Personalised Employment Pass: A
New Scheme to Facilitate the Contributions Of Global Talent to
Singapore
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The Ministry of Manpower will introduce a Personalised
Employment Pass (PEP) from 1 January 2007 to help us better
attract and retain global talent. The PEP will facilitate
selected Employment Pass holders to continue working in
Singapore. The PEP will be granted to suitable EP holders or
foreigners who have graduated from our institutions of
higher learning, and have worked in Singapore for a period
of time.
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Currently, the issue of an Employment Pass (EP) is tied to a
specific employer. Any change of employer requires a fresh
application. If an EP holder leaves the company, his EP is
cancelled and he must leave Singapore unless he finds
employment with a new company. In contrast, the new PEP is
not tied to any employer and will be granted on the strength
of an EP holder's individual merits. The PEP allows the
holder to remain in Singapore for up to six months in
between jobs to evaluate new employment opportunities. This
helps us to retain selected global talent who would
otherwise have to leave Singapore.
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There is intensified global competition for talent, and the
PEP will strengthen Singapore's attractiveness to highly
skilled foreigners. This will help grow the overall
economic pie in Singapore, creating more jobs and
opportunities for Singaporeans. Other destinations for
foreign talent such as Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Canada
and Australia have similar schemes which offer them the
flexibility to stay or enter the country for a fixed period
of time.
qThe
following groups of EP holders will be eligible for a PEP if
they had earned a basic salary of at least S$30,000 in the
preceding year;
(i) P Pass holders that have at least two
years' working experience on a P Pass;
(ii) Q1 pass holders with at least five years' working
experience on a Q1 pass; and
(iii) Foreign graduates from institutions of higher learning
in Singapore with at least two years' working experience on
a P or Q1 Pass.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will exercise flexibility in
considering individual cases that do not meet the minimum
criteria but merit the issuance of a Personalised Employment
Pass (PEP) e.g. on minimum work period
