sectors

Visit MOM to learn more about levy.

Levy Waiver For S Pass

You can get a waiver for your S Pass holder levy payments only in certain specific situations. 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.

ACHI BIZ is one of the licensed Employment Agencies in Singapore. We will assist your work pass related applications and appeals at our level best with the regulatory authority Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) for successful outcome.

Levy And Quota For S Pass In Singapore