Singapore tightens PMET hiring rules while easing work permit caps
Singapore has announced significant changes to its foreign worker policies affecting Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians, or PMETs. Starting in 2025, the Employment Pass qualifying salary rose to five thousand six hundred dollars, with progressive increases for older workers. The government raised the S Pass salary threshold and expanded work permit sourcing from countries like Bhutan and Cambodia. Notably, from July 2025, Singapore removed the maximum employment duration cap for work permit holders, allowing them to stay longer while raising the employment age limit to 63 years. The Ministry of Manpower emphasized these measures balance economic competitiveness with local job protection, noting that local PMET employment has grown by 382,000 over a decade while foreign EP and S Pass numbers increased by only 38,000. However, concerns persist about job security for mid-career professionals facing retrenchment, with over 3,900 retrenchment cases involving PMEs reported in 2025.
Key facts
- Employment Pass qualifying salary increased from 5,000 to 5,600 Singapore dollars in 2025, with age-based increases up to 10,700 dollars
- Local PMET workforce grew by 382,000 over the past decade while foreign EP and S Pass holders increased by only 38,000
- From July 1 2025, Singapore removed the 14 to 26 year maximum employment duration cap for work permit holders
- S Pass minimum qualifying salary rose from 3,150 to 3,300 Singapore dollars in September 2025
- In 2025, the National Trades Union Congress handled over 3,900 retrenchment cases involving PMEs, a 5 percent increase from the previous year
- Fair Consideration Framework places over 1,000 businesses on a watchlist for scrutiny of EP applications based on local PMET hiring ratios
- One in three new PMET jobs for locals came from job reclassification rather than real job creation, according to parliamentary analysis
How different outlets framed it
Left-leaning coverage: Left-leaning voices, particularly from opposition parties and civil society, emphasize insufficient local job protection despite policy changes. They highlight that one in three new PMET jobs came from reclassification rather than real job creation, and question whether the salary thresholds are adequately protecting local workers. Concerns focus on mature workers facing longer unemployment periods and the need for stronger safeguards against discriminatory hiring practices.
Right-leaning coverage: Right-leaning perspectives, particularly from the Progress Singapore Party and business advocates, argue that current foreign worker policies may not go far enough in restricting PMET inflow. Some propose significantly higher salary thresholds to exclude foreign nationals from mid-level positions, while business groups counter that excessive restrictions could damage Singapore's attractiveness to multinational corporations and harm economic growth.
Limits of this briefing
Data on actual job displacement versus job creation remains contested between government and opposition sources. The impact of simultaneous AI disruption and industry restructuring on mid-career PMETs is still unfolding, making long-term policy effectiveness unclear.
Sources
- The Online Citizen: Tan See Leng's job growth claim questioned: 1 in 3 'new' PMETs were just reclassified Left
- Progress Singapore Party: Local PMETs face systemic challenges Right
- Ministry of Manpower Singapore: Factsheet on Foreign Workforce Policy Announcements at COS 2025 Centre
- The Independent SG: Singapore shakes up foreign worker policies; work permit employment period cap scrapped, opportunities widened Centre
- The Japan Times: Singapore is making life tougher for global talent Left