A Dependant’s Pass holder who wants to work in Singapore can get a work pass to do so, and the old rule requiring a Letter of Consent for employment no longer applies. For work for an organisation, the prospective employer applies for an Employment Pass, an S Pass, or a DP-Work Permit — a permit with no minimum qualifying salary, available to any nationality, whose validity is tied to the Dependant’s Pass. A Letter of Consent is still the route for a Dependant’s Pass holder who wants to run their own business rather than work for an employer.
1 official source, dated below
A Dependant’s Pass holder who wishes to work in Singapore can get a work pass to do so. The change that matters is in how employment is arranged: the route that was once described as a Letter of Consent for employment is not the route for taking a job with an organisation.
For work for an organisation, the prospective employer can apply for an Employment Pass, an S Pass, or a DP-Work Permit for the Dependant’s Pass holder. The choice is a real one, because the three passes carry different criteria and different effects on the holder’s immigration position.
Long-Term Visit Pass holders are not affected by the changes to the work arrangements of Dependant’s Pass holders.
The DP-Work Permit is the route designed for a Dependant’s Pass holder taking employment. Its published properties are: it is available to any nationality or citizenship; it is not subject to a minimum qualifying salary; its validity is tied to the Dependant’s Pass; the holder is not subject to the six-monthly medical examination and security bond requirements; and the employer does not need to provide medical insurance if the holder is already covered under a plan that meets MOM’s minimum mandatory insurance coverage.
Two consequences follow from the permit being tied to the Dependant’s Pass. The first is that the holder is subject to the relevant Work Permit quota and levy. The second is what happens on a change of job: a current DP-Work Permit holder must get the existing employer to cancel the Work Permit before a prospective employer can submit a new application.
A Dependant’s Pass holder who takes an Employment Pass or an S Pass instead of a DP-Work Permit must meet the prevailing criteria for that pass. Those criteria are the same ones that apply to any other applicant, and the DP-Work Permit’s exemptions do not carry across.
What the holder gains is independence. An Employment Pass or S Pass gives that pass’s work and stay privileges, and the holder is no longer dependent on the main pass holder for their stay in Singapore. The Dependant’s Pass must be cancelled before the new pass is issued.
The Pre-approved Letter of Consent is not available to a Dependant’s Pass holder. It is for eligible Long-Term Visit Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass Plus holders who are spouses or children of Singapore citizens or permanent residents.
Setting up or operating your own business is a different route from taking employment: a Dependant’s Pass holder can apply for a Letter of Consent. The Letter of Consent for Dependant’s Pass business owners is available to a sole proprietor, a partner, or a company director with at least 30% shareholding, or to a member of a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Renewing that Letter of Consent has two conditions. The first is at least 3 months of Dependant's Pass validity remaining; the second is that at least one Singaporean or permanent resident must be hired who earns at least the prevailing Local Qualifying Salary and has received 3 consecutive months of CPF contributions before the application.
Volunteering sits outside the work pass system altogether. It needs no work pass if no payment is involved and the activities are for a charitable purpose.
Yes, if an employer is willing to apply. For work for an organisation the prospective employer can apply for an Employment Pass, an S Pass, or a DP-Work Permit for the Dependant’s Pass holder. A Dependant’s Pass holder can also work for their own business through a Letter of Consent.
Not for taking employment with an organisation — that is now done through a work pass such as the DP-Work Permit, an Employment Pass or an S Pass. A Letter of Consent is still the route for a Dependant’s Pass holder who wants to set up or operate their own business. The Pre-approved Letter of Consent is not available to Dependant’s Pass holders at all; it is for eligible Long-Term Visit Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass Plus holders who are spouses or children of Singapore citizens or permanent residents.
A work pass for a Dependant’s Pass holder taking employment. It is available to any nationality, is not subject to a minimum qualifying salary, has its validity tied to the Dependant’s Pass, and the holder is not subject to the six-monthly medical examination and security bond requirements. The employer does not need to provide medical insurance if the holder is already covered to MOM’s minimum mandatory insurance coverage, and the holder is subject to the relevant Work Permit quota and levy.
No. The DP-Work Permit is not subject to a minimum qualifying salary. That is one of the things that distinguishes it from taking an Employment Pass or an S Pass, both of which require the prevailing criteria for those passes to be met.
They must meet the prevailing criteria for that pass. In exchange they gain that pass’s work and stay privileges and are no longer dependent on the main pass holder for their stay in Singapore. The Dependant’s Pass must be cancelled before the new pass is issued.
Yes, through a Letter of Consent for Dependant’s Pass business owners. It is available to a sole proprietor, a partner, or a company director with at least 30% shareholding, or a member of a Company Limited by Guarantee. Renewal has two conditions. The first is at least 3 months of Dependant's Pass validity remaining; the second is that at least one Singaporean or permanent resident be hired who earns at least the prevailing Local Qualifying Salary and has received 3 consecutive months of CPF contributions before the application.
Yes. Volunteering needs no work pass if no payment is involved and the activities are for a charitable purpose.
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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