Review on Employment Passes' Qualifying Salary Thresholds in Light of CPF Ordinary Wage Ceiling Increase in 2026

29 Ms Lee Hui Ying asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry has reviewed the qualifying salary thresholds for Employment Passes in view of the expected increase in the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling for Singaporean employees from 1 January 2026.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salary is benchmarked to the top one-third of resident Professional, Manager, Executive and Technician wages, inclusive of Central Provident Fund contributions. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) regularly reviews the EP qualifying salary, taking into account changes to total resident wages, rather than focusing on any specific wage component.

MOM has recently increased the EP qualifying salary in January 2025. We will continue to monitor and update the qualifying salary based on local wage trends to maintain a level playing field for locals. As with past announcements, MOM will also continue to ensure sufficient time for employers to adjust where there are revisions.