EP/S-Pass Rejected without clear Reason

I can't say what you suppose to mention cause if you mention YES, then there could be repulsive measures go against you, and as you said it could be a factor of your visa denial or work pass in future.

If you mention NO, then though it's wrong information but you won't have an issue for getting a visa or work pass (other yardsticks will be applied as usual while selecting your pass). I had mentioned earlier that any major convictions in other countries could be shared by the Interpol or by their government but minor cases such as few days overstay may not be shared to other countries.

So, it's purely your call to decide what you should declare. Good luck

Actually after the being refused entry incident in Australia, the first time I came to Singapore, I was called to a room, the officer was very friendly, she didn't even take it as a serious matter, she just simply asked me:What happened? Australia “ I just answered truthfully while she didn't even look and paid attention to me while she was doing some computer work to solve my case. I Guess it was just her job as an ICA officer to ask, but she sensed no seriousness in my case. Then I asked her would there be any issue here? Then she answered me: “No, everything back to normal.”

So actually they share the information of my being refused entry history in Australia, that's why I was called to a room when I first entered Singapore. Then I found a job under work permit, it got approved in 1 day without issue. Only thing is SPass and Ep will have issue due to the declaration part maybe or Salary.... can be a combination of these I Guess.

So I think MoM can check if they want, not sure they will suspect why in my previous Spass and EP applications, I declared Yes, now declare No. what do You think?

So the Singapore authorities already know about your Australia problem and even questioned you about it? And also you declared it in previous applications?
Then the answer is very clear: If you now declare NO, you will be rejected for giving untrue information!

As Beppi said, if you had declared as YES earlier then there is no way you should declare now as NO. Stick to your earlier declaration. If MoM called up for any further clarification then you can explain the same as you did at Immigration Check Point. Good luck

Hi surya,  i got the same reason of rejection and that is ‘You are not eligible for a workpass here, please find another candidate'. Well, im a malaysian , have diploma in mechanical engineering ( listed in sat tools) . 1-2 years working experience, never been prohibited in entering singapore and any other country. 1st company applied me for wp n the job was field technician. Salary was 1600 and got rejected with the reason above. Tried to appeal but same rejection came up. 2nd time applied for a work pass in another country also got rejected. Salary was 1600 basic and add allowance around 2240. Same reason of rejection. I ask the hr and they said that my document everything was fine and my medical test also done and fit for employment. Until now i cant figure out what is the problem and keep rejecting my application form. Please help me.

Daniel: From what you wtrote alone, it is impossible to tell the reason for rejection (except that the salary is rather low). I suspect there is something we (and maybe also you yourself) don't know about. I therefore recommend contacting MoM and/or ICA.

Daniel: From what you wtrote alone, it is impossible to tell the reason for rejection (except that the salary is rather low). I suspect there is something we (and maybe also you yourself) don't know about. I therefore recommend contacting MoM and/or ICA.

Well, calling mom didnt help cause as usual, they wont tell the reason of rejection to me.  Does going down to the mom office will help me get answer? For ica, im not sure yet cause didnt though that they can cause trouble for my rejection as im free from any criminal records :/

If you are in Singapore then can visit MoM, carry all your documents incase they need it. They may or may not tell the reason but nothing wrong to give a try. But before that last time reach out employer to request them. Good luck

Well, the employer doesnt want to make an appeal because they say its time consuming.. so, i think i need to head to mom by myself.. btw, does ica have anything to do with the rejection since i can enter and leave singapore freely?

If you read our previous messages in the forum in visa threads, we have said it clearly that you must have a valid reason to visit Singapore, ICA can see your record easily, if you travel more than once then you are bound to face questions on purpose of your visit. They have every rights to deny your entry if they didn't find satisfactory answer. So, it will be never trouble free to visit frequently.

Hello can I check sg ep status by passport number nd reference  number? I don't know fin number..please help me?
In this current situation how long its take for approve ep visa..

