Employment Pass Rejected

You can only get a work visa if you are employed by a Singapore-registered company. Whether they are (or were) a subsidiary of an Indian company does not matter. You do not need to inform MoM of their closing, as they can already see that in the database.
I think you are wasting your time here worrying about things you cannot influence. Or maybe I do not understand what the actual issue is - many people have worked in the past for employers that do not exist any more now, this is normal and not a problem!

Hi Beppi,

Apology I am not able to clear my things to you properly.

The thing is I worked in India and hired by Singapore based company. Now my India employer is no more. I know closing the old employer is normal but due to that I am facing problem in verification at client side every time. This is the issue I am facing currently.

Thanks!

So the problem is not MoM, but your clients (which I assume are your employer's customers)?
Then informing MoM is no help and also useless, because MoM doesn't keep a registry of foreign firms. The issue is solely between you and the clients (who won't ask MoM).
Why don't you just tell your clients that this former employer doesn't exist any more? In fact, I think your employer should do the explaining, if they want to send you to that client.

Dear all,

I just learned today that my S pass application is rejected.

The official reason my employer was notified is that I am not eligible to apply for a work pass. When my employer spoke to the MOM Officer, he did not share with me any specific reason or eligibility issue because of confidentiality. According to the published eligibility, I believe my candidacy met the requirements but I think it might be the case of the general tightening of the criteria for S Pass.

Do you think my employer could appeal for me? Seek your advice.

Kind regards,
Agung

Yes, your employer can appeal but the result may not change unless you can review your documents and see potentially where you can add more value to it e.g. if employer can offer little hike of your proposed salary plan, or confirming MoM that the candidate will add value to its business and it needs your sevice. Now a days MoM has tightened the approval process, so getting a pass is now more difficult in compare to earlier. Good luck.

Thanks surya2k for the advice.

The fact that MoM officer did not share the specific reason, it might be difficult to identify what needs to be value added. Would it be possible for my employer to scrutinize the reason to prepare the appeal process?

Thanks, Agung

MoM doesn't have any obligation to tell you the reason but as an applicant you can assess your application and see where could be the potential reason then discuss with the employer to appeal after taking care of those points. Good luck.

Hi All, presently I am holding EP and after receiving another job offer, the employer applied for the EP. But today we received the outcome that the application is rejected by MOM. The only reason we found that the offered base salary was low according my experience, but in addition to the base salary there is also a performance bounce on monthly basis. So the employer wants to reduce the performance bounce to add with base salary. How many days will be reasonable  to wait and to apply next EP to convince MOM? Please advise.

MoM counts only fixed monthly income, no performance-related bonuses or similar. Thus your employer's approach is correct in principle.
However, MoM will be suspicious, since such salary increasesafter rejection often come with (illegal) kick-back schemes where the employee returns some of the additional pay to the company and thus the higher pay exists only on paper. Your employer should also submit a convincing explanation why you are suddenly worth more to them than before.

Hi Beppi, Employer is thinking to reapply after few months. So I seeking the suggestion, that how many months could be OK to convince MOM? They are not applying immediately. Meanwhile, employer is suggesting to go back to home country and work from there for this much of period.

It's a good idea to have you working for them in your home country first - it is easier to justify a transfer from the employer's overseas office to their Singapore organisation!
I suggest 6 - 12 months waiting time before re-application.

tanghao wrote:

Salary level does matter and at P1 level (above S$8000/month) academic qualifications (degree) are not needed any more.

The EP classaes ("P1") have been abolished a while ago - and the threshold for no degree requirement is raised to S$12000/month.

You can only have one EP at a time, and one EP application (in addition to that). So your current pass can remain valid during the application process for a new one (only when the new IPA is converted to an EP, must the old one be cancelled).

Hi,

Here is a quick sum up of my situation:

I was offered a job at the end of May 2017 in a large MNC company with over 15,000 employees WW.
On the 24th of May we started the process to get an EP through an agent. The company usually goes through this agent for all visas.
I have 2.5 years experience in my field and have worked in the past for this company as an intern. I graduated with a Master's Degree from a top 10 Business School in France and have a Bachelor Degree from Australia.
In terms of salary, the company offered me 4.5K annually. I believe that the minimum requirement is 3.3K now, so I don't really see this as being the problem.

After 3 weeks the verdict is "Rejected", without any clear reason on why it has been rejected.
I have provided copies of my degrees, so I am not really sure what else I can give on my behalf in terms of documentation for the appeal to be successful.

