Key points to note while applying employment pass

While we can help you to lodge the employment pass application with Ministry of manpower (Singapore) the ultimate decision of approval is with the ministry. Authorities will take into consideration various factor before arriving at conclusion. Some of the factors are ;

Paid up capital of the company

Does the company has proper business place or is it using just a virtual office

Background and work experience of the candidate

Salary being offered to the candidate

In our experience there are high chances of refusal of employment pass if following conditions exist

Candidate does not possess proper educational qualification for example a degree

Candidate does not have relevant work experience of at least 5 years plus

Compensation being offered is not in line with the background of the candidate (It is either too low or too high)

candidate has previously been a Singapore citizen or permanent resident

The company sponsoring the employment pass does not have established credentials either in Singapore or internationally

The work profile of the candidate is such that it can be easily done by any locally hired employee

For S-Pass applications, the Ministry of Manpower will also look at the Employer's ratio of foreign to local workers

Ministry officers will look at each case in holistic manner. Presence of a single factor from above is not necessarily a problem. (For example lack of educational qualification may be compensated by very good work background of the candidate) .However if many conditions exist then the chances of refusal are high.

Ministry of Manpower implements fair consideration framework

In a drive to promote opportunities to local Singaporeans, the Ministry of Manpower has introduced Fair Consideration Framework, from 1 August 2014. As per these regulations firms submitting Employment Pass (EP) applications (including for EP holders who are changing employers) are required to advertise their job vacancies on the “Job bank” which is a government run recruitment website. The job advertisement must be open to Singaporeans, and run for or at least 14 calendar days. Firms that submit EP applications prior to the close of the 14 day advertising period will not be able to proceed with their EP applications.
After the advertising period, the firm can hire the most qualified candidate, regardless of nationality. If during this 14 days period if no suitable candidate is found from the job bank then the firm can proceed to apply for employment pass. Ministry officials will access the data from job bank to see if the suitable candidates applied or not.
The above requirement is not applicable in following cases;

Jobs in firms with 25 or fewer employees

Jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary of S$12,000 and above

Jobs to be filled by intra-corporate transferees at senior level positions (ICTs)

Jobs that are necessary for short-term contingencies (i.e. period of employment in Singapore for not more than one month)

Scrutiny for selected firms

Alongwith fair consideration framework it is also indicated that MOM and other Government agencies will identify and engage firms that may have scope to improve their hiring and career development practices. Companies which have disproportionately high number of foreigners working on EP or S- Pass will be asked to provide additional information.
Firms with shortcomings in their HR practices will be required to propose and implement an action plan to address these shortcomings.

In summary getting an employment pass in Singapore is subject to more regulations than in past. Engage a competent firm like ours for your employee visa matters.