Singapore Manpower Minister Josephine Teo announced that spouses and family members of foreigners working in Singapore, who hold dependant's passes, will need to obtain a work pass in order to continue working in the country.
Currently, Dependant's Pass (DP) holders who want to seek employment only have to get a Letter of Consent (LOC) from the ministry.
Teo added that enough time would be given to the applicants to switch to the new arrangement.
“We will provide sufficient time for existing DP holders working on an LOC, as well as their employers, to transit to this new arrangement. Most of them meet prevailing work pass criteria. Those that do not will have to cease working in Singapore,” she said
She said that most DP holders do not work during their stay in Singapore. Existing DP holders who are currently employed can still continue working until the expiry of their LOC.
Starting May 1, the government will “regularise" their work arrangements in line with other foreign-worker requirements, Teo added.
The Ministry will “facilitate the transition to a work pass”, it said in a factsheet released to the media during the parliamentary debate into its budget.
The move is intended to align the requirements for DP holders who wish to work in Singapore with those for all other foreigners working here, and will bring consistency to recent updates to the work pass framework, the statement added.
For DP holders who are business owners, they will be allowed to continue if their business creates local employment. They will have to be either the sole proprietor, partner or director with at least 30 per cent shareholding in the business.