EP Processing time Mar 2021

I am currently working in SG (Company A) on EP, up for renewal in 18 Apr 2021.
I received offer 1 with Company B in mid Jan 2021, Company applied EP for me, approved in 10 days time (around beginning of Feb 2021).

I received offer 2 with Company C beginning of Feb 2021. So I rejected offer 1, Company B withdrew my EP application. Company C straight away apply for EP beginning of Feb 2021.

Status is pending for Company C for 1 months, at the time of 15 Mar 2021, I have yet to receive an approval with Company C.

My existing Company A, expiring in 18 Apr is up for renewal and Company A. I have to serve 2 months notice if I resign therefore, the only option I have is to withdraw Company C application, so Company A will renew my EP.

My renewal got approved in 7 working days. and now Company C resubmit my EP application on the 26 Mar 2021. up to now, it is still pending.

As you can see, it is now Apr 7, 2 months since I signed the employment contract with Company C. I am lucky that Company C is willing to wait. They assured that the delay is not my problem. I am still hoping to receive the approval from Company C asap so I can officially resign from Company A.

Hello. Do you mind sharing the nature of your job/industry and perhaps rough salary range? I understand that EP processing time may vary depending on the above factors.

MoM can see back and forth of this. It does not look good at all that company C withdraw its application to allow your present company renew your pass (which they are not aware of the entire episode including Company B whose EP was too approved later they withdrawn). You are lucky enough they just withdraw or else they could have complained to MoM on this. Now, company C again applying for you knowing the fact it could lead to MoM's scrutiny. MoM has all your history so as company C. No wonder, now a days MoM banned many consultants to apply EP, even EP renewal also got rejected. 

As we have said numerous time that MoM doesn't like job hoppers. You will be lucky if MoM approves your EP with company C (which would be 3rd time incl renewal in less than 2 months or so). Good luck

Company is a big software engineering company. Salary is above 9k per month

My response was not to you. If your age is less than 40yrs then salary range of 9k looks good but as we have said numerous times that employer has to justify to hire a foreigner such as they have tried locally but skills set did not fit. In your case should be ok if the employer has done their homework before applying your EP. Average waiting time is 3 to 4 weeks. Good luck

A little bit more context of my situation:

1. I am not a job hopper. Been with Company A for more than 5 years.
2. I received the 2 job offers around the same time therefore the complication of Company B and C. Of course I don't think MOM will know/care about the 2 job offers around the same time but I need to do what is best for me to accept the first offer while Company C is taking slightly longer in their offer but eventually I got it too.
3. I rejected the offer of Company B in good term therefore I highly doubt that I will be a blacklisted.
3. I am in financial industry, annual income above quarter million dollar.

Got more clarity in your second message. In case MoM reach out company C on certain things like why they had to withdraw EP application then later applied again, though MoM can see the history. So, company C must be prepared to provide a valid rationale. Good luck

My company all ready apply ready  so place try to give my auntry approval

ya absolutely, Company C is well aware of all my situation (including I rejected the Company B offer with an approved pass). Although reluctantly Company C is hoping not to go with the route of withdrawing my application for renewal, that was the only option available. The delay on the first approval was unexpected (was supposed to be 3-4 weeks). Timing was not in my favor.

Therefore, Company C suggested me to renew my existing EP and as soon as my renewal approve, they will quickly submit my application again which they did so on the 26 Mar. My renewal approval is pretty quick, in 7 working days. 16 Mar - approved 25 Mar, pass issued on the 26 Mar.

Finger cross I will get my EP approved. Lesson learn from my case is.. please make sure to renew your EP as early as possible (i think is 6 months prior) to avoid any complication if one choose to look for a new job opportunities.

I'm following this thread.

My EP was applied last March 26 and the status is still pending.

Hoping it will get approved soon.

I got the approval today

Date of Application: 31/03/2021
Approval Date: 9/4/2021

Good luck to all who are waiting

Congratulations! Must be a great weekend celebration ahead! )

Mine submitted on the 26 Mar and still pending ... finger cross!!!! Wishing myself and the rest of us who are waiting best of luck!

Same here! Applied on 26th and still pending.

Oh wow! That is fast! Congratulations! All the best!

I know it's a Monday, but any good news from your end?

not yet and I am still anxiously waiting. Really hope will get it this week... been a torturous 2+ to 3 months for me after signing my employment contract.

I can't imagine the anxiety.

Your (re)application is the same date as mine, 26th of March. So hopefully, ours come through the same time this week.

SC Beh wrote:

not yet and I am still anxiously waiting. Really hope will get it this week... been a torturous 2+ to 3 months for me after signing my employment contract.

My pass has been approved just now.

Applied MArch 26
Approved April 12

OMG@!!! Congratulations !! Mine is still pending!

I hope yours comes through this week too! Since we applied the same date and have gone through pretty much the same back and forth.

Thank you lululily for your kind thoughts and I hope the same! .. Please celebrate as much as you can before starting the new joB!

My EP was applied in 31 March 2021 and still pending. My current contract is ending on May 11 and I informed my current employer I'm not continuing as they asked to sign for renewal. Any idea if the processing time is taking long these days

6-8 weeks is normal, could take longer if there is an ask for additional information.

Now the above time frame is not the case for every application, some approvals come through in a few days too.

I recently moved jobs, EP took over 10 weeks- there is additional scrutiny on applications, MOM is ensuring that your skills for the job, relevant experience and qualifications etc are unmatched by local talent. Which is fair.

Hi,

I have got a offer in new company , but my present company already applied for EP renewal on 20/04/2021 without proper acceptance from my end
Do the company B needs to wait for the pass approved status  before they can apply new EP or they have to wait until the Pass issued status

I think it must be issued.

