An Employment Pass can be renewed up to 6 months (180 days) before expiry, and a Dependant’s Pass up to 6 months before expiry, with the employer or the appointed employment agency applying through myMOM Portal. Renewal is not automatic: the candidate must again earn at least the Employment Pass qualifying salary, work for the same employer in a managerial, executive or specialised job, and pass COMPASS unless exempt, and MOM states plainly that renewals are not guaranteed. Renewing early costs nothing, because any remaining validity on the current pass is added to the new one.
3 official sources, dated below
An Employment Pass can be renewed up to 6 months (180 days) before expiry, and the application must be made before the expiry date. Employment Pass (Sponsorship) has a shorter window of 3 months before expiry. A Dependant’s Pass can be renewed up to 6 months before expiry, and the window is 3 months before expiry for dependants of Employment Pass (Sponsorship) and EntrePass holders.
The employer or the appointed employment agency applies, through myMOM Portal. The organisation’s turnover information for the past three years must be updated before submitting.
Renewal criteria are re-checked rather than carried over. The candidate must earn at least the Employment Pass qualifying salary, must work for the same employer in a managerial, executive or specialised job, and must pass COMPASS unless exempt. A candidate earning S$22,500 fixed monthly is exempt from COMPASS.
MOM states plainly that renewals are not guaranteed. Where the pass expires from 1 September 2024, the COMPASS requirements apply.
There is one documented easement, and it is worth knowing about. Once a candidate’s qualification has been verified, it does not need to be verified again at renewal or on a change of employer.
Renewing early costs nothing. The new work pass validity is not reduced, and any remaining validity from the current pass, up to six months, is added on. MOM states that a renewal application is processed or given an update within 10 business days, and that a Dependant’s Pass renewal is processed within 3 weeks for most cases. For a Dependant’s Pass, the renewed pass duration starts when the current pass expires.
Renewing late is a different situation. If the deadline is missed, a new pass must be applied for rather than a renewal. The pass must be issued before the In-Principle Approval or the current pass expires, whichever occurs first.
A Short-Term Visit Pass can be requested to give the pass holder valid stay in Singapore while matters are resolved. It can be requested on cancellation, or within a day after the EP expiry date, and it grants valid stay of up to 90 days.
An Employment Pass must be cancelled if the pass holder no longer works for the employer: within 1 week after the last day of notice, and the request can be submitted up to 14 days in advance. If the pass holder has left Singapore permanently, the pass must be cancelled within one week of the departure date unless it has already expired.
Cancellation reaches further than the pass itself. Cancelling an Employment Pass also cancels all related passes issued to family members, and those passes cannot be reinstated. That is the answer to a question families ask at the wrong moment: a change of employment that cancels the main pass ends the dependants’ passes with it, and the family passes then have to be applied for again.
An Employment Pass can be renewed up to 6 months (180 days) before expiry. Employment Pass (Sponsorship) is 3 months before expiry. A Dependant’s Pass is up to 6 months before expiry, and 3 months before expiry for dependants of Employment Pass (Sponsorship) and EntrePass holders. The application must be made before the expiry date in every case.
The criteria are re-checked. The candidate must earn at least the Employment Pass qualifying salary, work for the same employer in a managerial, executive or specialised job, and pass COMPASS unless exempt — a candidate earning S$22,500 fixed monthly is exempt. MOM states plainly that renewals are not guaranteed, and where the pass expires from 1 September 2024 the COMPASS requirements apply.
No. Once a candidate’s qualification has been verified, it does not need to be verified again at renewal or on a change of employer.
No. The new work pass validity is not reduced, and any remaining validity from the current pass, up to six months, is added on. For a Dependant’s Pass, the renewed pass duration starts when the current pass expires.
A new pass must be applied for rather than a renewal. The pass must be issued before the In-Principle Approval or the current pass expires, whichever occurs first. A Short-Term Visit Pass can be requested on cancellation, or within a day after the EP expiry date, granting valid stay of up to 90 days.
Cancelling an Employment Pass also cancels all related passes issued to family members, and they cannot be reinstated. A change of employment that cancels the main pass therefore ends the dependants’ passes, and the family passes must be applied for again.
Cancel the Employment Pass within 1 week after the last day of notice, and the request can be submitted up to 14 days in advance. If the pass holder has left Singapore permanently, the pass must be cancelled within one week of the departure date unless it has already expired. Cancelling the Employment Pass also cancels all related family passes, which cannot be reinstated.
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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