Skip to main content
About Us

Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Qualifying Salary for S Pass Holders

Foreign manpower Employment practices Work passes and permits

NOTICE PAPER NO.1197 OF 2022 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 JULY 2022
QUESTION NO. 1864 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Leong Mun Wai 

To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the current respective number of S Pass holders who earn a gross monthly salary of (i) less than $1,500 (ii) $1,500 to less than $2,000 (iii) $2,000 to less than $2,500 (iv) $2,500 to less than $3,000 (v) $3,000 to less than $4,000 (vi) $4,000 to $5,000 and (vii) more than $5,000.

Answer:

  1. The minimum qualifying salary for S Pass holders is regularly updated to keep pace with local wage growth, so as to ensure a level playing field for our locals. It was raised to $2,500 in October 2020, and will be raised to $3,000 from September 2022, with further updates in September 2023 and September 2025. Older candidates will continue to be required to have a higher salary to qualify for an S Pass. Existing S Pass holders who have come in under a lower qualifying salary earlier would need to meet the prevailing qualifying salary in order for their S Pass to be renewed.

  2. As of December 2021, there are 161,800 S Pass holders. The median monthly salary1 of S Pass holders is $3,100. Nearly all S Pass holders earn a monthly salary of $2,500 or more.

  3. Other than the qualifying salary requirement, S Pass holders are also subjected to levies and quotas, which vary by sector. 

 1 This refers to the fixed monthly salary, which comprises the basic monthly salary and fixed monthly allowances (i.e. monthly allowances that do not vary from month to month). MOM collects and uses the fixed monthly salary to determine if a work pass applicant meets the qualifying salary requirement.