Singapore to raise salary criteria for foreign workers in bid for high-quality talent

Singapore is set to raise the salary criteria for foreign executives and professionals that companies can hire starting next year, the government announced on Monday.. Starting in January of next year, foreigners seeking employment passes, typically reserved for well-paid professionals, will need to earn at least S$5,600 ($4,170) per month, an increase from the current requirement of S$5,000...

The manpower ministry said the move is meant to "ensure that EP (employment pass) holders are of high quality, and to maintain a level playing field for locals"...

As of June last year, Singapore had 1,97,300 foreigners holding employment passes, out of a foreign workforce totaling around 1.5 million..

Since the pandemic hit in 2020, the salary floor for hiring foreigners have been raised three times with the previous adjustment - from S$4,500 to S$5,000 - taking effect just in September last year...

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