Employment Pass Renewals - 2018

[mamamama]

Hi EdwardHend,

How is your ex colleague appeal on the reject for her EP renewal , is it approved at the end?

[Strong Eagle]

Hi EdwardHend,

How is your ex colleague appeal on the reject for her EP renewal , is it approved at the end?

What difference does it make?

[EdwardHend]

Hi EdwardHend,

How is your ex colleague appeal on the reject for her EP renewal , is it approved at the end?

There was no luck on her Epass re-appeal. It was rejected again. The company has applied a downgrade from epass to spass and she is still awaiting for result. Hopefully the downgrade of pass will works on her.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If the tick box to be considered for an S Pass if the EP application criteria couldn't be met wasn't ticked on the original application, it's highly unlikely applying for a downgrade to an S pass as MOM very succinctly admonishes that whosoever applies for an EP and DOES NOT TICK THE "ALSO CONSIDER AN S PASS IF NOT QUALIFIED FOR AN EP" shall NOT be allowed to downgrade or even apply with a new application for an S pass (at least with that employer). So Good Luck as I feel she is going to need it.

If the S pass box was also ticked and even an appeal didn't make it, she's in bad shape, I'm afraid.

[rajagainstthemachine]

I've found that using the Self Assessment Tool that in 2018, renewals for EP's are going to be super tight,

For eg. if you are earning 5000/6000 PM on EP and its up for renewal in 2018, it may be rejected.
the Self Assessment Tool says this salary is only eligible for an S pass.
For your EP to be renewed in 2018 the chances are that such salaries will need to be bumped to at least 7000 to receive EP renewals.
Do you guys know of any such cases of employees in this bracket and who were EP's were rejected?

I agree with you on this. EP approvals are getting tighter now even for renewals. My ex colleague has been rejected for her EP renewal twice and now her pass is on appeal. Her current salary is already 7k and she took the assessment tool, tried to key in and increases the salary til it reaches 10k to be approved. No way her current company will give her 10k pay.

My wife's colleague had a similar situation, here's what happened..
they are a small firm ( just 6 people, 3 SC & 3 EP's ) one of the EP's was up for renewal, her salary was 5500 per month, renewal was rejected, they tried to appeal, appeal was also rejected.
Next they had to cancel the renewal application and apply in fresh, this time it was granted with a salary of 6500.
I guess the way I see it is MoM want to see how badly a company wants to fight to keep their employees, if the company doesn't want to put up a fight then, thats another EP out of the window.

[brackobamer]

Hi guys,

So my EP just got rejected, according to my employer. I make $6k a month, and have been here for 7 years. I'm not sure what I'm missing, since when I take the SAT it says I'm eligible for both EP and S Pass. Is there a different assessment tool for pass renewal rather than new application? If there is a difference, is there a link for the renewal one I can get to check? Much appreciated.

[Barnsley]

Hi guys,

So my EP just got rejected, according to my employer. I make $6k a month, and have been here for 7 years. I'm not sure what I'm missing, since when I take the SAT it says I'm eligible for both EP and S Pass. Is there a different assessment tool for pass renewal rather than new application? If there is a difference, is there a link for the renewal one I can get to check? Much appreciated.

Its the new world , elligibilty does not mean you will get.

The Employment Pass is for foreign professionals who:
Note on salaries:

Young graduates from good institutions can qualify if they earn at least $3,600.

Older, more experienced candidates need higher salaries to qualify.

It seems folks can no longer sit on a salary.

Seems at odds with being business friendly , but it is what it is.

Has your company appealed?

If they didnt tick the Spass checkbox I think you may be stuffed if appeal gets rejected.

[brackobamer]

Hmmm. Thanks, that explains it somewhat, though I have 2 degrees and both from accredited schools recognized by the MOM, and I'm in my early 30s (not sure if that is considered young or old in this context ). Oh, well.

They are telling me they will apply for an S-Pass now since there isn't enough time before my EP expires to hear back about an appeal. Apparently this has happened in a few cases before me so it should be okay. Not sure about the S-Pass box though. Not terribly worried tbh.

[Barnsley]

Hmmm. Thanks, that explains it somewhat, though I have 2 degrees and both from accredited schools recognized by the MOM, and I'm in my early 30s (not sure if that is considered young or old in this context ). Oh, well.

They are telling me they will apply for an S-Pass now since there isn't enough time before my EP expires to hear back about an appeal. Apparently this has happened in a few cases before me so it should be okay. Not sure about the S-Pass box though. Not terribly worried tbh.

As long as your company got quota then should be OK.

This additional requirement that experience comes into it is only a recent addition to the pass definition.
Its very odd as it force people to leave jobs if company cannot afford to raise pay to a level the Government sees fit, even if the person is happy with the salary.

Maybe the Government will release a table of salaries that folk have to get in order to get a pass.

[brackobamer]

Yeah that must be it. It's strange since it seems to be quite a big change and yet I can't find anything official anywhere, or even an indication that anything has changed at all (except this forum). Hopefully they will make things clear soon so we can have a bit more transparency. Thanks for your input.

[singaporeflyer]

Yeah that must be it. It's strange since it seems to be quite a big change and yet I can't find anything official anywhere, or even an indication that anything has changed at all (except this forum). Hopefully they will make things clear soon so we can have a bit more transparency. Thanks for your input.

It is clearly written on the MOM website, that experienced candidates must command for high salaries which is proportional to their years of experience. This requirement is there for almost 3+ years. Not new.

[Barnsley]

Yeah that must be it. It's strange since it seems to be quite a big change and yet I can't find anything official anywhere, or even an indication that anything has changed at all (except this forum). Hopefully they will make things clear soon so we can have a bit more transparency. Thanks for your input.

It is clearly written on the MOM website, that experienced candidates must command for high salaries which is proportional to their years of experience. This requirement is there for almost 3+ years. Not new.

Easy tiger!!

I only noticed it this time around as I have had some issues with getting a new pass.

In reality though 3 years is new as some folks will be getting passes assessed under the new criteria.

[Wd40]

6K could be considered low depending on what you are doing. So if you are doing something specialized in IT for example, which locals can't do, then your employer has to justify your value by paying an appropriate salary.

The govt is pushing employers to consider locals or even hire freshers and train them. It seems logical to me.

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[Barnsley]

6K could be considered low depending on what you are doing. So if you are doing something specialized in IT for example, which locals can't do, then your employer has to justify your value by paying an appropriate salary.
The govt is pushing employers to consider locals or even hire freshers and train them. It seems logical to me.

This I agree , however surely its the market that determines salary and not the Government.

Is the Govt going to post salary guidelines stating what salary is appropriate for what qualifications/experience and field you are in.

It also doesn't take into account the state of the economy or the company.

Just seems odd to me that is all.

[x9200]

6K could be considered low depending on what you are doing. So if you are doing something specialized in IT for example, which locals can't do, then your employer has to justify your value by paying an appropriate salary.
The govt is pushing employers to consider locals or even hire freshers and train them. It seems logical to me.

This I agree , however surely its the market that determines salary and not the Government.

Is the Govt going to post salary guidelines stating what salary is appropriate for what qualifications/experience and field you are in.

It also doesn't take into account the state of the economy or the company.

Just seems odd to me that is all.

Apparently the gov sees that other companies employ locals with the same profile paying them more. They have to protect the local labor market. The market would determine the salary if no cheaper foreign labor was available.