— offences & passes
The Employment of Foreign Manpower Act: the S5/S22 criminal offences, the S25 administrative infringements, and the read-with sections that catch the people behind the company.
Why it exists — and how it's tested
polices one promise: a work pass means a real job, a real worker, real terms. Every offence is a way of faking that — a fake job, a fake worker, a fake declaration, a secret payment — and the penalty climbs with the cynicism.
On the exam · The whole topic is a criminal-vs-administrative sort plus band recall. Ask two things of any scenario: is this a lie (court, S22) or a rule-slip (fine, S25)? and which penalty band does it sit in?
Lie → court (S22). Rule-slip → fine (S25). Only phantom workers (S22B) get the cane.
Criminal offences — the two penalty bands
Why it exists — and how it's tested
The two bands rank dishonesty: fumbling a duty sits below actively faking a document, so the fine and jail ceilings step up with the seriousness of the lie.
On the exam · Given an offence, place the band. Lower ($10k/12mo): fail to produce a pass, obstruct, fail to declare, defy the Controller. Higher ($20k/2yr): false statement, forge/sell/transfer, use a forged pass, false qualifications. The 'fail to declare' twin always sits lower.
Passive slip = $10k/12mo · active forgery/lies = $20k/2yr · kickbacks higher still at $30k.
Statutory facts
Lower band — fine ≤ $10,000 and/or 12 months:
- S22(1)(b) — fail to produce a pass on demand.
- S22(1)(c) — obstruct an inspector.
- S22(2)/(4) — fail to declare an offence.
- S25B(1) — defy the Controller's directions.
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 22 · EFMA 1990 s 22 (SSO) ↗
Statutory facts
Higher band — fine ≤ $20,000 and/or 2 years:
- S22(1)(d) — false statement to the Controller or an inspector.
- S22(1)(e) — forge, sell or transfer a pass.
- S22(1)(f) — use a forged pass.
- S22(3) — false educational qualifications.
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 22 · EFMA 1990 s 22 (SSO) ↗
Statutory facts
Illegal employment itself:
- S5(1) — employing illegally: fine $5,000–$30,000 and/or 12 months; repeat brings mandatory jail (individuals 1–12 months; companies fined $20k–$60k).
- S5(2)/S10(1) — working, or self-employed, without a valid pass: ≤ $20,000 and/or 2 years; repeat adds at least 1 month's jail.
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 5 · EFMA 1990 s 5 (SSO) ↗
The two signature offences
Statutory facts
- S22A — kickbacks: receiving a benefit for employment. It catches anyone, even when the money changes hands before the pass is issued or outside Singapore. Fine ≤ $30,000 and/or 2 years.
- S22B — illegal labour importation ('phantom workers'): jail 6 months–2 years + fine ≤ $6,000 — and it is the only offence that carries caning (on 6 or more charges).
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 22A · EFMA 1990 s 22A (SSO) ↗
Why it exists — and how it's tested
Two offences get their own spotlight because they attack the system itself: kickbacks (paying to get in) and phantom workers (faking the worker). One is bought entry, the other is smuggled labour.
On the exam · Kickbacks (S22A) are the reach trap — they catch anyone, even paid before issuance or outside Singapore. Phantom workers (S22B) are the caning trap — the only offence with the cane, and only on 6+ charges.
S22A kickbacks = anyone, anywhere, anytime · S22B phantoms = the lone caning offence (6+ charges).
⚖ Real case · how it played out
The first man caned for phantom workers
Goh Eng Kiat, a director of Jasper Contractors, told MOM he was hiring 30 foreign workers as construction staff. He wasn't — they were released to find their own jobs while he kept the pass privileges. In 2017 he became the first person ever caned under the Act for illegal labour importation.
Sentence: 45 months' jail and 5 strokes of the cane. In 2025, Leong Kwai Tong drew 40 months for the same offence — the enforcement hasn't softened.
⚠ Exam trap
Only S22B attracts caning — no other offence does. Any option that canes a kickback or an illegal-employment charge is wrong.
Administrative infringements (the S25 family)
Why it exists — and how it's tested
Not every breach is a crime. Where the wrong is regulatory rather than dishonest, MOM fines the company without branding a person a criminal — faster to enforce, and it keeps the courts for the liars.
On the exam · The bait is to criminalise an administrative infringement. S9(1) late termination and the whole S25 family (CPF-padding, GIRO breach, inaccurate info, levy recovered from the worker) are financial penalty only, no record. Rule-slip = fine, not jail.
S25 family = fines, no criminal record · the tell is 'regulatory condition', not a lie.
Statutory facts
Financial penalty only, no criminal record:
- S9(1) — fail to terminate a worker within 7 days of pass revocation (≤ $10k).
- S25(1) — inflate quota using CPF for non-employees (≤ $20k).
- S25(2) — breach a regulatory condition, e.g. S-Pass salary not paid by GIRO (≤ $10k).
- S25(3) — give inaccurate info without fraud (≤ $20k).
- S25(4) — recover the levy from the worker (≤ $20k).
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 25 · EFMA 1990 s 25 (SSO) ↗
🧠 Memory aid
S22 = court, S25 = fine
Breach a WORK-PASS condition → criminal (S22(1)(a)). Breach a REGULATORY condition → administrative (S25(2)). The exam tests this fork directly.
The read-with sections — no hiding behind the company
Why it exists — and how it's tested
These sections stop the humans behind a breach from hiding behind the company's name — the director who nodded it through and the fixer who arranged it are caught too.
On the exam · Tested as 'who else is liable?'. S20: an officer who consented, or neglected is personally guilty alongside the company. S23: an faces the same offence and the same penalty — not a reduced one. 'Only the company is liable' and 'the abettor gets half' are the traps.
