Immigration update — Singapore: Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) — more details released

On Friday, 31 Mar 2023, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released more details on how firms can meet the COMPASS criteria, including a Shortage Occupation List (SOL).

In addition to the SOL, MOM has shared a list of educational institutions that fall under the ‘top-tier institutions’ for a qualification criterion. The top-tier institutions are broken out into two groups (A & B).

Firms can get a further 10 bonus points for each EP submitted through the Strategic Economic Priorities (SEP) Bonus. These are for firms that engage in innovation and internationalization activities in partnership with economic agencies or firms endorsed by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as strong partners in company and workforce transformation activities.

Who will be affected?

• Employers intending to hire Employment Pass (EP) holders
• Employment Pass (EP) holders

Background

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has introduced a points-based assessment called Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) from 1 September 2023 for new EP applications and from 1 September 2024 for EP renewals.

The framework is a transparent system enabling employers to select high-quality foreign professionals while improving workforce diversity and building a strong Singaporean core. It also gives businesses greater clarity and certainty for manpower planning.

As shared by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), COMPASS evaluates Employment Pass applications based on a holistic set of individual and firm-related attributes as follows:

On 6 March, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced the new implementation. New Employment Pass (EP) applications from 1 September 2023 and EP renewals from 1 September 2024 must be supported by education verification proof from authorized background screening companies for all post-secondary diplomas and above qualifications.

In order to pass COMPASS, candidates must receive a score of 40 points on their applications:

• Applications that meet expectations (earn 10 points) on all 4 foundational criteria will pass (Example A-1 and Example A-2).
• Otherwise, applications can make up the required points by exceeding expectations on another criterion (Example B) or by scoring bonus points (Example C).

Candidates are exempted from COMPASS if they fulfil any of these conditions:

• Earning at least S$20,000 fixed monthly salary (similar to the prevailing Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertising exemption);
• Applying as an overseas intra-corporate transferee under the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services or an applicable Free Trade Agreement that Singapore is party to, OR
• Filling a role on a short-term basis, i.e. one month or less.

Impact

Shortage Occupation List
There are a total of 27 occupations across 6 sectors. Candidates applying for specific tech occupations on the SOL may also be eligible for a longer 5-year EP duration.

To ensure that SOL beneficiaries genuinely perform the declared shortage occupation, EP candidates that declare an SOL occupation will be subjected to additional checks and conditions if:

• They need the SOL Bonus points to pass COMPASS.
  OR
• They are applying for a longer 5-year EP for experienced tech professionals (regardless of whether they needed the SOL Bonus points to pass COMPASS).

Occupations that have been identified for the SOL are based on the following:

• Their strategic importance to Singapore’s economic priorities.
• The degree and nature of labour shortage.
• The sector is committed to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages in the medium term.

The MOM will continue to update the SOL whereby the occupations will be added or removed on an annual basis to remain responsive to market conditions. MOM will announce any updates to the SOL by March each year.

Top-tier Institutions
In addition to the SOL, MOM has shared a list of educational institutions that fall under the ‘top-tier institutions’ for a criterion on qualifications and the programmes or conditions firms have to meet to score bonus COMPASS points. The top-tier institutions are broken out into two groups (A & B).

EP candidates will earn 20 points on COMPASS Criterion 2 for Bachelor’s degree and above qualifications earned from top-tier institutions. For Group A institutions, 20 points are awarded for degrees from all faculties. For Group B institutions, 20 points are awarded only for degrees from specific faculties.

Strategic Economic Priorities (SEP) Bonus
The MOM lists 15 programs under the SEP bonus category. Firms can get a further 10 bonus points for each EP submitted through the Strategic Economic Priorities (SEP) Bonus. These are for firms that engage in innovation and internationalization activities in partnership with economic agencies or firms endorsed by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as strong partners in company and workforce transformation activities.

To be considered, firms must participate/meet the criteria for at least one of the following programmes/categories listed here.

Implementation date

• New EP application – From 1 September 2023
• EP Renewal application – From 1 September 2024

Santa Fe analysis

With COMPASS, MOM hopes to enable businesses to hire high-quality foreign professionals while improving workforce diversity and building a strong local core. The point system is designed to ensure that all EP applicants can contribute the right skills, knowledge, and expertise to the company and Singapore.

Employers will need to continue to analyse and review their workforce ratio and diversity against these criteria and make adjustments to meet the requirements stipulated under COMPASS.

For more information or assistance, please contact:

Leesa Abdullah
​Immigration Manager—Singapore
​Santa Fe Relocation
Singapore
D:  +65 6398 8523
​E: leesa.abdullah@staging.santaferelo.com

Robert Day
Group Head of Immigration Operations
​Santa Fe Relocation
Singapore
D:  +44 7990 021125
​E: robert.day@staging.santaferelo.com