How to apply for a Singapore work visa in 2023?

Why Singapore Work Visa?

Singapore is one of the top Asian economies that offers excellent employment opportunities to foreigners with the right skills. Singapore has immigration policies that are designed to attract international workers. Companies in Singapore are also offering high remuneration.

Singapore aims at bringing in more skilled and qualified foreign nationals to meet the labor requirements in the country. One of the steps taken in this direction is a new Singapore work permit introduced in November 2022, called ONE (Overseas Networks and Expertise).

ONE is meant for foreigners who earn at least SGD30,000 per annum. The work permit has a validity of 5 years. It also provides the dependents of the primary applicant to seek employment in Singapore. This work visa will be introduced on January 1, 2023.

Proving its keenness about improving its immigration system, Singapore also eased its work rules in August 2022, especially to attract white-collar workers and professionals.

Singapore is issuing five-year work visas to tech professionals as part of its talent acquisition efforts to improve its industries. These are granted to highly-paid professionals who earlier had a 2.5 years visa granted to arrive and work in Singapore.

Singapore has one of the easiest visa processes in the world that enables you to obtain a work/residence permit quickly. You can lodge an application online and go through the procedure with a few clicks to do. Singapore has made the visa procedure even easier for business people when compared to a lot of other countries.

Of course, you can’t overlook these efforts Singapore is making and the work permit types the country is offering you. As a skilled worker, you have the choice to join the country’s workforce for a handsome pay scale and lifestyle advantages.

Job opportunities in Singapore

The top industrial sectors that are hiring in Singapore include:

• Banking and Finance
• Cyber security
• Manufacturing
• Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and data analytics
• Logistics and supply chain
• Manufacturing
• Construction

In Singapore, the number of opportunities and volume of hiring is the highest in technology in 2022. The professions with the highest demand and pay in Singapore in 2022 include:

Occupation	Average Annual Salary (in Singapore dollars)
Data Analyst	60,000
Social Media Marketer	33,000
Cybersecurity Professional	72,000
SQL	66,000
Engineer	54,000
Python Programmer	53,400
Javascript	63,000
AI Developer	54,000
Business Analyst	72,000
Digital Marketer	36,900
Data Scientist	81,600
Cyber Security Specialist	78,000
Robotics Engineer	54,000
Copywriter	48,000
UI/UX Specialist	70,500
Clinical Specialist	54,000

Benefits of working in Singapore

Here are the benefits of getting employed in Singapore in 2022:

• Employees in Singapore are covered by Central Provident Fund (CPF).
• Permanent residents and citizens of Singapore have an entitlement to MediSave, Singapore’s free public healthcare. This is granted as part of the contributions made to the CPF.
• Currently, the most reputed companies in Singapore are offering high salaries. The average increment in salaries has shown a significant jump in 2022 and will be a trend in the time to come.
• Companies in Singapore are introducing other new adjustments to benefits granted to employees. These are offered as bonuses, mental health support, flexible employment policies, and more.
• You will benefit a lot from the high earnings you can have in Singapore for skilled jobs. The median salary in Singapore is SGD3,500. As of September 2022, there will be an increase in the monthly payment of expats in Singapore from SGD4,500 to SGD5000.
• You can experience diversity at its best in Singapore’s workspaces. Singapore welcomes workers from different countries and cultures. Hence, the workforce in Singapore is highly diverse, which can make you confident and happy to work in this country.
• Singapore has world-class universities where you can study too while you are working. In QS world rankings for 2022, Nanyang Technological and the National University of Singapore University ranked twelfth and eleventh.
• The Employment Act of Singapore lays a strong legal foundation to ensure that employees are entitled to various basic rights including:
  • annual leave
  • fixed working hours
  • paid maternity leave

Types of Singapore work permits

There are various types of work passes available in Singapore. Let’s explore those and understand what and who it’s meant for.

Employment Pass (EP) and Personalized Employment Pass (PEP)

An EP and/or a PEP are meant for professionals, executives, and managers who meet relevant criteria. The candidates applying for an EP must earn at least SGD4,500 as their monthly salary. PEP is more flexible, but the minimum annual salary (fixed) requirement is SGD144,000. The number of months the candidates are employed won’t affect the pay mandated for this type of visa.

Entrepreneur Pass (EntrePass)

This visa type focuses on foreign nationals who are looking to run a business in Singapore. The business could be related to biotech, research, and innovative technology. It must be backed by a venture or there must be ownership of innovative technologies involved.

S Pass

People from all nationalities are eligible to apply for this visa type if they meet the following criteria:

• They must be mid-level skilled technical staff
• They must earn at least SGD2,500 as their monthly salary

When you are assessed after applying for this visa, authorities in Singapore consider your:

• education level
• salary
• job type
• relevant skills
• work experience

Work Permit

You could go for a work permit in Singapore if you are a semi-skilled worker earning up to SGD2,500.

Other Singapore work permits

• Work Holiday Pass
• Training Employment Pass
• Training Work Permit

Eligibility criteria for Work Visa in Singapore

Here are the eligibility criteria you have to meet to apply for a Singapore work pass in general:

• You must have a passport that’s deemed valid.
• You have to be of a minimum age of 18 years while applying for the work pass. If you are a non-Malaysian, the maximum age to apply is 50 years and if you are a Malaysian the age limit is 58 years.
• You can work in Singapore only with the scope of work as given in your respective work permits. You aren’t permitted to stay in Singapore beyond the time mentioned in the Work Pass. It will be illegal for you to run your own business in Singapore without holding a work permit deemed valid.

Requirements for Singapore Work Visa

The documents required to apply for a Singapore work visa are the following:

• A valid passport
• An application form that’s duly filled
• Copies of education certificates
• Testimonials from past employment
• Two recent photographs in color
• A description that details the type of work you have to do in Singapore
• The appointment letter issued by your employer in Singapore

Steps to apply for Singapore Work Visa

Here are the steps in the process of applying for a Singapore work visa:

• The employer/visa agent must submit a visa application on your behalf. They must receive your consent in writing from you to lodge an application for the work permit.
• Fill out the application form for a work visa and attach all the documents required.
• Pay the online fee
• After going through the application process, you can check the application status on the official website of the Singapore Work Permit after a week.
• After the visa application gets approval, a print of the IPA (In-Principle Approval) letter has to be taken.
• Within a period of 2 weeks of your arrival in Singapore, the employer/agent has to get the issue of the permit done. They have to provide an address so that the Singapore work permit card can be delivered. You also have to nominate a minimum of 3 recipients and submit their IC/FIN/passport number as well as contact numbers.

How can Y-Axis assist you to work in Singapore?

For the best overseas job search and visa services of world standards to live and work in Singapore, visit Y-Axis. Professionals wanting to work in Singapore can seek our valuable services namely:

• Expert assistance to apply for a work visa in Singapore.
• Career counseling with expert advice.
• Immigration consultancy to show you the right path to immigrate risk-free and hassle-free.
• Expert coaching services for language proficiency tests like IELTS, CELPIP, and PTE when you need it most.

If you are looking for expert immigration advice and overseas job assistance, talk to Y-Axis, the leading immigration and career consultant in the UAE.

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