Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) Occupation List

What is the NTS Occupation List

Firms in the Manufacturing and Services sectors can hire Work Permit holders from the following countries or regions:

• Malaysia
• People’s Republic of China (PRC)
• North Asian sources (NAS):
  • Hong Kong (HKSAR passport)
  • Macau
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

Under the NTS Occupation List, firms will be allowed to hire Work Permit holders from the following countries or regions for a restricted set of occupations:

• Bangladesh
• India
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand

Requirements

Firms must meet all of the following requirements:

• Keep within a sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) of 8% for NTS Work Permit holders in the NTS Occupation List.
• Pay their Work Permit holder performing occupations in this list a fixed monthly salary of at least $2,000.
• Work Permit holders must only perform the occupation stated on their Work Permit. 

NTS Occupation List

The NTS Occupation List comprises:

• Cooks in Indian restaurants. This will better support our multi-ethnic food culture.
  
  Restaurants (Services sector) can already hire Work Permit holders from Malaysia, PRC and North Asian countries or regions.

MOM has put together a panel comprising industry and government stakeholders in Indian cuisine to assess firms’ eligibility. To be eligible for the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) for cooks in Indian Restaurants, restaurants must meet the following requirements:

• Have a valid SFA food licence with a Business Trade Description as 'Restaurant', 'Restaurant with catering', 'Small Restaurant' or 'Coffeeshop/eating house'.
• Serve primarily Indian cuisine, such as biryani, prata, or Indian snacks e.g. vadai, paniyaram.
  
  

To see if your firm is eligible, please apply online. 
Upon approval, you can apply to hire cooks from NTS.

You can apply for a Work Permit for the other NTS occupations listed below.

• Housekeeping workers and porters in licensed hotels
• Food processing workers
  Excludes:
  • Food processing supervisors and general foremen.
  • Other food and beverage jobs like tasters, graders, bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery makers.
• Workers in manufacturing firms such as general manufacturers, precision engineering, transport engineering, automotive firms, working as:
  • Sheet metal workers
  • Welders and flame cutters
  • Metal moulders and coremakers
  • Riggers and cable splicers
  • Structural metal preparers and erectors

More details on the additional occupations and requirements to hire NTS workers in these occupations will be provided on MOM’s website before 1 September 2025.

For more information

• Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).