Application for PR Singapore – New Immigration Policy

Till now in Singapore, the Spouse of an Employment Pass (EP) Holder who held a Dependent Pass (DP) required a Letter of consent (LOC) issued by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to be able to join the work force here in Singapore. However, this is going to change. With effect from 1 May 2021, all DP holders will have to apply for a work pass – such as an Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit – instead of submitting an LOC, unless they are business owners who meet specified criteria.

This move is to regularise work arrangements of DP holders, provides consistency with recent work pass moves according to Minister of Manpower, Ms Josephine Teo.

However, those already working on LOC will continue until its expiry. The ministry will provide sufficient time for the transition.

DP holders who are business owners will be allowed to continue working on a letter of consent if they are either the sole proprietor, partner, or director with at least 30% of the company shares, and their business creates local employment.

To fulfil the condition of creating local employment, the business must hire at least one Singaporean or permanent resident earning at least S$1,400 and make contributions to the employee’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) account for at least three months.

Those who do not meet the new criteria can continue working only until their letter of consent expires. There is a provision to apply for a one-off extension of their letter of consent until 30 April 2022.

How does this help?

Once the DP holders obtained a work pass (Employment Pass or S Pass), it means that they can apply to become a Singapore Permanent Resident on their own or if they have children, they can apply as a family and stand a higher chance of success. We have covered many benefits being a Singapore PR in our past articles. Read here for more details.

Does it mean that we will see a surge in application for PR Singapore?

Act Now! The new policy will kick start in May, which gives you sufficient time to prepare an application for PR, we encourage you to do so immediately to avoid competing with a larger number of applicants.

Talk to us

Preparing an application for PR in Singapore is not as challenging as you think if, you partner with the RIGHT Immigration agency.

Approach us for a complimentary consultation session with our experienced immigration consultants. We will share with you in detail how best to present your profile. We will take you through your journey to becoming a Singapore PR. You can read here to understand what can expect during this complimentary consultation.

Put all your concerns regarding the cost to rest, as we have very transparent and competitive rates while and we provide the best to you. Read here.

Take your preliminary assessment here to calculate your eligibility.