MOM publishes no single page of rights for work pass holders. What it publishes is a set of conditions, and on the Work Permit side those are explicit: the holder must work only for the employer named on the permit, and the employer must provide the salary, housing, medical insurance and care the conditions set out. The protection sits alongside them, in MOM’s fee rules: work pass application and renewal fees cannot be recovered from a foreign employee directly or indirectly.
2 official sources, dated below
The conditions differ by pass, and the Ministry of Manpower publishes them per pass rather than as one list covering every holder. What follows is the Work Permit position, and it should not be read across to other passes.
A Work Permit holder must work only for the employer and in the occupation and sector specified in the Work Permit. The holder must not take part in any other business or start their own business. They must reside only at the address set by the employer at the start of employment, and must inform the employer before moving. And when asked by any public officer, they must show their digital work pass in the SGWorkPass app or their Work Permit card.
An employer must employ only workers who hold a valid Work Permit. It must pay the fixed monthly salaries it declared to MOM, and pay salaries and the cost of upkeep and maintenance, which includes medical treatment. It must ensure proper housing.
It must buy and maintain medical insurance covering in-patient care and surgery, and buy and maintain a Primary Care Plan covering out-patient primary care from 1 April 2022. It must send workers for a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor, and the Work Permit is revoked if the worker is certified medically unfit. It must pay the monthly foreign worker levy, and buy a security bond for each non-Malaysian worker.
One condition is written as a prohibition: the employer must not demand or receive any sum or other benefit from an employment agency or any other person in connection with the employment or change in employment of a worker.
MOM takes a firm stance against excessive fees charged to foreign workers, and states that fees beyond the stated caps are exploitative and against the law.
Employers are responsible for paying administrative costs, which include the levy and the fees for work pass applications and renewals. They are not allowed to recover those fees, directly or indirectly, from their foreign employees. Employment agencies should not recover them from workers either. They are also not allowed to charge agency fees for work pass renewals.
The cap on what an agency may charge a worker is 1 month of fixed monthly salary per year of service, capped at 2 months, calculated on total salary including basic salary and all fixed allowances but excluding bonuses and variable components such as overtime. The position on fees an agency may charge an employer is different, and is set out on our fair recruitment page.
Medical insurance is the clearest example, and it runs in the opposite direction from what most people assume. Employers can choose whether to provide medical insurance for Employment Pass holders, whereas for Work Permit holders insurance covering in-patient care and surgery is a condition, and S Pass holders are covered by the same requirement.
Duration differs too. A Work Permit is generally 2 years, subject to the validity of the worker’s passport, the security bond and the employment period, whichever is the shorter.
The fee protection is not limited to a single pass type in the same way. The fee rules are stated by MOM for foreign workers, and this page does not extend them to pass types MOM does not name.
On MOM’s conditions page for that specific pass. MOM publishes conditions per pass rather than as one page covering every holder, and it publishes no page titled rights and obligations of work pass holders. This page sets out the Work Permit position, which should not be read across to other passes.
Work only for the employer and in the occupation and sector specified in the Work Permit; not take part in any other business or start their own business; reside only at the address set by the employer at the start of employment, and inform the employer before moving; and show the digital work pass in the SGWorkPass app or the Work Permit card when requested by any public officer.
Employment only for workers holding a valid Work Permit; the fixed monthly salaries declared to MOM; salaries and the cost of upkeep and maintenance, including medical treatment; proper housing; medical insurance covering in-patient care and surgery; a Primary Care Plan covering out-patient primary care from 1 April 2022; a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor, with the permit revoked if the worker is certified medically unfit; payment of the monthly foreign worker levy; and a security bond for each non-Malaysian worker. The employer must also not demand or receive any sum or other benefit from an employment agency or anyone else in connection with the worker’s employment or change in employment.
No. Employers are responsible for paying administrative costs, including the levy and the fees for work pass applications and renewals, and are not allowed to recover those fees directly or indirectly from their foreign employees.
No. Employment agencies are not allowed to charge agency fees for work pass renewals. They should not recover application or renewal fees from workers either.
It depends on the pass. For Work Permit holders, medical insurance covering in-patient care and surgery is a condition, and a Primary Care Plan covering out-patient primary care has been required from 1 April 2022. For Employment Pass holders, employers can choose whether to provide medical insurance — the opposite position.
A Work Permit is generally 2 years, subject to the validity of the worker’s passport, the security bond and the employment period, whichever is the shorter.
Every fact on this page is drawn from the sources below. The date given for each one is the date printed on the source itself, not the date we read it.
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