Marine shipyard sector: Work Permit requirements

These requirements are additional and specific to the marine shipyard sector. You should also refer to the general Work Permit conditions and requirements.

Requirements to be classified under the marine shipyard sector

The marine shipyard sector refers to shipyards and their contractors engaged in shipbuilding or ship repair activities in Singapore. To be classified under the marine shipyard sector, your company must meet both of these requirements:

• Principal business activity is shipbuilding or ship repair.
• Qualify as a shipyard or shipyard-sponsored contractor.

Being engaged in marine-related activities alone without meeting the requirements above will not qualify you under the marine shipyard sector. You may be classified under the services or manufacturing sector, as appropriate.

Principal business activity

When declaring your business activity, select the SSIC code number below with the activity description that most closely matches your business activity declared in ACRA.:

Activity	Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) 2020
Building of ships, tankers and other ocean-going vessels (including conversion of ships into off-shore structures)	30110
Building and repair of pleasure crafts, lighters and boats	30120

To qualify as a shipyard or shipyard-sponsored contractor

You need to meet the requirements below:

If your company is a	These requirements and benefits apply to you
Sponsoring shipyard	You need a certificate of registration (shipyard). You must have a waterfront facility for shipbuilding or ship repair works. You are able to support resident contractors and common contractors. You don’t require prior approvals to apply for or renew NTS or PRC Work Permits. You can apply for or renew Work Permits on your own.
Non-sponsoring shipyard	You need a certificate of registration (shipyard). You must have a waterfront facility for shipbuilding or ship repair works. You can support common contractors, but subject to approval. You require prior approvals to apply for or renew NTS or PRC Work Permits. You can apply for or renew Work Permits on your own.
Resident contractor	You must be supported by a specific sponsoring shipyard. You don’t require prior approvals to apply for or renew NTS or PRC Work Permits. Your sponsoring shipyard must apply for or renew Work Permits on your behalf.
Common contractor	You can be supported by several sponsoring or non-sponsoring shipyards. You require prior approvals to apply for or renew NTS or PRC Work Permits. The sponsoring or non-sponsoring shipyard must apply for or renew Work Permits on your behalf. Specific Work Permit applications or renewals must be made by the same shipyard that supported you for the prior approval applications.

Find out about prior approval and how to apply.

Migrant worker eligibility

You can only hire migrant workers who satisfy the conditions for source countries or regions, age when applying and maximum period of employment.

Source countries or regions

You can employ migrant workers from these countries or regions:

• Malaysia
• People’s Republic of China (PRC)
• Non-Traditional sources (NTS):
  • India
  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand
  • Bangladesh
  • Myanmar
  • Philippines
• North Asian sources (NAS):
  • Hong Kong (HKSAR passport)
  • Macau
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

Age requirements

The minimum age for all non-domestic migrant workers is 18 years old.

When applying for a Work Permit:

• Malaysian workers must be below 58 years old.
• Non-Malaysian workers must be below 50 years old.
• From 1 July 2025, MOM will raise the maximum age to apply for a Work Permit to 61 years old (i.e. pegged to two years below the local retirement age).

Work Permit holders can work up to a maximum age of 60 years old. 

Maximum period of employment

For the marine shipyard sector, the maximum number of years a worker can work in Singapore on a Work Permit is as follows:

Source country/region	Types of workers	Maximum period of employment
NTS, PRC	Basic-skilled (R2)	14 years
NTS, PRC	Higher-skilled (R1)	26 years
NAS, Malaysia	All	No maximum period of employment.

Note: From 1 July 2025, the maximum period of employment will be removed for all nationalities.

Place of work and approved occupations

Work Permit holders must work within the shipyard’s premises.

NTS and PRC Work Permit holders can only be employed in approved occupations.

Quota and levy

The number of Work Permit holders that you can hire is limited by a quota (or dependency ratio ceiling) and subject to a levy.

Under the marine shipyard sector quota, you can employ 3.5 Work Permit holders for every local employee who earns the Local Qualifying Salary.

The levy rate is as follows:

Category	Monthly levy rate	Daily levy rate
Higher-skilled	$300	$9.87
Basic-skilled	$400	$13.16

Calculate your quota

Note: The daily levy rate only applies to Work Permit holders who did not work for a full calendar month. The daily levy rate is calculated as follows: (Monthly levy rate x 12) / 365 = rounding up to the nearest cent.

You can:

• Refer to the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) to determine the number of local employees who can be counted towards your Work Permit and S Pass quota entitlement.
• Refer to the guidelines on how to calculate your quota and levy bill.
• Learn more about S Pass quota and levy rates.

Upcoming changes

From 1 January 2026, the following changes will apply to the marine shipyard sector:

• The Dependency Ratio Ceiling will be reduced to 75%, which means that you can hire 3 Work Permit holders for every local employee who earns the Local Qualifying Salary.
• Monthly levy rate will be increased to $350 and $500 for higher-skilled and basic-skilled Work Permit holders respectively.

More info: Factsheet on foreign workforce policy and updates

Qualifying for higher-skilled worker levy

You pay less levy for higher-skilled migrant workers. You can apply for the higher-skilled worker levy rate for workers with any of these certificates:

Type of qualification	Certificates needed
Academic qualifications	Malaysia – Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). For diploma or higher qualifications, provide a transcript or letter from the institution stating the course duration. North Asian sources (NAS) – High school certificates.
Skills Evaluation Test (SET) conducted by ITE	SET Level 1 or National ITE Certificate (Nitec)
Trade test endorsed by these institutions	3G and above in welding
Market-Based Skills Recognition Framework (MBF)	Earn a fixed monthly salary of at least $1,200. You can update your worker’s salary using WP Online. Worked at least 2 years in Singapore as a Work Permit holder.

Settling-in Programme

Before their Work Permits can be issued, non-Malaysian Work Permit holders in the marine shipyard sector must attend the Settling-in Programme (SIP) if they are either:

• First time working in Singapore
• Returning workers on in-principle approval (IPA)

Required safety courses

Migrant workers in the marine shipyard sector must complete one of these safety courses before you can get their Work Permits issued:

• Shipyard Safety Instruction Course for Workers (General Trade) (SSICGT)
• Apply Workplace Safety course and Health in Shipyard (General Trade)

Once your workers have obtained an in-principle approval letter, register them for the course. They must complete the course within 2 weeks from arrival in Singapore. 

As an employer, you must ensure that your workers pass the course. If they fail the course, they should retake it as soon as possible. They need to pass the course within 3 months of arrival. Otherwise, their Work Permits may be revoked.

Course requirements during employment

Migrant workers in the marine shipyard sector need to retake and pass the safety course based on these timelines:

If they have worked in the marine shipyard sector for	They must pass the safety course
6 years or less	Once every 2 years
More than 6 years	Once every 4 years

When renewing a Work Permit, the worker’s safety course certificate must be valid for more than 1 month on the day of renewal. Otherwise the Work Permit will not be renewed.