SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
Singapore Expat Forum and Message Board for Expats in Singapore & Expatriates Relocating to Singapore
Firms must try to hire Singaporeans first from Aug 2014
Firms must try to hire Singaporeans first from Aug 2014
For those interested in the article, search for "Firms must advertise for Singaporeans before hiring foreign professionals"...
The rule is scheduled to take effect by 1 August 2014.
The major points are:
- There will be a national job bank, administered by WDA, where employers must advertise first for at least 14 days, and basically prove that they could not find Singaporeans to fill the vacancies before being able to hire foreigners
- Exemptions planned for companies of 25 or less, and for positions that pay $12,000 or more (at least in the beginning, subject to the last point here)
- (New) EPs will be rejected for companies not having advertised the position in the national job bank
- EP minimum salary will be raised to $3,300 from 1 Jan 2014 - this is for fresh grads. People with work experience need to command a relatively higher salary to qualify.
- Firms that have a "disproportionately low" number of SC PMETs will be scrutinized by MoM, and may have visa privileges curtailed
The writing was on the wall for this one. Among the side effects, I would expect longer processing time for EP applications once the rule is in effect, due to the additional checking required.
Note that these rules only speak of Singaporeans. PRs are not mentioned, but would probably not get access to the national jobs bank.
The rule is scheduled to take effect by 1 August 2014.
The major points are:
- There will be a national job bank, administered by WDA, where employers must advertise first for at least 14 days, and basically prove that they could not find Singaporeans to fill the vacancies before being able to hire foreigners
- Exemptions planned for companies of 25 or less, and for positions that pay $12,000 or more (at least in the beginning, subject to the last point here)
- (New) EPs will be rejected for companies not having advertised the position in the national job bank
- EP minimum salary will be raised to $3,300 from 1 Jan 2014 - this is for fresh grads. People with work experience need to command a relatively higher salary to qualify.
- Firms that have a "disproportionately low" number of SC PMETs will be scrutinized by MoM, and may have visa privileges curtailed
The writing was on the wall for this one. Among the side effects, I would expect longer processing time for EP applications once the rule is in effect, due to the additional checking required.
Note that these rules only speak of Singaporeans. PRs are not mentioned, but would probably not get access to the national jobs bank.
Good move
Though this is a good move by the Government and commendable but then it is silent on the status of PR's .
There could be PR's who are in the verge of taking citizenship have been contributing everything in and to Singapore than their country of origin .Can anyone clarify this point ?
There could be PR's who are in the verge of taking citizenship have been contributing everything in and to Singapore than their country of origin .Can anyone clarify this point ?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-2 ... airly.html

Damn! So this must be the thing, SMS and others were hinting about regarding PEP holders who dont meet the new requirements, getting shafted. Now it wont be so easy to get an EP, also.Companies with 25 or fewer employees will be exempt from the new rules, as well as jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary of S$12,000 or more, according to the statement.

Last edited by Wd40 on Mon, 23 Sep 2013 4:46 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Good move
I imagine PR's won't end up in the job bank but hiring managers who hire them would fulfil the requirement of hiring SC's. I guess we will find out.aksri wrote:Though this is a good move by the Government and commendable but then it is silent on the status of PR's .
There could be PR's who are in the verge of taking citizenship have been contributing everything in and to Singapore than their country of origin .Can anyone clarify this point ?
Re: Good move
Its a job bank, not a candidate's bank like in Australia.PNGMK wrote:I imagine PR's won't end up in the job bank but hiring managers who hire them would fulfil the requirement of hiring SC's. I guess we will find out.aksri wrote:Though this is a good move by the Government and commendable but then it is silent on the status of PR's .
There could be PR's who are in the verge of taking citizenship have been contributing everything in and to Singapore than their country of origin .Can anyone clarify this point ?
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sin ... 23152.html
Another interesting point:
Another interesting point:
Firms will be given some lead time to transit for their existing pool of Employment Pass holders. Existing EP holders whose passes expire before January will receive a one-time renewal based on the existing EP criteria.
Those whose passes expire between January 1 and June 30, 2014 will receive a one-time renewal of up to one year based on the existing EP criteria. After 30 June 2014, all existing EP holders will have to meet the new criteria.
