Singapore Personalised Employment Pass (PEP)

• Both Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) and Employment Pass (EP) allow their holder to work, live, and reside in Singapore. They also allow the holders to travel in and out of Singapore without any legal necessity of entry visas.
• Family members of both Employment Pass (EP) and Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders can come to Singapore under Dependant’s Pass and LTVP as applicable.
• Both Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) and Employment Pass (EP) entitle their holders to stay in Singapore for a period as approved on the respective pass.

Where getting a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is a tall task, it has its corresponding benefits, which are mentioned below:

• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) entitles its holder the freedom to explore and pursue employment opportunities, unlike other work passes where the holder is bound to the Sponsor employer.
• Since Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders are not bound to a sponsor employer, they can switch jobs at will without any need to apply for a new work pass, as long as they are fulfilling the minimum salary requirement. They are only required to notify the authorities by submitting a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) notification form regarding the change in the job.
• Unlike other work passes, Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders are not required to have a confirmed job offer to apply for the pass.
• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders can stay unemployed in Singapore for a period of up to six months continuously while they are searching for a potential job opportunity.
• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) allows its holder to take a job in any sector as long as it is a professional job. There are few exceptions to this, such as media, security officers, health where special permission is required prior to application.
• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holders enjoy the dependant’s pass privilege. They can bring their legal spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents to Singapore. However, for the parents, they are required to apply LTVP.
• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is a gateway to Singapore Permanent Residence. It opens pathways to residency if you wish to continue working and living there.

• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) comes with a lot of privileges however, there are few limitations and downsides of it as well. These are mentioned below:
• If you are an Employment Pass (EP) holder under sponsorship scheme, freelancer or foreigner who is working on a freelancing basis, you are not entitled to apply for a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP). In other words, being in a job with a Singapore based company is a must.
• Individuals who serve as a sole proprietor, director or partner who has shares in a company registered in Singapore under ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) are not entitled to apply for Personalised Employment Pass (PEP). This is so because Personalised employment pass holders are not allowed to start any entrepreneurial activity.
• Editors, sub-editors, journalists, and media producers are not qualified to apply for Personalised Employment Pass.
• Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is issued once and is non-renewable. The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is issued for three years, after which you are supposed to be applying for Employment Pass (EP) or Singapore Permanent Residence (SPR) status. This means after this period your Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) expires, and if you want to continue to live and work in Singapore, you are left with only two options, apply for Employment Pass (EP) or Singapore Permanent Residence (SPR). The point of concern here is that you have to make sure that you fulfill the eligibility criteria for either of these two options. Therefore, if you are not able to secure a job within the given six months, your Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) will be canceled and you will be given a 30-day short term visa pass instead, during which you must make arrangements to leave Singapore.
• After getting Personalised Employment Pass (PEP), you have a maximum unemployment period of six months. Within this time, you are required to seek a really high paid job that fulfills the criteria of Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) failing which your Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is rescinded.
• You have to earn at least S$144,000 per year as salary being a Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) holder. You are required to submit your account statement within 30 days of the end of the calendar year, failing which will lead to several complications and your pass can also be cancelled for this reason.
• You are required to inform the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) through notification about your employment status. This includes your job switching, change in title of the job, travel documents or any cessation of employment.

• A current Employment Pass (EP) holder who earns a fixed salary of at least S$12,000 a month in Singapore
• An overseas foreign professional with a last drawn monthly salary of S$18,000. This salary should be within the last six months in order to apply for the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP).

• You should not be a freelancer who plans to work without a Singapore employer
• In case of an Employment Pass (EP) holder, your Employment Pass (EP) should not have been issued by a Sponsorship scheme
• You should not be a sole shareholding partner, proprietor, or director in any Singapore registered company with ACRA
• You should not be a journalist, editor, sub-editor or producer

In case you are an existing Employment Pass (EP) holder, you are not required to provide any additional documents. However, you are required to fill in the following details on your Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) application form:

• Passport details of the applicant
• Employer’s name and address, If applicable
• Details of job and salary, if applicable
• Details of a local contact (for overseas professionals these details can be furnished upon approval)
• DP holder details, if applicable
• Details of the LTVP holders, if applicable

If you are not an Employment Pass (EP) holder, you will be required to submit following additional documents for Personalised Employment Pass (PEP):

A verified copy of the personal particulars page of the applicant’s Passport

• Employment Contract – New and / or previous, if there is any
• Salary slips – Last three months
• Bank account statement
• Latest tax statement
• Copies of resume and relevant educational certificates

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM)has outlined the application process for the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP). Following are the steps involved in the application process of Personalised Employment Pass (PEP):

• The applicant can submit the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) application form either electronically using EP online system or duly completed in all respects at any SingPost branch. (If using EP online system, you must use an authorized employment agency).
• Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will issue an In-Principle letter in the name of the applicant after the approval of the application.
• After the issuance of the In-Principle letter, you have six months to get the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) issued.
• The applicant is required to register the fingerprints and get himself photographed before the issuance of the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP).
• The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) card will be delivered by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) at the address mentioned in the application.

• The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) applications filed online are normally processed within three weeks.
• The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) application that has been sent by post takes up to eight weeks for processing.
• When your application for Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) gets approved, you will receive an IPA (In-Principle Approval) letter, which is valid for six months. The applicant is required to collect the pass within this period from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) office in Singapore. You shall also bring any other documents that have been requested by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in the letter.
• The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is valid for three years. The dependants who are linked with the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) will be allowed to stay in Singapore for as long as the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is valid. However please note you will need to apply a DP again for them.