Employment Screening Process for Foreigners Applying for Work Permit
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the employment screening process for foreign work permit applicants and the number of rejections due to unsatisfactory records. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked about screening criteria and whether domestic workers involved in unlicensed moneylending are barred from returning to Singapore. Minister of State for Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad explained that screening for security antecedents and adverse records led to 8,400 annual rejections from 2016 to 2018. He noted that foreigners who infringe regulations or engage in unlicensed moneylending are automatically marked with adverse records to prevent their re-entry. Minister of State for Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad further clarified that employers may also report other adverse conduct for inclusion in the Ministry’s records.
Transcript
11 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the employment screening process for foreigners applying for a work permit; and (b) in the past three years, how many applicants have been rejected because of their unsatisfactory records.
The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad) (for the Minister for Manpower): Mr Speaker, apart from assessing work permit applications on whether they meet our Work Pass rules such as dependency ratio and source, the applicant will also be screened for any security antecedents and adverse records. This screening of applicants helps to minimise incidence where undesirable persons are inadvertently allowed to work in Singapore. Between 2016 and 2018, around 8,400 applicants were rejected per year, on average, as a result of this screening.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): I have one supplementary question. Many residents expressed concern about their maids borrowing money from unlicensed moneylenders and some have been sent back. So, they are asking when these maids apply to come back to Singapore to work, do we issue them work permits or is it on the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) list that these maids are not allowed to come back?
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Generally, as part of policy, as foreigners who have infringed MOM's regulations, they will have their adverse record marked. For this case, if the maids' employers want to appeal, they can certainly appeal, but I am not sure if the Member is asking for them to return, or she wants them black-listed.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: Not to return.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Not to return. So, I suppose the employers also have an option to blacklist them as well for such adverse conduct, for example, that they want MOM to take note of. We will certainly take note and mark it in the list.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: Does it mean that the employers have to report to MOM so that next time, the maids would not be allowed to come back because they are involved in unlicensed moneylending? Definitely, for those cases that Police is aware of, the maids should be stopped from coming back automatically, without needing the employers to prompt MOM.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: When I talk about adverse conduct, when we talk about moneylending, it applies to unlicensed moneylending. If it is unlicensed, certainly, that is adverse conduct and so, it will go into the record without the need for the employer to report this.