The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore has implemented new educational document verification requirements for foreign nationals applying for initial and renewal Employment Passes, S Passes and Training Employment Passes.
What are the requirements?
Applicants with tertiary qualifications from higher education institutions not included in the MOM’s standard drop-down list must now submit proof of their educational credentials from international verification agencies such as Dataflow and Risk Management Intelligence to support their work pass applications.
In addition, for applicants with tertiary qualifications obtained from mainland China:
- Diploma-level qualification: Foreign nationals with a Diploma-level qualification obtained from mainland China must now submit a verification report solely from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHSI).
- Bachelor’s degree and higher: Foreign nationals with a Bachelor’s degree or higher obtained from mainland China may continue to submit verification reports either from the China Academic and Graduate Education Information (CDGDC) or international verification agencies such as Dataflow and Risk Management Intelligence.
Effect on time frames
As the verification process may take up to a month, or longer in some cases, affected employers and applicants are advised to factor this extra time into their work authorisation timeline for new and renewal applications.
The verification process is in addition to any labour market testing requirements (2 weeks) and other standard processing times (e.g. around 3 weeks for an Employment Pass application).
How to assess the education institution
Your Hannan Tew contact will be able to advise at initiation whether the applicant’s qualifications will require further verification. Alternatively, an applicant can check their verifications against the MOM system by logging into the Employment Pass online application portal and viewing the education drop down menu.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact your Hannan Tew contact directly, email our general query inbox at [email protected] or call us on +61 3 9016 0484.
