Last Updated 01-May-2026

Why Singapore work visa?

• Work 40 hours/week
• 14 paid leaves per year
• High average salaries
• 'NO' age limit
• Easy path to Singapore PR
• Travel in and out without Entry visas

Singapore work permits

Singapore, one of the world’s most expensive cities, is an economic hub, with energetic city culture that offers an array of opportunities to people who land here to access work opportunities. A magnet for expats from all over the world, this teaming metropolis in South East Asia attracts students who want to pursue higher studies, and aspiring workers to find jobs or start their own businesses. This Asian city-state is a base where people with superior knowledge and skills congregate to work in large multinational companies. Quite a lot of them have their base in Singapore. Singapore Work Visa for Indians is the most promising for your career growth. Most of Indians migrate to Singapore, through work  visas.

Categories of Singapore work visas

The various types of work visas in Singapore are as follows:

• Singapore work visas for skilled & semi-skilled workers
• ONE Pass Visa
• Singapore work visas for trainees & students
• Singapore work visas for professionals
• Singapore short-term work passes

Singapore work visas for professionals

Professional workers are entitled to get the following types of Singapore work Passes (work visas):

• Employment Pass: Granted to executives, managers, and professionals. To be eligible, you have to earn at least SGD3,600 a month.
• Personalized Employment Pass – Issued to highly-paid foreigners or current holders of Employment Passes. More is offered with PEP than with other work Passes.
• EntrePass – Granted to investors or entrepreneurs who intend to establish a business in Singapore.
• Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass)

The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass provides employment flexibility by allowing qualified applicants start, operate, and work simultaneously for multiple companies in Singapore.

Eligibility criteria

Different ways of applying for the Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass.

Salary condition

Existing work pass holders and foreign candidates can apply if they fulfil either of the salary criteria as follows:

• Earn a fixed monthly wage of at least SGD30,000, or its equivalent in foreign currency, within the last year.
• Earn a fixed monthly wage of a minimum of SGD30,000 from their future Singapore-based employer.
• Apart from meeting the salary criteria mentioned above, overseas candidates (i.e. non-work pass holders) will also be required to prove that they have been employed with an established foreign company for at least one year or will be working for an established Singapore company.

Singapore work visas for skilled and semi-skilled workers

Skilled or semi-skilled workers can apply for one of the following work visas in Singapore:

• S Pass Singapore – issued to mid-level skilled workers who get a monthly salary of a minimum of SGD2, 300. Quotas of foreign workers and levies apply.
• Singapore Work Permit for Foreign Workers – issued only to overseas workers from particular countries and only in specific sectors (construction, manufacturing, process or services sector, marine shipyard.) Quotas of foreign workers and levies apply.
• Work Permit for Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW) – given only to workers aged between 23 and 50 from specific countries, such as India, Indonesia, Macau Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Malaysia, etc.
• Work Permit for confinement nanny – issued to Malaysian nannies who are allowed to work in Singapore for 16 weeks, commencing from the time of birth of a baby. The employer needs to pay an overseas worker levy.
• Work Permit for performing artists – issued to performing artists who would work in qualified public entertainment outlets, such as bars, hotels, or nightclubs. Applicable to this are foreign worker quota and levy.

Singapore work visas for trainees and students

These Singapore work visas are issued to foreign students or trainees who qualify as follows:

• Training Employment Pass – issued to foreigners wanting to undergo training in Singapore not exceeding three months. Foreign worker levy or quota is not applicable.
• Work Holiday Pass –issued to foreigners under the Working Holiday Programme in Singapore from Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or the United States. It is available only to nationals aged between 18 and 25 (18 and30 for Australian citizens) and has a validity of six months (one year for Australian citizens). As it is non-renewable, it can be issued to its holders only once.
• Training Work Permit – issued to unskilled or semi-skilled overseas students or trainees who would experience practical training in Singapore that lasts for only six months.
• Short-term work passes for Singapore

Foreign workers arriving in Singapore on a short-term Visit Pass are not usually allowed to engage in any work-related activities. In certain cases, however, (For e.g.: journalists or speakers at public events), the holders are allowed to apply for miscellaneous Work Passes. It permits the holder to work for not more than 60 days.

Foreign students pursuing education in Singapore with a Study Visa are also allowed to work if they fulfil certain conditions, such as being registered at an approved college or university.

Process of applying for a Singapore work visa

You will need to secure a job first in Singapore before you apply for its work visa. This is due to the fact that your employer (or an Employment Agency) is in responsible for submitting your Singapore work visa application.

Your employer or an accredited Employment Agency should apply for your Singapore work visa issued through EP Online. You can find the online application service on the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) website.

Steps to apply for a Singapore work visa

The application process for a work visa for Singapore is as follows:

Step 1: Get a job offer in Singapore.

Step 2: If you are still in your native country, your employer or an Employment Agency (EA) will have to submit a work visa application through EP Online. They need to pay a processing fee.

Step 3: When the application is accepted, your employer will get an In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter, with which you can enter Singapore.

Step 4: In case the application is rejected, an In-Principle Rejection letter will be sent to your potential employer instead. You won’t be issued a work visa.

Step 5: The IPA letter allows you to travel to Singapore.

Once you reach Singapore, your employer or an EA applies through EP Online to receive your Singapore work visa. They will have to pay the fee again, which would be for the work Pass per se.

Once you get your work Pass, a notification letter will be sent to you. This letter contains details on whether you need to take your photo and fingerprints. It allows you also to commence working and leave and enter Singapore until an Employment Card is issued to you.

You need to register at the Employment Pass Services Centre (EPSC) within two weeks of receiving your Pass. Once you register, a Pass Card will be issued to you – generally within four working days.

Similar is the process to apply for a Singapore e-visa for Indians. For your information, the Singapore work permit costs SGD35.

 

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