Last but not least. I used to hold Singapore citizenship, but decided to renounce it when I was 21 (I am now 27). I believe that this could be the reason why my EP was rejected, but wouldn't my status indicate this, or at least indicate that there is no point for me to apply for an EP because of this criteria?

I've contacted both the agent and the company in order to move forward with an appeal. Hopefully things work out, but at this point I am highly skeptical on the outcome.
Any chance an S-Pass could work instead of an EP?

I'd be glad to have your opinions on my case.

Thanks a lot and best of luck to everyone in the same situation

By renouncing your Singapore citizenship (to avoid military service, I assume), you gave away any chance of working or living in Singapore ever again (unless the government and rules change dramatically).
This is indicated by the rejection wording, which (I suppose) is "The candidate is not eligible for a work pass. Please look for another candidate."
There is no point appealing or continuing your job search in Singapore. Concentrate on other countries instead!

Hi Beppi,

Thanks a lot for your quick reply.

I renounced my citizenship not because I wanted to avoid NS, but because I had to choose between 2 countries. Singapore not allowing dual citizenship I went for France, however I would have gladly done NS if I could have had both citizenship's, but this is another debate

As for the rejection wording it only says "rejected" and does not mention that I am not eligible for a work pass. Upon renounciation, I was told that my applications for WP, SP, or EP would be dealt with like any other foreigner.... which is why I am hoping that with an appeal this could still work.
I actually went through a vetting process, if MOM wanted to reject my application just because of the citizenship would have they even bothered to go through vetting?

If the appeal gets rejected, hopefully we have the reason why it has been rejected, and if it is due to nationality purposes... well I cant do much about it.

Lastly, I entered YES for the question below:
"Has the foreign applicant presented supporting documents for this qualification before?"
I think I might have been confused with this question, as I have presented these documents to my employer, but never to MOM.
Could the outcome change if I rectify this point?

Thanks again

Zizoux10.

Have you tried the SAT tool using your Master degree and bachelor and years of experience?

See if you've applicable for both EPASS and SPASS?

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Yes I was eligible for both the S Pass and the EP.
I was thinking of asking for a switch from EP to SP, but I am not sure if the company has the right quotas for them to be eligible for the S Pass.

I will keep you posted

As usual, the SGP authorities keep a back door open for ex-citizens to be given EP - but you need to be near Nobel prize or olympic material to achieve this. Don't put your hopes high: By renouncing, you have (in the eyes of the SGP government) burned your bridges to the country.

Hi,

Just graduated from NTU with a Masters degree in civil engineering, I also hold a Bachelors from UK. I have got a job offer from a company in Sg but my application for EP got rejected. I previously have 3 years experience in an engineering consultancy firm.

According to the HR, the reason being that the salary (4.2k) does not match the experience, and it should be higher - although i believe this is the current paying salary for a civil engineer. Are the chances of getting S pass higher as I believe if I appeal for the EP application, the outcome would be the same unless changes in the salary is made.

Thanks in advance

N

I forgot to mention, I passed both EP and S Pass on the SAT

Check if the employer has S pass quota to apply? Secondly, there is no assurance that if you applied under S pass it would be successful as there could be possibility that you would be over qualified (holding a Masters degree) under S pass. Now a days, MoM is strict and bringing down heavily on EP and S pass approval. Good luck

Thanks, what is surprising is that I have a Tuition grant from the govt and I have a bond obligation to serve in Singapore:

"To facilitate him/her in securing employment in Singapore to fulfil this bond obligation, this letter
serves to inform you that with the support of the Ministry of Manpower, the Employment
Pass application of XXX will be considered favourably, subject to the qualifying notes overleaf"

...and still got rejected. :S

Did you also input your Master as well as your bachelor degree when doing the SAT tool?

Cos in my case 3++ years exp and holding only bachelor, it takes 4.8k++ to be eligible for both passes.

Hmmm. Perhaps different nationality, different minimum of salary required for both passes?

Yes I included my Masters

Hello, i am new here.

I just found that my application for E pass was rejected. My employer told me they will apply for me again "under another permit". I believe it means apply anew for an S pass this time.

For background i have a degree in my field of work (I.T.) and 5yrs relevant experience. They offered me 4000. Its my first time to apply for jobs overseas so i think it is a good offer but my friend who is in SG says it is not enough for an EP and that might be why I got rejected. My employer did not tell me what the reason is, just that they will apply a new one for me.

