EP appeal for a rejected application taking to long

Hi All,

My Employment Pass (EP) application was rejected;
Application: 22 October 2020
Rejection: 1-2 November 2020
Appeal: 4 November 2020

The rejection was because the stated salary did not fulfill SAT requirement (I think govt is following the SAT even stricter, because previously I got accepted with salary 500-1k below SAT result)

My employer did the appeal on the first week of November, but until now the status is still pending information from other agencies

Do you know what is this other agencies ? What might actually happen ? is there any possibility that I get my visa approved.

What are the other agencies ? What information is pending , can check to MOM ?

That means your application appeal is still on hold for more than 1 month. Does that mean there is no time tag line for applications?

Other agencies are nothing but vetting agencies who do act as resource providers for verification purposes such as on certification authentication or previous job experiences check etc. MoM does engage a professional third party vendor who does the background check.

You may have to wait few more weeks to see the result. It's difficult to say whether your appeal will be approved but as MoM is engaging a third party vendor for some checks then take this as a positive case. Good luck

Quick update,

since Nov 4th, until today the status of my appeal still Pending if im not wrong its already more than 6 weeks, anyone experienced this ?

Hi, I think your agency can query regarding this from MOM. As per MOM, usual time period would be 3 weeks to one month. If it exceeds your agency can query. But not you. MOM is only responding for the agency. Good luck and don't give up !!

The MOM website says 3 weeks , not one month right ?

Yesterday I called MOM and that's what they said.

3-6 weeks in the pending notice (upto 6 weeks if the external party involved), in my case as per today I post this comment it still in pending state

I saw some other posts, the appeal is rejected/approved in less than a month (longest) some take lesser time, my employer already called the MoM but they said they will process it soon (this call was last week - last week was 8th week)

Entering 9th week, hopefully means something good, because I cannot make any plan, I cant go back yet nor plan anything

mcb345 wrote:

3-6 weeks in the pending notice (upto 6 weeks if the external party involved), in my case as per today I post this comment it still in pending state

I saw some other posts, the appeal is rejected/approved in less than a month (longest) some take lesser time, my employer already called the MoM but they said they will process it soon (this call was last week - last week was 8th week)

Entering 9th week, hopefully means something good, because I cannot make any plan, I cant go back yet nor plan anything


Hi, which sector do you work in?

Great news everyone, after 2 days past 2 months, finally the EP is approved, thank you for all the information, and good luck to everyone

mcb345 wrote:

Great news everyone, after 2 days past 2 months, finally the EP is approved, thank you for all the information, and good luck to everyone


Great news, congratulations!

Hi, may I know you taking how long for ep appeal process. Because I'm same situation with you as my ep appeal already took almost one months. And I check in EPOL it still in rejected status. I feel very worry and stress.

Hello - Unless you are the EP application submitter, you can't check the appeal status yourself. I guess you are referring to EP Online, if so, then that's your erstwhile EP application and not the appeal.

Appeal status can be checked only by the employer/ agency/ law firm- whoever has been engaged to submit your application, in short.

Usual time for an appeal per publicly available information is 2-3 weeks at a minimum. It could take longer if there are additional asks from the MoM officers. Kindly check with the submitter, they can certainly call and check (even though not the most encouraged mechanism, to seek updates).

Pleased for you

My PEP appeal took three months and seven calls to MoM just to be rejected again.

Once the appeal by your employer has been submitted, the status should change back to pending, not rejected. So I suggest you reach out to your employer and check if they have already submitted the appeal.

Unless it has been appealed and the rejected status is the final decision. I hope not. So really, best to speak to your employer.

With the appeal in motion, the status on EP Online should be pending, but off-late, the status is not being updated to ‘pending'. I myself went through the same experience. Appeal's review outcome, approved or rejected will however be updated.

Shekhz: This is not correct - the status shown in EPonline always stayed "rejected" during an appeal. Only the employer can check the appeal status.
(Remark: Shiney15's situation is different, because no employer is involved in a PEP application.)

My bad, missed the Personalized Employment Pass bit. I stand corrected. Thanks Beppi for pointing that out.

Hi, I want to ask whether you had to adjust your salary for the appeal?

Congratulations, may i know did u submit any additional document during waiting time ? mines is already about 1 month after appeal(the same reason as yours) and till now still pending... super worried.

mcb345 wrote:

Great news everyone, after 2 days past 2 months, finally the EP is approved, thank you for all the information, and good luck to everyone


May I know your employer matches your salary as per SAT tools? or did you submit some other proofs?

beppi wrote:

Shekhz: This is not correct - the status is shown online always stayed "rejected" during an appeal. Only the employer can check the appeal status.
(Remark: Shiney15's situation is different because no employer is involved in a PEP application.)


Hi Beppi,
My employer asked me for my bachelor's degree education mark-sheet after 3 weeks of applying for my EP. Is that means my employer again appeal to MOM? because now my status showing as a rejected.

Lokhandesh: Your question is already answered above.

beppi wrote:

Lokhandesh: Your question is already answered above.


Hi Beppi,
Thanks for reply. And sorry to ask you again.
My question is little different. If MOM ask for educational documents, still they will change the status as a rejected?

