How long will my work pass (EP, S-Pass, WP) application take
Mine is still pending....... May all of us waiting for approval a good luck.
With little information that you have mentioned here, nobody can tell you what would be your chances.
People are getting pass approval in weeks time and also cases are there which take in months. Each application has its merits and can’t compare with other application. Good luck
I have been a keen reader of this forum, and while I am going through the same 'delay in EP' pain, I wanted to post my timelines to check if anyone is having a similar experience, especially in the face of the coronavirus issue.
My Education - Electronics Engineer, Full Time MBA from a premier institute. 16 years work-ex, last 11 years in Singapore. Have previously changed job twice in Singapore, all previous jobs in Top 10 IT Service and Software companies in various Technology Sales and Industry Consultant roles.
Resigned from last job mid-Jan (a global top IT company where I was a Sales Principal) and left for my home country to attend family events back home. My new Company (which is also a global IT giant) applied for EP on 23-Dec-2019.
New job Position - Technical Director, Salary 250k SGD +
EP applied - 23-Dec
First Query from MOM came in - around 10 Jan [Query was regarding "Why this candidate over others" type]
Query resolved by New Company - around 14/15 Jan. After that no communication from MoM.
Till now status has been 'Pending', in fact status was 'Pending' with no change since 23-Dec itself.. I am in 8th week of waiting..
Can this delay have something to do with the recent coronavirus alert or something? Or are people experiencing this kind of delay on average...
Any recent experience would help me with some piece of mind...

Applied for renew: 19th Nov 2019
Status 1: Pending (from 19th Nov to 16th Dec)
Status 2: We need inputs from other...... ( from 16th Dec to 12 Feb 2020)
Status 3: Approved on 13th Feb 2020 between 4-6 pm
My company applied for 3 years renewal but MOM approved for 1 year. Do anyone have any idea what could be the possible reason?
To answer your query, see below:
Your employer can’t say how many years an employee should get renewal of his or her work pass. MoM does that after reviewing each case on its merit then renew accordingly.
Prior to 1yr expiry, your employer can apply for renewal again.
Origin: India
Salary: $7000
Role: Senior Software Engineer
Relevant Experience: 8.4 Years
Qualification: B.E. CSE
Applied for EP by Company: 14th Feb 2020
Status on 19th Feb 2020: Pending
I will keep you guys posted on further updates.
Wish me luck!
I have not got any intimation from the company yet. But I hope the IPA will be valid for 6 months. My notice period in India is for 2 months.
Looking forward to moving in very soon

Thank you.
how long it took?
But I wonder why you are asking this? It is NOT a good idea to give false information when dealing with Singapore officials!
Date of application 19-2-2020,
Approved on 4-3-2020,
Profile: developer,
Exp :6 years
Salary 6.5
Company : Leader in healthcare in SG
Good luck for them who are waiting.
Been following this forum for a while. Thanks a lot for all the information! Thought I'd share my experience while waiting.
Profile: Maketing. MBA from a local Singaporean uni. Worked at one company for the past 8 years (during which time I held EP, which has been renewed a couple of times).
EP application submitted: 28-Feb-2020
Status change to Pending: 04-Mar-2020
Status change to "Awaiting input from other agencies... in most cases, outcome available in 4 weeks etc": 05-Mar-2020
Now waiting to see what happens next. Current job really sucks right now so I'm really hoping this comes soon.
And wishing lot of luck to anyone who is in the same boat!
Read related forum posts!
I have asked the employer to check the reason. But quite shocked that the rejection was so fast. Is this common?
Count yourself lucky that you still have a job and EP, but do hope that your employer doesn‘t fire you when they find out you have been trying to leave (the new EP application is visible to them in MoM‘s system!).
westsidegirl wrote:Today's update: EP got rejected 7 days after application.
I have asked the employer to check the reason. But quite shocked that the rejection was so fast. Is this common?
So lucky you are that u got rejection in 7 days only... so u have pleanty of time and options to do.
I got my rejection after 66 days . 
In other words: There is no rule, the database may be updated at any time. Why does it matter?
MoM's official opening hours might be until 5:30pm, but that does not mean the officers stop working then. Overtime work exists even in public service!
Furthermore, the intervals in which data is (autromatically) uploaded into the EPOnline web server are probably ranbdom and not restricted to certain hours or days.
I find this forum very useful. I have a question regarding the process.
My company have applied for EP recently and after status turned into "need inputs from other agencies". Since it changed, it remains 1 week plus like that and nothing changes, even though my employer uploaded documents that were required from his side.
Is there is a possibility that my employer can call them and ask which information is required? and will they give an information to my employer regarding to where they made an inquiry?
Thank you.
Either way, just paid off my 2019 taxes now lol.
But if there was some problem (e.g. why did you submit the 2018 tax declaration only now?), then it might.
My spass was applied nearly 3weeks ago and just today, mom asked for additional docs from employer since it is the first time they applied for spass. Tomorrow my employer will submit the docs and will call mom. Questions:
1. Is my waiting time reset to zero after submitting addtl docs?
2. Can i return to singapore and if immig asked why i return in short time, can i say that my spass is pending?
Current processing times are usually 1-2 months, but can be longer or shorter in certain cases.
Leaving and returning after a short time is NOT a good idea under any circumstances. If ICA or MoM does not renew your current visa, stay outside of the country until your work pass is approved.
You should not have resigned from your previous job before the new work pass is approved!
Please suggest
sandyexpat wrote:Hi @beppi ..it took 66 days for EP pass rejection ...employer reappealed on rejection date..its been 53 days since rejection ,still waiting for the outcome. However employer is connecting MoM in between 2 weeks interval period..no reply
Please suggest
Hi Sandy,
Did your employer knew about the rejection cause? Appealing without proper resolution of the rejection cause will not give fruitful result. You can ask your employer to contact MOM and to check the reason for such delay.
Thanks...
Indestructible007 wrote:sandyexpat wrote:Hi @beppi ..it took 66 days for EP pass rejection ...employer reappealed on rejection date..its been 53 days since rejection ,still waiting for the outcome. However employer is connecting MoM in between 2 weeks interval period..no reply
Please suggest
Hi Sandy,
Did your employer knew about the rejection cause? Appealing without proper resolution of the rejection cause will not give fruitful result. You can ask your employer to contact MOM and to check the reason for such delay.
Thanks...
Yes ...Employer told there was some policy change ..not telling exact what policy..so they reappealed with new policy as per MoM.
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