You have found a work in Singapore; your talents were decently appreciated, and you are daydreaming about starting a new life in Singapore… But here is the first obstacle on the way to your dream: Employment Pass rejection. Naturally, you have feelings of mixed annoyance and fear. What if rejection means the end? You try to find a reason behind rejection of Employment Pass and desperately look for what to do next.
We usually warn our foreigner clients about the danger of rush applications because ill-conceived strategy can lead to EP rejection. Every detail must be diligently checked and put in correspondence with MOM’s stringent requirements. But even if you failed, you still can appeal your rejected EP and grasp what you want. But this time you don’t have a right for mistake. It’s time for consideration and analysis. What have you (or your hiring company) done wrong that resulted in rejected employment pass in Singapore? In this blog we’ll equip you with smart hints about what you should do (and what you shouldn’t do) and figure out what potential reasons could hide behind rejections.
Singapore Ministry of Manpower is generous for refusals: nowadays Employment pass rejection is more a rule rather than exception. It can be explained by the course for protecting local labour force the Singaporean government sticks. The local Singaporeans were disheartened by seeing how foreign competitors rushed in and grasped what belonged to them – their jobs. Since 2014, new rules of hiring foreigners have been working. They bound local companies to consider the natives fairly for the jobs and complicated the EP application process by new more stringent requirements.
Let us suppose, you got a letter from the MOM informing that your Employment Pass was rejected for you are “not eligible for this post.” Your first question is: “How to rectify it?” the MOM usually explains the reason of failure in the letter. They also may give recommendations how to succeed next time. You should treat these words very carefully and follow MOM’s advisory. You have to work on the issue and appeal with new information. You are given 3 months to appeal (reapply EP Singapore after it was rejected). The authorities warn seriously: if you don’t provide new data about your case when appealing, don’t expect any change in the decision. Let’s look into reasons why you could get your Employment Pass rejected in Singapore.
Reasons for EP Rejection Can Be:
- You apply for Employment Pass on your own behalf. This isn’t allowed for this kind of work visa which belongs to “sponsored” ones. Only an employer that is ready to hire you or specialised visa agency can apply for EP for you. Your “own” application won’t “work.”
- The ratio of your salary, designation, education and skills seemed suspicious for the MOM. No hints about your or your employer’s ill-will, just MOM’s sensible calculation. For example, $3,600 is a minimum salary that allows you to qualify, but it will work only if you are a graduate educated in respectable university and you possess minimum work experience and skills valuable for Singapore. If you are older, you must be more qualified and experienced, and therefore you must earn more Singaporean dollars.
- The government believes your skills and expertise aren’t unique and valuable enough for Singapore. If they suppose that the job that was offered you can be done by a typical local professional, you can get your Singapore EP rejected. How your skills were represented in your application profile means a lot. It’s better to entrust your EP appeal to visa professionals who will work on better representation of your experience from the point of view of Singaporean business.
- Your employer showed discriminatory HR practises in the past (or shows them now). If your boss hires few (or no) local workers, it means he doesn’t contribute to local employment. This is one of the reasons why your EP got rejected.
- You can be rejected because of your health problems. If you are infected with HIV or suffer (was suffering) from AIDS or tuberculosis, you might get your EP rejected.
Avoid the following when doing an appeal against your rejection:
- Making an Appeal without new or additional support information. For Ministry Of Manpower, it’s a signal that you don’t take their words seriously. It can lead to one more rejection, but what is more dangerous: the more rejections your case gets, the more you spoil your immigration history. This can eventually ruin your chance totally.
- Bombarding MOM with desperate appeals. Do not think they will eventually give in to your demands, having your EP appealed numerous times will lead to more rejections in the future.
- Do not constantly call in to check on your application’s status during the appeal.
What You Should Do when submitting an appeal:
- Carefully review the rejection reason(s) and based on the rejection reason(s), prepare only the required information needed by the MOM;
- If you are not sure about the rejection reason(s) or not confident whether you are doing the Right thing, always seek the help of a trained Immigration Consultant as they can help yo review your case carefully and prepare value-add documents to improve your success rate.
Let visa agency submit your appeal and represent your case at the authorities. They know all angles of visa processing diplomacy and can lead your case to success within minimum time and at maximum chance.