Eligible employers can hire foreign performing artistes to work in public entertainment outlets such as bars, hotels and nightclubs.
Who can apply
If you want to hire a foreign performing artiste to work in Singapore, your business must:
- Have a CAT 1 Public Entertainment Licence issued by the Singapore Police Force.
- Operate at least 6 hours a day.
- Be classified as a bar, discotheque, lounge, nightclub, pub, hotel, private club or restaurant.
- Employ at least one local employee who earns the Local Qualifying Salary.
You need to continue to meet all the above criteria while hiring performing artistes on Work Permits. Otherwise their Work Permits will be revoked.
Quota and levy
The number of performing artistes that you can hire is limited by a quota and subject to a levy.
You can employ up to 8 foreign performing artistes. Larger outlets can employ up to 12 foreign artistes on a case-by-case basis.
You will also need to pay a foreign worker levy for each artiste, depending on how many you hire:
| Number of artistes |
Monthly levy |
| First 8 artistes |
$450 |
| 9 and above |
$750 |
You need to maintain at least 1 local employee to retain your performing artistes. Otherwise, you will need to cancel their Work Permits, and pay higher levy pending their cancellation.
Eligibility
Source countries/regions
Foreign performing artistes are not subject to source country/region restriction.
Age when applying
The minimum age for all non-domestic foreign 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.
Maximum period of employment
The maximum duration of the Work Permit for performing artistes is 6 months.
Other restrictions
- Foreign performing artistes are not allowed to hold another Work Permit (even for another occupation) for 1 year after they stop work as a performing artiste.
- Foreign performing artistes must only perform jobs related to stage performance, such as singing and dancing. They cannot be deployed to carry out any other jobs within the same business.
- There are also specific activities that are not allowed under SPF’s Entertainment Licensing Conditions, such as mingling with customers.