A dependant pass (DP) is a pass for spouse and children of work pass holders (Employment Pass (EP), S Pass, PEP etc.) to relocate and live in Singapore together. Previously, they are also given the opportunity to work in Singapore via Letter of Consent (LOC). This automatically gives them the opportunity to also start up their own business without the need to be an Employment Pass holder.
However, those are no longer valid effective from 1st May, 2021. in order for DP or LOC holders to continue working in Singapore, the need to obtain work passes such as Employment Pass or S Pass.
A dependant pass holder is given two specific options if they plan to start a business in Singapore:
Incorporate a Company and apply an employment pass to be the sole owner of said Company [Highly recommended solution]
- Incorporate a Company and become a sole proprietor or partner or one of the directors who holds at least 30% of shares within the Company. The Company must also have at least one Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) employee who earns SGD$1,400 with CPF contribution for the next 3 months
These recent changes signify MOM’s ongoing commitment to continue promoting the development of a strong Singaporean workforce as part of its Fair Consideration Framework.
You may request for your employer to apply a suitable work pass for you or, you may obtain your own Employment Pass by setting up your own company. This way, you will be considered business owner as well as an employee of your own Company.
Benefits of setting up your own company with an EP:
Form a contracting-type relationship with your employer,
Provide your services to more clients and
- Do not need to seek for a new job again.
I am an existing Letter of Consent (LOC) holder, how do I retain my LOC for as long as I can?
For those who are already a LOC holder, running your own business in Singapore does not necessarily mean you would need to acquire an Employment Pass (EP) for them to continue running your business.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has specific conditions for LOC – as a DP holder, you are to oblige if you wish to continue running your business without applying for Employment Pass (EP). The two conditions are:
A sole proprietor/partner/one of the Director of an ACRA registered Company with at least 30% of shares within the Company
The Company has at least one local Singapore or PR employee earning at least SGD$ 1,400 with CPF contribution for the recent 3 months
Example:
Angela is a dependant pass holder with a Letter of Consent attached. For the past 2 years, she has opened a hair salon Company based in Singapore. She is one of the directors as well as own 30% of shares within the Company.
In order for her to maintain holding a Letter of Consent, she must ensure the Company also hires local employee with a salary of at least SGD$1,400. Once the Company has contributed the CPF contribution for the local employee for at least 3 months, Angela may proceed to apply subsequent renewal of her LOC with MOM.
Steps to apply Letter of Consent for DP holders:
- Employer or appointed third party agent is able to submit an online request to apply the LOC on behalf of the dependant pass holder. This submission is for both new application as well as renewal application.
- Once application is made, MOM will need at least 1 week to assess the application made before an outcome is furnished via email to requester.
- If the online request is approved by MOM, the requester is now allowed to proceed with putting in a new LOC application / renewal LOC application via EP Online.
- Once application is submitted via EP Online, MOM will need another 1 to 3 weeks to assess the application made.
- Once approved, the requester may retrieve the LOC confirmation letter via EP Online and the candidate can start working immediately after that.
Isn’t applying Employment Pass difficult?
Traditionally, DP holders opted for LOC instead of Employment Pass because of the rigid requirements and they are unable to furnish most of the potential documentation needed to support the application.
If you have an existing business
If your business has been operational for a few months to a year while you were on LOC, you definitely have the chance to boost for an EP approval. As an active company, you would be able to provide these:
- Tax filing records with IRAS
- Annual return filing records with ACRA
- Proof of invoice issued to clients
- Proof of payments made into company bank account
MOM can track the Company records such as tax filing and annual return filing via ACRA and IRAS directly. Then, since your Company has managed to secure and maintain contracts with your clients throughout the years, it will be a piece of cake to furnish them the proof of documentations needed.
If you wish to start your own new business
DP holders in Singapore who wish to start a new business have two prominent advantages in applying for an EP:
- Physical presence in Singapore allows you to search for business opportunities or clients easier
- Easily open a company bank account to inject paid up capital
Having had 13 years of experience helping foreign entrepreneurs obtain EPs in Singapore, we consolidated all our insights in our comprehensive articles. Check out our article on Employment Passes in Singapore.
Where do I start?
In Paul Hype Page, we submit all Employment Pass applications electronically to Ministry of Manpower by our authorized in-house Employment agency. You may take a look at the Employment Pass Requirements to get the gist of it.
The standard timeline needed for MOM to assess the initial application submitted will be 1 to 3 weeks. Some might take longer, depending on the case.
By engaging with Paul Hype Page, the workflow will be as below:
Step 1: Paul Hype Page incorporates your company. We will be your short-term nominee director. Note: To incorporate your company in Singapore, you need to fulfil the 1 local director requirement.
Step 2: Your Employment Pass application.
Step 3: Upon successful EP approval, you can now fulfil the local director requirement. We will step down from the Nominee Director position immediately.
Step 4: Your company is now ready for operations.
What are the documents needed?
There will be two scenarios on the documentations part.
