Number of Approvals and Reports of Abuse Related to Training Employment Pass

55 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower for each year from 2021 to date (a) what is the number of Training Employment Passes (TEP) approved; and (b) what is the number of reports related to TEP abuse that have been received.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Training Employment Pass (TEP) is a short-term pass of up to three months for foreign trainees or students to undergo training in Singapore. The numbers of TEP applications approved in 2021 and 2022 were 900 and 4,500 respectively. These were due to border measures that were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the reopening of our borders post-pandemic, the number of TEP applications that were approved increased to 15,600 and 16,500 in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Reports on TEP abuse have also increased from nine and 18 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, to about 200 and 150 in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The Ministry of Manpower has sent out advisories to educate employers on the proper use of the scheme and stepped up checks on TEP applications. We have also mounted several enforcement operations to tackle the abuse of the scheme. Arising from these operations, about 70 companies are being investigated for offences such as making false declarations in work pass applications.