Heyya! did ur comp give hike to you? That's why appeal was approved?

My EP rejected by MOM due to salary hike when in fact it was their requirement in first place.

Curious if anyone experienced same ?
and approved after appeal ?

Tks!

Anyone knows someone got EP approved by MOM with lower salary than SAT?

Dakdoy wrote:

Anyone knows someone got EP approved by MOM with lower salary than SAT?


There were a few (very few) cases some time ago - all  of them were Malaysians, so it seemed other limits apply to them (or at least did at that time - you can probably still find the discussion on the forum a few years ago).
But that does not help you, I guess.

lokhandesh wrote:
beppi wrote:

Lokhandesh: Your question is already answered above.


Hi Beppi,
Thanks for reply. And sorry to ask you again.
My question is little different. If MOM ask for educational documents, still they will change the status as a rejected?


In your case, MoM might have rejected due to incomplete details (which is why your employer was asking mark sheet after 3 weeks of submission) or a genuine rejection after gone thoroughly your application.

For scenario 1, your employer can appeal and resubmit pending data again and finger crossed MoM may consider your case. For scenario 2, no point of appealing rather try a new employer. In general, MoM provides few hints to your employer in their rejection mail which can be helpful to understand the reasons.

When result shown rejection that means MoM has reviewed your application and given its verdict. Good luck

Dakdoy: You have two separate questions. Let me try to response separately.

1. Yes, there were few cases we have seen after appealing with valid rationale, MoM did consider the appeal. So, your employer has to justify about the salary hike with its rationale (e.g. salary range in the market, lack of skilled workers in Singapore, despite of several tried still unable to find a suitable match locally etc.).

2. As Beppi said Malaysians gave different set of SAT rules. In past, I have seen Malaysian EP holders getting salary less than $3k here which was way below to other foreigners. So, they might have a different set up rules for Malaysians so when you input your country of origin Malaysia then system adjusted the requirements accordingly.

So, it may not be true that SAT shows below salary for EP but employee got EP approval. But yes, there could a case based on country of origin SAT changes the minimum requirements. Good luck

Hi All,

Reading into different forum gives really a good insight, so I'll be sharing my current state as well.

EP renewal submitted: April 12
EP renewal rejected: June 1 (took 50 days before rejecting)
Reason of rejection: Did not met the salary
EP appeal with updated salary: June 1

Hopefully we'll get the outcome soon.

Hi there

I've just had my EP rejected due to salary not being aligned to job title

I have 20 years experience in my field and have managed teams of up to 8.  Relocated to SG in December 2019 taking a salary reduction from my role in Australia of 10%.  Was retrenched from my first role in SG due to global downturn in other offices. Secured a new role at 37% salary decrease to stay in SG with family.

New employer is offering me a 25% increase on current which will almost be aligned to my first role in SG.  I have submitted my last AU payslip, last payslip and contract from first employer in SG, current contract and payslips, copy of resume and degree certificate to support my employer's appeal.

Is there any other documentation I should provide?
Does this response from MOM mean they feel I am being overpaid or underpaid for the role?

Thanks for any insights

Do you mind sharing a little more on the industry and role, like your title/ responsibilities?

25% bump has to be justified well, providing supporting documents like payslips etc help for sure but the cover letter should clearly outline why you are being offered that and how it is at par with the industry standards, other than why you over a local and how the company resorted to fair hiring practices.

The industry is recruitment  and my title will be Director SEA and Singapore

I was selected as there are few onshore candidates with my years of experience in the industry and track record of developing teams.  At least 5 candidates were interviewed for the role; I'm not aware of their backgrounds.  I believe the company used their own hiring process and a recruiter/s

The company should do an excellent job in that case (given they are into recruitment), to justify the 25% bump- they know what MoM wants in black and white to accept/ reject an applicant. Wish you luck.

In my opinion, help them with some context, to strengthen the cover letter and justification.

If appeal of rejected EP is pending, Does they approve the STVP which is applied by the consultancy?

Tinasg: If you are talking about a standard STVP (issued by ICA), then it is independent of your EP application and can run in parallel.
If you mean a 30-days-STVP by MoM, this is issued automatically on cancellation of your previous work pass, but it is not normally renewable.

Hi Everyone,

Good morning !

Can i check if anybody's EP got approved recently (especially after rejection & appeal ) ? Can anybody help to share latest turnaround time ?

Sharing the thread :

Nationality : Indian
Number of EPs : 3 Eps so far without any glitch
Ep Apply : 14 July
Ep Rejection : 26 July
Reason :
Recruiter didnt attach the degree certificates properly , MOM has asked for
all year's marksheet alongwith final certi


on 26th July, they tried to resolve the query and answered them.
Status on MOM : still Rejected

Current Profile : Business Consultant
New Profile : Sr. SAP Business Consultant

HR tried to called MOM on 13 August and they said that they will expedite the process.

It's 4th week after appeal and the status is still same as Rejected :(

Hoping for best !!

There is a fresh thread on this, so please do some reading/ search before posting. People have posted recent outcomes

@shekhz sure. Reading older articles.
Appreciate your revert.