Yes, but it shouldn't take that long. Usually, pass renewal is about one to two weeks max. Once it's been approved, get your HR to issue it ASAP so you can ask Company B to apply for your pass.

My EP application was submitted on 9th March, status is still pending, will have been 7 weeks this week. Starting to get worried, anyone waited a similar time and got approval?

Mine is pending for 5 weeks. Your post has made me more worried. I am already on 2nd extension from MOM, which expires next week. My next employer has filed for expedition twice but it still shows pending. The status hasn't changed since day 1.

Mine submitted on 12 Mar and still pending as well.

I have been working in SG since more than 10 years and changing jobs with basic salary of 200k+. This long wait period is both surprising and killing.

Hi all,

It took about 10 weeks odd for me- 2 rejections and 2 appeals. Rejections were pretty straight forward, asked the employer some info' on their annual revenue, another clarification on my master's degree (awarding university name confirmation).

Hope this helps. From what I understand, 6-8 weeks is pretty normal, in some cases, it's just days. Yes the additional scrutiny now does prolong the approval time frame.

This seems to be the norm now. My application went in on the 24th of March and is still pending. They've reached out a couple of time to my employer for additional details about me and the company too but have discouraged any follow ups. I'm also on a STVP which is expiring soon and am running out of ideas.

MOM hasn't contacted my employer for additional documents or anything else even once. Still my visa is Pending for 5 weeks.

MOM requested a degree verification proof after 2 weeks of the initial submission. Status is Pending for 5 weeks now.

Hello All
             Thought of adding my data point as well as I read the posts here.
Been in Singapore working for the same company since 2013.
Got an opportunity and applied for a new EP on April 8th.
Masters from the US and MBA from France
The previous EP approved in 2 days.
Status pending since 8th April. No communication yet.
Current Salary Basic 10K + 30% ++ variable
Current Domain: Software sales
Offered Salary Basic 15K + 30 % ++ Variable
Offered domain: Hardware sales
Posted on Jobs bank for 30 days.
Total-experience 17 years.

Both the opportunities are into sales and I am moving up the value chain and the requirements are related.

Not sure if the domain Sales, BD causes the process to slow down or the bump in the pay. My colleague's husband applied for EP on 15th April and approved on 26th. The domain is Data science and it is a technical role.

Post 21 days will ask the immigration team to reach out to MOM and see if anything see can be done from our side.

Will post as and when I hear.
@ all others that are still waiting, can you state your domain so that we can see if anything correlates to the slow process?

Cheers Stay positive and safe. It is just a waiting game.

Profile/ Domain sure makes a difference. Singapore Govt is keen on a niche talent pool, analytics/ data science and other technical roles that can contribute to the growth of the respective industry, overall economy are certainly encouraged.

Yes, BD/ Sales roles are tougher to justify, it's a simple thought process, a local salesperson is always preferred in most countries for they know the market better, often don't have linguistic barriers and have a strong network. Exceptions could exist, hence companies have to justify the applicants skills over the locals who apply for the same job.

I am into technology sales, with over 21 years behind me- it was no different from what you called out, why me versus others (including locals) is what my employers have had to justify.

Hope this helps.

Hi All,

Just to add to this forum in terms of processing timelines and help others,

- Applying from EU, not from Singapore
- EP application 6th April
- Status: pending outcome
- domain: global supply chain management
- industry: healthcare technology
- comp. range: 10++
- yes, all due diligence in process completed in Feb

I'll update in the forum once I hear more.

me too, submitted on 26 Mar and still pending. My employer said the wait could be up to 3 months. Luckily they are patient enough to wait for me.

Sharing my timelines for the benefit of others

Feb 19th 2021: EP Applied
March12th 2021: MOM asks for degrees to be verified
April 1st 2021: Verification submitted by me
April 23rd, 2021: EP approved

My profile
Indian, working in Finance (investment management)
Since 2011
Salary: 15k++
EP application due to change of job


Salient points

(1) The ask for verification of degree was surprising; but as I have learnt reading this forum, it is quite common and one should expect it.
I was surprised because I have been in Singapore for 10 years and this has not been asked before.


(2) MOM gave the name of 4 providers from whom this can be verified. I went with Dataflow and submitted the application on March 12th itself. After submission, Dataflow sent me an update saying their estimated date of verification completion is April 30th 2021.
I was quite surprised given both the universities from which i graduated are very efficient and i could not understand why this should take longer than 2 weeks.
On querying Dataflow, i learn that for every application, they HAVE to also verify the universities accreditation. I informed them that (1) my universities are already recognised and this is not needed (can be verified through SAT).   (2) Other providers dont do this, they ask us to check accreditation of university through SAT and then ask if that also needs to be checked

Anyway after breaking my head trying to explain this to Dataflow (who did not agree), i decided to apply through a second provided and choose Avvanz. They were very efficient and completed it in less than 10 days. fyi - dataflow finally gave me my report on April 28th!

(3) There was NO communication from MOM in the periods in between. Calls made to them were simple met with pls patiently wait. If you notice the timelines, they are exactly 3 weeks wait, which is also in line with what they say  is the waiting period.

(4) My new job was with a brand new company and i was hire no. 1. (hence no need to advertise the job) though the application was well thought out and documented including business plan, sufficient cash in the bank, 4-6 SC/SPR were already being discussed with and few had already signed the paperwork to join so that was also available incase there were further queries. An office lease was also in place.

Basically, now that EP has been approved, the anxiety is gone and i would tell everyone that pls be patient. the one thing that is quite common is long waits. So best be prepared. It does not matter if you have been in Singapore long time or have high salary or went to great universities or a super niche profession. some are fortunate to get a revert quickly but hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

best wishes to everyone waiting