Reasons for Rejection of Non-domestic Work Permit Applications

Mr Kok Heng Leun asked the Minister for Manpower over the last 12 months (a) what are the top five reasons for rejecting non-domestic work permit applications other than the reason of the employer not meeting the dependency ratio; and (b) what channels are open to the worker and employer to find out the reason for the rejection.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Applications for work permits are screened to minimise incidence where undesirable persons are inadvertently allowed to work in Singapore. Apart from this factor and the employer not meeting dependency ratio, the top reasons for rejecting non-domestic work permit applications were:

(i) The employer or applicant had adverse record(s);

(ii) The employer did not have sufficient Man-Year Entitlement 9 ;

(iii) The employer did not have enough higher skilled work permit holders to hire new basic skilled workers 10 ;

(iv) The worker had exceeded the maximum employment period; or

(v) The worker was not from an approved source country.

Employers or their employment agents can view the rejection reasons for their work permit applications through MOM’s Work Permit Online (WPOL) service on the MOM website. Applicants can also check with their employment agents or prospective employers. Where there are security concerns, the reasons for rejection may not always be specified. Instead, the employer is advised to look for another candidate.

Note(s) to Question No(s) :

9 The Man-Year Entitlement (MYE) reflects the total number of work permit holders a main contractor in the construction or process sector is entitled to employ based on the value of projects or contracts awarded by developers or owners. Main contractors can allocate their MYE to sub-contractors involved in the same project.

10 Since 1 January 2017, all companies in the construction sector must have a minimum 10% of higher skilled (or R1) work permit holders before they are allowed to hire new basic skilled (or R2) workers.