S20 pins the officer · S23 gives the the same penalty, not half.
Statutory facts
- S20 (bodies corporate) — an officer who consented, , or was neglectful is personally guilty alongside the company.
- S23 () — instigate, conspire, or intentionally aid, and you face the same offence and the same penalty as the doer.
Source: Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, s 20 · EFMA 1990 s 20 (SSO) ↗
Work pass types — who gets which
Why it exists — and how it's tested
The other half of is the pass zoo: which pass fits which worker, and the criteria that decide it. The exam tests these as 'given this profile, which pass?' and as specific eligibility numbers.
On the exam · The reliable traps: applying an EP salary-only test when the candidate has no degree (qualifications matter too), swapping the current salary figure for a future (not-yet-effective) one, treating an EP as transferable between employers, and assuming a PEP holder or Dependant's Pass holder can do things they can't.
EP = degree/skills + high salary, tied to employer · S Pass = diploma + quota + levy · WP = employer+occupation+sector · ONE/PEP/EntrePass = top/self-employed tiers.
Statutory facts
The three main employment passes (figures current as of 2026):
- Employment Pass (EP) — professionals, managers, executives. Needs acceptable qualifications (a recognised degree, professional qualifications or specialised skills — a degree is the norm but not strictly mandatory) plus COMPASS points. General-sector minimum salary is age-banded: $5,600 at age ≤23 rising to $10,700 at 45+ (financial services higher; the next tier takes effect 1 Jan 2027). Tied to one employer — there is no transfer; a new employer files a fresh EP, and MOM issues a 90-day Short-Term Visit Pass on cancellation to job-search.
- EP assessment is two stages: Stage 1 is the age-banded qualifying-salary threshold above; Stage 2 is COMPASS — a points-based test needing 40 points across 6 criteria (4 foundational: Salary, Qualifications, Diversity, Support for Local Employment; 2 bonus: a Skills Bonus for shortage occupations, and a Strategic Economic Priorities bonus). COMPASS is EP-only — it does not apply to S Pass. A fixed monthly salary of ≥$22,500, intra-corporate-transferee (ICT) status, or employment of ≤1 month each exempt a candidate from COMPASS entirely.
- S Pass — mid-skilled staff. Accepts a diploma or technical certificate + experience; general-sector minimum $3,300/month (from 1 Sep 2025). Subject to a Dependency Ratio Ceiling sub-quota (services 10%, other sectors 15%) and a levy — now a flat $650/month across all sectors and tiers (harmonised 1 Sep 2025).
- Work Permit (WP) — semi-skilled/unskilled workers (incl. ). Tied to a specific employer, occupation AND sector; deploying the holder to unapproved work or a different business breaches the WP conditions.
Source: MOM — Eligibility for Employment Pass (qualifying salary & COMPASS) · MOM — EP eligibility (official) ↗
Statutory facts
Higher-tier and self-employed passes:
- Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass — top talent. Either a fixed salary of $30,000/month sustained over 12 months, OR outstanding achievement in Sports, Arts & Culture, or Academia/Research (no salary needed). Valid 5 years, and not tied to one employer.
- Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) — high-earning EP-calibre professionals; qualifying salary ≥$22,500/month at application. Valid 3 years, issued once, non-renewable; not tied to an employer while job-seeking; the holder may not run a business (needs EntrePass/ONE Pass for that).
- EntrePass — foreign founders of a venture-backed/innovative company. No minimum paid-up capital; needs an ACRA-registered company, ≥30% shareholding, and one innovation criterion (funding raised, incubator backing, IP, etc.).
Source: MOM — Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass) · MOM — ONE Pass (official) ↗
Statutory facts
Short-term and family passes:
- Training Employment Pass (TEP) — foreign students (from non-listed institutions) or intra-company trainees; minimum $3,000/month; max 3 months, non-renewable.
- Miscellaneous Work Pass — eligible short-term activities (speakers at seminars, religious workers, journalists); up to 60 days.
- Work Holiday Programme — students/graduates aged 18–25 from eligible universities; up to 6 months, non-renewable.
- Dependant's Pass (DP) — family of EP/S Pass holders (issued by MOM). Since 1 May 2021 a DP holder can no longer use a Letter of Consent to take an ordinary employee job — they must apply for their own work pass.
Source: MOM — Training Employment Pass · MOM — TEP (official) ↗
Statutory fact
Exceeding an approved foreign-worker quota is a graduated sequence, not one fine: new Work Permit/S Pass applications and renewals are frozen while the excess persists; the employer is expected to voluntarily cancel enough passes to come back within quota; if it doesn't, MOM revokes the excess passes itself, newest first; the employer then faces a 6-month ban on hiring any new foreign workers.
Source: MOM — What happens if I exceed my foreign worker quota? · MOM (official) ↗
Statutory fact
Every Work Permit holder (not just ) needs employer-borne medical insurance ≥$60,000/year for in-patient care and day surgery — the cost can never be passed to the worker. A work injury separately triggers the employer's obligations under : refusing to pay a WP holder's medical bills breaches both the Work Permit condition to bear medical costs and the employer's WICA duties — 'claim it yourself' is not a valid response.
Source: MOM — Medical insurance requirements for migrant workers · MOM — WP medical insurance (official) ↗
⚠ Exam trap
Under s6A(1) an occupier who permits a foreign employee to work at its workplace without a valid pass commits an offence in its own right — separate from the s5 illegal-employment offence: 1st offence fine ≤ $15,000 and/or jail ≤ 12 months; subsequent ≤ $30,000 and/or 2 years. And don't quote a work-pass salary figure that isn't yet in force: the higher EP/S Pass tiers announced for 1 Jan 2027 are NOT the current numbers.
Now grill yourself on it
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