You can check the status by inputting your DOB and Passport number in EPOnline page. Read old threads, we have informed many times.

On your second part of question, for people who are not in Singapore, would take longer as there are travel restrictions in place and secondly, your employer has to provide justification and rationale to hire a foreigner (Who is not in Singapore) to MoM. If it's a valid rationale then MoM may consider. Good luck

Note: Avoid sending PM as we don't encourage it. All discussions should happen in Singapore forum so that others will get benefits.

I saw your PM to me that you can't see any info in eponline. Then check with your employer whether they have submitted your application or not. It takes a day or two to reflect status in EPOnline site.

Please don't send PM as neither we encourage Nor we like it. All communications should happen in Singapore forum so that other expats will get benefits of that.

They applied.coz I got application mail from MOM with reference number

Your employer applied then how come you received  a mail from MoM?
MoM does not send any mail to employee. Better check with you employer.

Actually I applied through one agency.when they applied my ep visa they put my mail I'd.that's why I got mail from MOM.
But now that agency said still on process.
Even I cannot check also status..I have only ref number and passport number.
But inquiries 1st page need to put FIN number..
Please help me

It looks very unusual. In normal case, employer applies your work pass. If employer has appointed any agency who is an authorised agency to apply work pass of an employee on behalf of the employer then they should use their official email to submit the application. They don't use any employee's email. MoM can easily track it as agency email ID must have their official email address or declared email ID to MoM.

So, I find it very unusual. If your agency says it shows processing then ask them to share the EPOnline screenshot for your reference.

Singapore is a very elitist country. MOM will usually look at your educational background. If you graduated from “unknown” university, they won't issue you EP instead they will put you to a lower, degrading bracket of SPass. Even if you have excellent knowledge and skills to perform your job well, or even compete with other highly skilled workers, MOM will still tag you as less skilled professional.

Try getting a degree from NTU and NUS. You'll less likely to encounter this problem.

You can play around their so-called SAT tool. First, enter some unknown university and set the salary to 5k. The result is of course, not eligible. Then in another query, enter Harvard University as the university. You'll see the SAT tool will indicate that the candidate is eligible for EP. It's funny how this government has been demanding talents yet making the assessment of candidates full of biases.

@soutan: As called out above by Surya, you getting an email from MoM if an agency has applied, is sure weird/ not heard of at least in my experience/ understanding of the process, also from info gained from the MoM pass division knowledge base.

The agency needs to be registered with MoM, have a unique login, emails go to only the registered email address- it doesn't keep changing for applicants.

However, to help you navigate, on EP Online, kindly don't fill the FIN number, just use the option that reads, Travel Document (insert your passport number), Date of Birth- you should get the status. If you don't, kindly call the agency for assistance, if not, last resort would be MoM.

luckyme20 wrote:

You can play around their so-called SAT tool. First, enter some unknown university and set the salary to 5k. The result is of course, not eligible. Then in another query, enter Harvard University as the university. You'll see the SAT tool will indicate that the candidate is eligible for EP. It's funny how this government has been demanding talents yet making the assessment of candidates full of biases.


Most developed countries push for niche talent, point based scoring of an immigrant applicant or such tools. However, the educational checks are to ensure there is no fraud. In the recent past, several such instances have been brought to light where applicants have used fake educational certificates/ or universities don't exist.

Luckyme20: Of course Singapore wants to attract skilled people and MoM clearly does not have the bandwidth to check all applicants' skills in detail. So what's wrong with relying on international (and recognised) university rankings? Besides, there is of course a way to get somebody with no such formal certificates (if the company really needs to): Above a certain income threshold (S$12000/month last time I checked) an EP is issued without university degree and with almost no questions asked.
Could it be that you are just angry for being rejected?

The checking of educational certificates is a standard process. Even if they have confirmed that you graduated from the school you claimed in your application, they will still check if the school is in their accredited university list. If there's a ranking of points, that highest is most likely the school.

I'm an entrepass holder, previously EP P1