Understanding the Singapore Personalised Employment Pass

By: lester32bradley | Posted: 24th November 2010

In realization of the significance of optimizing the human capital, the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore introduced the Personalized Employment Pass on 2007 which qualifies foreigners, former and existing holders of P1 Pass, P2 Pass, Q1 Pass, and foreign graduates from higher learning institutions of Singapore.
Unlike the previous Employment Pass, the Personalized Employment Pass is designed to provide job flexibility and dependent privileges. It has a validity period of 5 years.

Job Flexibility

The Employment Pass is issued to a foreigner specifying its employment term and employer. If the employment contract with the company ceases, the EP holder has 1 month to stay in Singapore to evaluate employment opportunities. After the 1 month ultimatum, the EP holder either leaves the city-state if he cannot find employment or applies for another EP if he is hired by another company. Thus, the cessation and application of an EP remains the same for every termination of job contract in Singapore.
The Personalized Employment Pass or PEP is different. Once it is issued to a foreign individual, the holder can maintain any type of employment from any sector. With PEP, the job contract does not require a new Pass each time it is changed. In addition, should the employment ends, the PEP holder has 6 months to stay in Singapore to find another employment opportunity.

Dependent Privileges

Once issued with PEP, the dependent privileges enjoyed in the EP can be carried over to PEP. Foreigners who have transferred to higher-paying jobs can also apply for corresponding dependent’s privileges.
In P1, P2, and Q1, the Pass holders are allowed to bring their spouse and children below age 21 through the Dependent Pass. Also, P1 Pass and P2 Pass holders can bring their parents and parents-in-law through Long Term Visit Passes.

Eligibility

Aside from the eligibility conditions mentioned at the beginning, foreign professionals whose last monthly fixed wages amounted to S$7,000 are qualified to apply for PEP.
In all other matters, the following conditions apply:


* Former P1 Pass holders—if a foreign individual had a P1 Pass but currently resides abroad, he/she can apply for a PEP provided that he/she is not unemployed for 6 consecutive months from the time of application.

* Existing EP holders—all current holders of P1 Pass, P2 Pass, and Q2 Pass are eligible to apply for a PEP. Nonetheless, for P2 Pass holders, an additional condition should be satisfied, that they should have been a holder of P2 Pass for a minimum of 2 years. For Q1 Pass holders on the other hand, they must be a holder of that visa for at least 5 years from the time of their application. Moreover, they should have been earning at least S$30,000 per annum in the previous year.

Requirements

In filling out Form 8, an applicant must present the documents that follow:

*Name and Address of one’s employer

* Job and Salary information

* Contact information in Singapore

* A photocopy of one’s passport

* Photocopy of Dependent Pass, if applicable

* Photocopy of Long-Term Visit Pass, if applicable

For first-time applicants, additional documents are required, which are:


* Appointment Letter from the Current Employer (in Singapore)

* Last three months salary slips

* Original Transcript of Records

* Resume or Curriculum Vitae

The Ministry of Manpower processes the PEP within 2 weeks following the application. Once approved, the MOM will send an In-Principle Approval or IPA to the applicant through an e-mail. The IPA must be printed and presented to MOM together with other pertinent documents like medical test result.


Resource Box:
Rikvin is the leading Company Registration Services Solutions Specialists. It has successfully helped thousands of foreign entrepreneurs acquire their Personalised Employment Pass. Our office is located at Raffles Place, in the heart of the Singapore business district. ("CBD") If you're in our neighborhood and want to discuss any aspect of our service then feel free to come in to our offices during business hours.
This article is copyright
Printed From: http://www.goinglegal.com/understanding-the-singapore-personalised-employment-pass-1864002.html
Back to the original article

Tags: wages, foreigner, realization, privileges, ultimatum, graduates, pep, foreigners, employment opportunity, cessation, employment opportunities, employment contract, validity period, employment pass, eligibility conditions, ministry of manpower