Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Singapore seeks to cut number of expatriates as recession bites

Singapore seeks to cut number of expatriates as recession bites

Asian financial hub tightens regulations on employing foreign professionals
International businesses in Singapore are facing increasing barriers to hiring expatriates as the government seeks to assuage domestic political concerns over soaring unemployment in the Asian financial centre.

Despite increasing interest among global companies in using Singapore as an alternative regional base to Hong Kong, authorities in Singapore last week tightened criteria for hiring foreign professionals.

The government raised the cost of hiring expatriates by increasing the minimum salary needed to qualify for an Employment Pass, or work permit for foreign professionals, by 15 per cent to S$4,500 (US$3,300) a month. The government for the first time also introduced a sector-specific higher qualifying salary of at least S$5,000 a month for those working in finance and double that for candidates aged in their forties.

The new rules, the second time requirements have been updated this year, would affect businesses trying to hire new foreign employees as well as renewing existing visas, said Ravi Chandran, assistant dean of undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore Business School. Even for those who meet the criteria, there is often “no guarantee” of obtaining a work pass, he added.

The new regulations come as some fund managers and traders are looking for a new base for their headquarters in Asia after Beijing introduced national security legislation for Hong Kong that critics argue threatens to undermine the rule of law in the city.

Singapore, long a choice destination for foreigners in Asia because of its low taxes and high living standards, has been restricting the rules for employment passes in recent years to encourage businesses to consider locals first. Singapore also has quotas to ensure businesses strike a balance between the local and foreign employees.

That drive has been exacerbated this year with the unemployment rate among local Singaporeans and permanent residents increasing from 3.3 per cent to nearly 4 per cent in the second quarter, its highest in more than a decade.

Singapore fell into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis in the second quarter after the city-state imposed a lockdown to battle coronavirus. The economy shrank by 12.6 per cent year on year, the largest drop since independence in 1965. 

The government said the changes to employment pass rules would help companies “ensure a strong Singaporean core” while the city remained an open hub for international business.

The changes were “obviously good” for comparable local talent, said Damien Joseph, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Nanyang Business School. There was increasing discontent on social media platforms among Singaporeans “unhappy with hiring policies” in recent months, he said.

Earlier this month, nearly 50 employers, mostly in the financial and professional services sectors, were added to a government watchlist of companies with suspected discriminatory hiring practices.

Protecting Singapore workers’ interests was a theme of the national election held in July. The manifesto of the opposition Workers’ party, which won a record number of seats, included proposals to curb the number of employment passes granted. 

One partner at a top international law firm with a large number of expat employees in the city said the changes were not expected to have much impact on the top level in areas such as banking and law. 

“This is about perception, giving the perception that Singapore is doing more to help locals’ employment prospects,” the partner said. “The flip side to that is it will probably damage international perception of Singapore even if it doesn’t have a big impact.”

TY Shao, a Singapore-based manager at technology and financial services recruitment firm Hudson, said he had already seen an increase in local hiring in response to the pressure. 

“A lot of organisations are trying to avoid having to apply for an EP because there is a real risk it will not be approved,” he said. 

But a large percentage of affected workers would also be foreigners from Malaysia and China working in sectors such as retail or marketing who were paid less, he added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×