Proposal for Work Permit Holders to Be Allowed To Work in Hawker Centres
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether work permit holders can be employed in National Environment Agency hawker centres, the employment figures for Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) and Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) holders, and whether this policy distinction will be reviewed. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu Hai Yien explained that hawker centres are part of Singapore's cultural heritage, requiring stallholders to be Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents who physically operate their stalls. To balance manpower needs with preserving local identity, stallholders are permitted to hire eligible LTVP and LTVP+ holders who are part of the Singapore family nexus. As of 1 August 2026, about 300 LTVP and LTVP+ holders were working as stall assistants in cooked food stalls across hawker centres. Minister Grace Fu Hai Yien affirmed that the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and review policies where necessary to balance manpower needs with hawker centres' Singaporean identity.
Transcript
36 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) why work permit holders may be employed in coffee shops and food courts but not in NEA hawker centres, given all are cooked-food trades; (b) how many Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) and Long-Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) holders work as hawker stall assistants as at 1 September 2026; and (c) whether the venue-based distinction will be reviewed.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Hawker centres are a unique part of Singapore's cultural heritage and it is important to preserve the local identity and heritage of our hawker culture. Only Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents are allowed to be stallholders at our hawker centres, and stallholders are required to physically operate their stalls. This is unlike other licensed food shops, which may be managed by commercial entities that hire employees to run their outlets. Nonetheless, stallholders in hawker centres can hire eligible Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) and Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) holders, who are already part of the Singapore family nexus, to work as stall assistants. This strikes a balance between supporting stallholders' manpower needs and the preservation of hawker centres' local identity.
As of 1 August 2026, there are about 300 LTVP and LTVP+ holders working as stall assistants in cooked food stalls in hawker centres.
We will continue to monitor the situation and review our policies where necessary, to strike a balance between manpower needs and the Singaporean identity of hawker centres.