Separately from January, the qualifying salary for new EP applications will be raised from S$3,000 to S$3,300. The ministry said this is in line with rising salaries.
Re: Good move
Yup. Pure speculation at this point, but I would think you would need an account to access it, and those will only be given to Singaporeans and hiring companies.Wd40 wrote:Its a job bank, not a candidate's bank like in Australia.PNGMK wrote:I imagine PR's won't end up in the job bank but hiring managers who hire them would fulfil the requirement of hiring SC's. I guess we will find out.aksri wrote:Though this is a good move by the Government and commendable but then it is silent on the status of PR's .
There could be PR's who are in the verge of taking citizenship have been contributing everything in and to Singapore than their country of origin .Can anyone clarify this point ?
They dont want to remove the sting from the move. If they use the word PR in the 1st release itself, then those TRE types, will just pounce on it and ignore the rest of the article.AngMoG wrote:I wouldn't bet on that. There is no mention of PRs, I'd assume they do not get access to the national job bank. But who knows, we'll have to wait and see until they clarify.Wd40 wrote:For employment purposes, PR = Singaporean. I dont see that changing with regards to this rule.
Since they haven't specifically mentioned that PRs are excluded, its fair to assume that PR = Singaporean as was always the case for employment purposes.
Besides, bear in mind that this "Job bank" is not the only place that employers need to put the ad. They can still recruit PRs through other means.
The only point of hindarance is at the time of EP applications, the requirement is that you need to put the ad in the "job bank" thats it!. Since you dont need to go to MoM for getting work passes for PRs. PRs are not affected. Simple!
Last edited by Wd40 on Mon, 23 Sep 2013 5:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Good point...Wd40 wrote:They dont want to remove the sting from the move. If they use the word PR in the 1st release itself, then those TRE types, will just pounce on it and ignore the rest of the article.AngMoG wrote:I wouldn't bet on that. There is no mention of PRs, I'd assume they do not get access to the national job bank. But who knows, we'll have to wait and see until they clarify.Wd40 wrote:For employment purposes, PR = Singaporean. I dont see that changing with regards to this rule.
Since they haven't specifically mentioned that PRs are excluded, its fair to assume that PR = Singaporean as was always the case for employment purposes.
-
- Chatter
- Posts: 212
- Joined: Sun, 23 Sep 2012 3:07 pm
- Location: Singapore
Yeap it is common in the UK. When I was there only the big MNCs could afford to hire foreigners coz there was no quota but the small-medium coz had to prove to the UK government they could not find a local to do it. I heard cases where even when the co managed to provide evidence they cannot find a local the permit apps for the foreigner was also rejected.
Wd40 wrote:This is common in Europe as well, isn't it? I believe in UK, you must 1st give preference to UK candidates and then to EU candidates and finally rest of the world.
Life is short hence I live it to its fullest, that is .... I eat and sleep
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Relocation Firms for move from the UK to SG
by BlueOrchid » Sat, 01 Jan 2022 5:26 am » in Relocating, Moving to Singapore - 1 Replies
- 1109 Views
-
Last post by Sunjackal
Fri, 21 Jan 2022 3:21 am
-
-
-
Must a DP holder stay in Singapore?
by expat104 » Sat, 22 Jun 2019 8:55 pm » in PR, Citizenship, Passes & Visas for Foreigners - 1 Replies
- 1658 Views
-
Last post by Strong Eagle
Mon, 24 Jun 2019 3:48 am
-
-
-
MUST visit places in Singapore
by moritzr » Tue, 07 Jan 2020 1:51 pm » in Entertainment, Leisure & Sports - 14 Replies
- 6922 Views
-
Last post by Myasis Dragon
Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:22 pm
-
-
-
Must-read material around PR
by alto_admin » Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:43 am » in PR, Citizenship, Passes & Visas for Foreigners - 5 Replies
- 2618 Views
-
Last post by sundaymorningstaple
Fri, 10 Jan 2020 1:22 am
-
-
-
Bank accounts must be closed on departure from Singapore? New 2021 rule?
by PNGMK » Tue, 12 Jan 2021 3:12 pm » in Staying, Living in Singapore - 5 Replies
- 3397 Views
-
Last post by PNGMK
Wed, 13 Jan 2021 9:51 am
-
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests