Having received many repeated questions related to the topics of jobs for foreigners in Singapore as well as part time jobs for foreign student studying in Singapore, we compiled this quick reference foreign employment FAQ guide.
Please note that we have referenced to the sources that we use to compile this FAQ guide and we highly encourage you to refer to our sources for more detailed and updated information on foreign employment and jobs in Singapore.
Finding jobs for foreigners in Singapore
Due to the lower birth rate and shortage of professionals/ workers in certain job sectors in Singapore, many Singapore companies are hiring foreigners to supplement their workforce.
For a foreigner to work in Singapore, he/ she would be required to have a valid work pass/ work permit. In order to receive a valid work permit/ work pass, the hiring company will have to submit the application with all relevant supporting documents to the appropriate SIngapore government ministry for approval.
Therefore a good start as a foreigner looking for jobs in Singapore would be to visit online full time job portals/ job boards or directly visiting career pages of the companies that you might be interested to work for.
The typical process would be that after your job application and rounds of interview with the hiring company is successful, the human resource (hr) department would then proceed to make the application for your work permit/ work pass.
Please note that you would only be able to start your job in Singapore once your work permit is approved.
Please refer to the source website For more details on the different types of work passes and work permits.
Can foreigners work part time jobs in Singapore
Foreigners cannot work part time jobs in Singapore. That is why if you notice, most part time job advertisements would indicated that they are only looking for Singapore Permanent Residents or Singaporeans.
Can foreign students work in Singapore
Foreign students in Singapore are not allowed to work in Singapore during vacation time or term time unless granted work pass exemption under the Employment of foreign Manpower (Work Pass Exceptions) Notifications. Please refer to the source for more details and updated information.
However. foreign students on vacation are able to work in Singapore without the requirement of a work pass should the foreign student be a registered student or full-time matriculated student in one of the institutions as stated by the Ministry of Manpower and the foreign student is of the age registration or above (as stated by the ministry of manpower) and is on vacation.
It should be noted that there will no longer be exceptions from work pass requirements for foreign students in the Ministry of Manpower listed schools/ institutions once they have completed their studies and their student pass expires.
Please refer to the source website for more information on employment of foreign students.
Can foreign students work part time in Singapore
Foreign students are able to work part time in Singapore without the requirement of a work pass should the foreign student be a registered student or full-time matriculated student in one of the institutions as stated by the ministry of manpower and the foreign student works within the maximum hours a work restrictions as stated by the ministry of manpower or is undergoing a compulsory or elective industrial attachment programme conducted by his/her university or educational institution.
Please refer to the source website for more information on employment of foreign students.