Prioritising Local Talent: The Revised Expatriate Salary and Employment Pass (EP) Policy

A succession plan refers to an employer’s structured and clearly defined plan to prepare local talent to succeed or replace the role of an expatriate within a specified employment period. The succession plan should include among others:

• Identification of positions and functions to be transferred to local employees.

• Training, mentoring and knowledge transfer from expatriates to local employees

• A reasonable timeframe to ensure local employees are fully prepared in terms of skills and competencies.

• Operational continuity planning to ensure that the transition does not affect productivity or organisational performance.

No. The revised policy is not retrospective in nature and will only take effect on 1 June 2026. There will be a transitional regulation/arrangement that will be announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs to address the salary structure of the current expatriates. However, the revised salary structure requirement must be complied with upon renewing the Employment Pass (for all categories) for current expatriate employees after 1 June 2026.

Yes, all expatriates under Employment Passes Categories I, II and III are allowed to bring dependents under the new revised policy.

Yes, with the revised policy, a maximum duration has been introduced for Employment Passes Categories I, II and III. Under the current framework, Employment Passes for Categories I or II are renewable without limitation while the Employment Pass for Category III is limited to a maximum of 2 renewals. The introduction of a maximum duration as stated above (Employment Pass Categories I and II - up to 10 years and Employment Pass Category III up to 5 years) indicates that employers are only allowed to apply or renew the Employment Pass for the maximum period indicated in the revised policy.

Any extension beyond the maximum duration indicated in the revised policy will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis [2].

For Employment passes under Category II or III, a succession plan is required to be submitted with any new or renewal application. Failure to submit a succession plan may cause the application to be rejected.

The succession plan would be monitored and enforced by relevant agencies through documentations, periodic reporting and assessments [2].

The Ministry of Home Affairs will be conducting engagement and consultation sessions and will issue further implementation guidelines to ensure a smooth transition. In addition, MYXpats Centre will conduct briefing sessions to share key updates and provide clarification on the revised policy, its implementation requirements and related processes [3].

Employers may take proactive steps by reviewing current expatriate salary structures, identifying Employment Pass holders who may be impacted upon renewal, and assessing roles that could be affected by revised eligibility or salary thresholds. Employers should also commence early workforce and succession planning, and factor the revised salary thresholds and additional compliance requirements into future manpower planning, budgeting, and cost projections, to ensure early readiness and to minimise potential operational and business disruption ahead of the policy’s implementation.