Levies & quotas for hiring Foreign Workers

The Foreign Worker Levy, commonly known as 'levy' is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of Foreign Workers (including Foreign Domestic Workers) in Singapore. While they are not required to pay Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for Foreign Workers, employers are liable to pay monthly levies to hire employees who hold Work Permits or S Passes.

If a Foreign Worker on the Foreign Worker Levy Scheme is subsequently granted Singapore Permanent Resident status, he will be placed on the CPF scheme. This will take effect from the day he is granted Permanent Resident status.

For your information

• Read here to estimate the quota for Foreign Workers that apply to your industry and your company.
• Click here for a schedule of changes in Dependency Ratio and levy rates from Jul 2013 to Jul 2015.
• From 1 July 2013, Work Permit holders in the Services Sector who earned a fixed monthly salary of at least $1,600 AND have worked in Singapore for at least four years will be upgraded to Skilled status. Employers can update their worker's salary via WPOL. Read here for more information.

Foreign Worker Levies applicable to Work Permit holders

The following factors will determine the amount of levy to be paid:

• Worker's qualification
• Dependency Ceiling (for selected sectors only)

MOM will first look at the worker’s qualifications to decide if the worker is skilled. Workers who possess relevant academic or skills-based test qualifications and certificates, will be classified as skilled workers.

For construction, process & marine sectors:
Employers pay the foreign worker levy according to the qualification of these workers.

For manufacturing & service sectors:
Workers will be further assigned to different tiers within the company Dependency Ceiling limits. Read up on how this works.

The following illustrates the levy you pay for each foreign worker.

			Levy rate ($)
Sector	Dependency Ceiling Segmentation	Worker category	Monthly	*Daily
Manufacturing	Basic Tier / Tier 1: Up to 25% of the total workforce	Skilled	230	7.57
		Unskilled	330	10.85
	Tier 2: Above 25% to 50% of the total workforce	Skilled	330	10.85
		Unskilled	430	14.14
	Tier 3: Above 50% to 60% of the total workforce	Skilled	500	16.44
		Unskilled
Note to employers in manufacturing sector: Employers in this sector are entitled to skilled levy rates for their foreign workers, up to 50% of the total workforce.

			Levy rate ($)
Sector	Dependency Ceiling Segmentation	Worker category	Monthly	*Daily
Services	Basic Tier / Tier 1: Up to 15% of the total workforce	Skilled	270	8.88
		Unskilled	370	12.17
	Tier 2: Above 15% to 25% of the total workforce	Skilled	380	12.50
		Unskilled	480	15.79
	Tier 3: Above 25% to 45% of the total workforce	Skilled	550	18.09
		Unskilled
Note to employers in service sector: Employers in this sector are entitled to skilled levy rates for their foreign workers, up to 25% of the total workforce.

			Levy rate ($)
Sector	Dependency Ceiling (DC)	Worker category	Monthly	*Daily
Construction	1 local full-time worker to 7 Foreign Workers	Higher Skilled (1) and on MYE	280	9.21
		Basic Skilled (2) and on MYE	400	13.16
		Higher Skilled, Experienced and exempted from MYE (3)	550	18.09
		Basic Skilled, Experienced and exempted from MYE (3)	650	21.37
Process	1 local full-time worker to 7 Foreign Workers	Skilled and on MYE	230	7.57
		Unskilled and on MYE	330	10.85
		Experienced & exempted from MYE (3)	500	16.44

			Levy rate ($)
Sector	Dependency Ceiling (DC)	Worker category	Monthly	*Daily
Marine	1 local full-time worker to 5 Foreign Workers	Skilled	230	7.57
		Unskilled	330	10.85

* Daily levy rate only applies to Work Permit holders who did not work for a full calendar month. From 1 January 2011, the daily levy rate is computed based on the following: (Monthly levy rate x 12) / 365 = rounding up to the nearest cent.

⁽¹⁾ Higher skilled workers in the Construction sector refer to workers who are:

• registered with the Construction Registration of Tradesmen (CoreTrade);
• issued with trade certifications recognised by the Building and Construction Authority, and who possess at least four years of construction experience in Singapore; or
• under Multi-Skilled Scheme (from 1 July 2012)

⁽²⁾ Basic skilled workers refer to workers who possess SPM and/or Building and Construction Authority’s Skills Evaluation Certificate (SEC) or Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge) i.e. SEC(K).

⁽³⁾ To be exempted from MYE, the foreign worker must have at least two years of working experience in Singapore. This must be relevant to the sector they are employed under.

Where renewal of Work Permits involves change between Prior Approval to MYE waiver option or vice versa, the change in levy rate will be effective on the 1st of following month from the date of expiry of the permit.

Foreign Worker levies applicable to Foreign Domestic Workers

Details about levies applicable to Foreign Domestic Workers can be found here.

Foreign Worker levies applicable to S Pass holders

			Levy rates ($)
Sector	Dependency Ceiling Segmentation	Worker Category	Monthly	*Daily
All sectors	Basic Tier / Tier 1: Up to 10% of the total workforce (1)	Skilled	250	8.22
	Tier 2: Above 10% to 20% of the total workforce (1)	Skilled	390	12.83

* Daily levy rate only applies to S Pass holders who did not work for a full calendar month. From 1 January 2011, the daily levy rate is computed based on the following:
(Monthly levy rate x 12) / 365 = rounding up to the nearest cent.

⁽¹⁾ For all sectors, S Passes' Dependency Ceiling (DC) of 20% will be counted within the Work Permits' DC.

Levy bill computation

Company that is under the tiered system may refer to the Guidelines on the Calculation of Quota & Levy Bill for an estimate breakdown of the levy bill.

Skills Development Levy

Under the Skills Development Levy Act, every employer is required to pay a monthly Skills Development Levy (SDL) for his foreign employees, e.g. Work Permit and S Pass holders.