What is the Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) in Singapore

If you employ Work Permit or S Pass holders you may be limited by a quota for your industry. You will also have to pay a monthly levy for each Work Permit or S Pass holder.

The foreign worker levy, commonly known as “levy”, is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of foreign workers in Singapore.
The levy liability will start from the day the Temporary Work Permit, Work Permit or S Pass is issued, whichever is earlier. It ends when the permit is cancelled or expires.
As an employer, you don’t have to pay Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for foreign workers. However, you must pay a monthly levy for Work Permit and S Pass holders in Singapore.

Levy rate and quota

The Foreign Worker Levy you pay generally depends on two factors:

The worker’s qualifications.
The number of Work Permit or S Pass holders hired.

The FWL quota and rate vary according to the following respective sectors:

Note:

Levy rates are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required. See the upcoming levy rates announced in Budget 2020

Worker’s qualifications

Workers who possess relevant academic or skills-based test qualifications and certificates will be considered as higher-skilled workers and qualify for higher skilled worker levy.

Dependency ratio ceiling

A dependency ratio ceiling, or quota, is the maximum ratio of foreign workers to the total workforce that a company in a given sector can employ.

Higher-skilled worker levy

Upgrading your worker to higher-skilled status will reduce your levy bill. The exact levy rate depends on your sector.
You pay a lower levy for workers with higher-skilled status.

Criteria for higher-skilled worker levy by sector

The requirements your worker must meet to be on the higher-skilled levy rate are different for each sector:

Apply for higher-skilled worker levy

For construction sector

Your worker can get higher-skilled status by completing one of the four upgrading options.

For manufacturing, marine shipyard, process or services sector

Complete and sign the application form for conversion to Higher-Skilled Levy. If your company is in the harbour craft industry, use the application form for conversion to Higher-Skilled Levy (for Harbour Craft industry).
Prepare clear copies of these supporting documents:
- Worker’s educational or trade test certificates.
- For diploma or higher qualifications, you need to submit additional documents:

If worker has	Need additional documents
Diploma or higher qualifications from China	Certificate of graduation and verification proof. You can get the verification proof directly in English from sources such as Dataflow, China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center or China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Information. Education certificates certified by a notary public are not accepted as a form of verification proof.
Diploma or higher qualifications from other countries	Transcript or letter from the institution stating the course duration.

Submit the completed application form and supporting documents using iSubmit. Under Request Type, choose option 9.
For non-English documents, you must submit a copy of the original document and an English translation. The translation can be done by a translation service provider.

Welding trade test for process and marine shipyard sectors

To meet the trade test component of the higher-skilled worker levy criteria, your worker’s welding trade test must be endorsed by any of these institutions:

American Bureau of Shipping
Bureau Veritas Singapore Pte Ltd
DNV GL
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
Singapore Test Services
Setsco Services
Common Welder Qualification Scheme conducted by the Singapore Welding Society

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.

Visit MOM for current updates on levy rates.

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 Foreign Worker

You can get a waiver for your foreign worker levy payments only in certain specific situations. These include overseas leave and hospitalisation leave.

Learn more about Levy Waiver For Foreign Worker

Please refer to MOM website at www.mom.gov.sg or www.cpf.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.

Singapore Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) For Work Permit