Employment Pass (EP)
EP
Just Tell Me
An Employment Pass is a Singapore work pass for foreign professionals, managers and executives who meet its requirements; it is distinct from permanent residence.
Also called: EP
Explain Like I’m Five
A job and permission to work are different things. The EP is one type of work pass administered by the Ministry of Manpower, for foreign professionals with a Singapore job offer who meet the pass requirements. It names the pass, not the person’s occupation.
Where You’ll Run Into It
In an HR conversation about a foreign colleague’s work-pass status or in MOM information about professional employment. Someone saying “I’m on an EP” is identifying their work pass.
Example
“My colleague says she has an EP. Does that mean she’s a permanent resident?”
The colleague has described a work pass. Permanent residence is a separate immigration status assessed by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA); holding an EP does not itself grant it.
The Part People Get Wrong
EP is not a catch-all name for every foreign worker’s pass. S Pass and Work Permit are separate categories with different requirements; for example, a migrant domestic worker works under a specific Work Permit. Their distinctions also matter when reading about a foreign worker quota: MOM lists EP as having no foreign worker quota or levy requirement.
Sources
Related
- moneySpecial PassUpdated
A Special Pass is a Singapore document that makes a foreigner’s stay lawful for a specific purpose; it does not by itself give permission to work.
- workForeign worker quotaUpdated
A foreign worker quota limits how many workers a Singapore company can employ under certain work passes, based on its workforce and sector.
- workMDW (Migrant domestic worker)Updated
In Singapore, an MDW is a migrant domestic worker: a foreign worker employed as a household helper under a Work Permit.
- workMOM (Ministry of Manpower)Updated
MOM is Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, responsible for workforce and workplace policies, including employment conditions, workplace safety and foreign manpower.