I would like to ask does anyone think I will get this new permit? If it is possible to tell based on the info i shared. I understand it will take another few weeks wait and i am anxious.

Thank you very much.

edit: by the way I tried the SAT and it told me that I qualify for an S Pass only..

Yes, the salary is on the low side for your background and skills and that is the most probable reason for the rejection.
But on the application, there is a checkbox for "consider S-Pass if not eligible for EP", which your employer apparently did not mark. That means they cannot apply for an S-Pass any more, but need to give you a different position and a completely new application. Or a more reasonable salary.

Hi Beppi,

Thank you for such quick response.

I don't know what to do now other than wait and hope for the best. Honestly i am very sad about the rejection but am glad there is chance for an appeal or reapply. It looks like waiting is the only thing i can do as it is in my employer and the MOM's hands now whether i will get a chance.

My employer did not explain what they meant by applying under another permit.. so if they can't apply for S pass anymore, i dont know which course of action they are going to take from the possibilities you mentioned. I just hope whatever it is, it gets an approval...

Anyway thank you again, i will keep my fingers crossed, I really need this opportunity right now.

Hi
I have Master's and Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Accounting, also bachelor's in Administration, EU citizen. I got an offer from well known MNC for Financial Analyst . The salary is 4700 SGD. I have 4 yrs and 8 mnths experience.
The SAT tool says I can only have S Pass. If my employer will ask for EP pass, are there high chances that it will be rejected?

If SAT shows eligible for S pass then how your employer would apply for an EP? You should qualify the eligibility criteria before applying an EP. So, in this case your employer only can apply for S pass. If they will apply for an EP, next day your employer will get a confirmation stating that your employee doesn't meet the eligibility criteria and hence application is rejected.

You should check the SAT with a higher salary - and if you qualify for EP then, tell this to your employer.
Since you are underpaid at the currently offered salary, chances are an S-Pass would be rejected, too.

Ok. Thanks for your inputs, really appreciate.


What I am going to do it's to negotiate the salary level and explaing a situation to HR and Hiring Manager. I hope that they will not think of me as rude person...

First of all, I have Dependant's Pass valid for the next 23 months, so I am going to ask for letter of consent as I don't meet current EP criteria with salary level (LOC with current salary level).

Secondly, if I am going to get a work permit, S Pass is going to cost employer 300-650/ monthly, I would meet the EP criteria if I would have 5300 $/monthly (almost the same amount you would pay for S Pass).  S Pass at current salary offered can be rejected as that role is Specialist level and due to assesment of education and experience in comparison to salary being offered.


I like this job offer and resigned for this from another ones. It would be a role that I would like to get in my home country so it's not a step back and a lot of nice opportunites to develop. I don't care if the salary is 4700 or 5300, really. But the criteria set is cirteria set and I hope HR will understand the situation.


I am not going to agree on S Pass on current level salary if there is a high chances it's going to be rejected. I don't mind LOC with current salary level and even be happy cause getting LOC would be quicker and more sure to get.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to update you with some things. since my last post,  my recruiter made another application for me,  as S Pass with the same offer/package as when they applied EP last time.  It has been almost a month and there is no update.

Kind of worried because I've been hearing from friends in SG that a lot of people aren't getting their passes renewed or "downgraded", i was told none of them have issues with work,  just that MOM is becoming stricter and that there are new rules applied this July.

I am losing hope about my permit if it has any chance at all. Anyone familiar with the new rules they are saying?

I don't see any new rules has been imposed at MoM on EP or S pass in July, 2017. Below link will help you to understand the new rules wef from January, 2017 on EP.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permit … ligibility

But, it's true that MoM has gripped its stand and approving lesser numbers in both EP n S pass but that doesn't means your case has no chance. Good luck.

Work pass processing times are currently very long, two or even three months in some cases. Just be patient, you will get the reply at some point!

Hi All,

I've completed the SAT and found out that I'm only eligible for an S Pass. Salary wise, I was offered below 3k/month and have relevant work experience for > 9 years but my employer applied for an EP.

What are my chances?

Thanks,
bigroundeyes

Double check with your employer, they can't apply an EP for you as the minimum fixed salary should be $3,600 to eligible to apply EP. So, they must have applied S pass for you. Good luck.

That's what I thought too after reading through MOM's FAQs and posts in this forum. The EP application status is Pending since 20/07; I'll wait for the outcome then. Thanks @surya2k

Average waiting time to see the result from MoM is around 2 months. So, you need to have patience. Good luck.