Existing LOC holder with Active Company:
- Dependant pass (front and back) – Ensure still valid for at least 6 months
- Latest passport copy
- Latest Company ACRA bizfile
- Education certificate (If its not in English, kindly furnish the official translated copy together with the original copy)
- Membership card (if any)
- Contracts secured with clients – Ensure the duration and contract value is available
- Tenancy agreement
DP holder who wishes to incorporate a Company:
- Dependant pass (front and back) – Ensure still valid for at least 6 months
- Latest passport copy
- Latest Company ACRA bizfile
- Education certificate (If its not in English, kindly furnish the official translated copy together with the original copy)
- Membership card (if any)
- Business plan
- Letter of intents with potential clients
- Tenancy agreement
I am not a Degree holder, will I have the chance to hold an Employment Pass?
If you’re currently holding an LOC to operate your business, then yes, you definitely have the chance.
MOM will be most likely to request additional documents to support your Employment Pass application. By engaging with Paul Hype Page team, we will ensure that the documents requested by MOM are well prepared according to the guideline and ensure it covers the potential red flags to smoothen the EP process.
I have tried applying for an Employment Pass before and it was rejected. How will engaging Paul Hype Page make a difference?
MOM has tightened the requirements for Employment Passes and at the same time, decrease the quota for foreign expatriates.
That being said, Paul Hype Page has continuously been processing Employment Passes for clients, while maintaining high 85% success rates. This is largely contributed by our insight:
- We identify potential documents MOM would likely request
- Preparation of documents based on MOM guidelines (we know what they want to see)
- Our working templates for business plans etc. To help you along
- Customised tenancy agreements
- Funding solutions
Overall, our mission has always been to find solutions for our clients. If MOM were to reject the application, we will discuss with MOM to understand further on the reason behind it and prepare the expected documentations to boost up the approval chance.
FAQs
This is a new scheme (LTVP+) was recently introduced by the country’s Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority.
LTVP+ allows foreign spouses of Singapore nationals to stay a longer period and also to benefit from the healthcare services and employment opportunities (with LOC) in the country.
This is an official document issued by the Ministry of Manpower to the immediate family including step-child or a child with a disability of a valid E pass or S pass holder. This permit is meant for those individuals who wish to relocate their family members to Singapore. However, for this pass to be issued, you must meet certain conditions:
If you meet all the above requirements, you can secure a Long Term Visit Pass for the following members of your family:
- Common-law spouse
- Children with disability who are not married and are above the age of 21 years
- Single step-children if any and they must be under the age of 21 years
- Your parents, if you earn a fixed minimum monthly income of $12,000 (as of 1 January 2018)
For you to qualify for LOC you must meet the following conditions:
- You must hold a valid Dependant Pass valid for a minimum of three months
- You must have a job offer by an employer in Singapore
- You must be an immediate family member of an EP holder.
It is imperative to point out that your employment as an LOC holder depends on the employment status of your spouse. This means that if your marriage partner gets laid off or is relocated from Singapore, you will also lose your LOC status. However, if your employer can directly secure an EP for you, meaning that you will not depend on the status of the Employment Pass of your spouse, you will not lose your right to work in Singapore.
The requirements for an E pass are strict; through background checks will be done to ascertain your educational, professional and criminal backgrounds. This is done to ensure that your application meets all the laid down requirements and procedures. The processing time for a letter of consent takes approximately one week.
With a Letter of Consent, you can now work in Singapore.
(Note that LOC can not be a director of the company or own the company).
Should you decide to be your own boss, we will encourage you to setup your company and work with employment pass
You can apply for a Letter of Consent to work in Singapore if you are an eligible Dependant’s Pass holder, or an LTVP/LTVP+ holder who is the spouse or unmarried child of a Singaporean or permanent resident.
This is an official document (LOC) given by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to permit qualified Dependant Pass, Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or Long-Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) holders to look for employment.
However, if you want to start a business, you should apply for Employment Pass instead.
Dependant Pass (DP) is a permit that allows spouses and kids of individuals who possess an Employment Pass or SPass to join them in Singapore. Legally married partners and children who are under the age of 21 are allowed to apply for this permit. However, holders of the employment pass must be earning a minimum of S$6,000 per month (as of 1 January 2018) for them to bring their dependents into this country.
NOTE: If a member of your immediate family (spouse and children) is a holder of the Singapore S Pass, he or she will not qualify for a Dependant Permit (DP).
An individual with a DP is eligible for employment in any organization or industry in Singapore. The marriage partner of an individual with employment pass (EP) can get a Letter of Consent to work in Singapore.
Before you can be issued with a Dependant Pass, you must meet certain criteria:
We are newly created company by local resident, we would like add DP holder as a share holder , my Question is we have to get LOC before add DP as a share holder ? any other work pass require be a share holder ??
Hi Laks,
On a quick note, you don’t need to get LOC before adding DP as shareholder.
Please read our full reply in the forum link below to know more:
https://www.paulhypepage.com/forums/business-forums-singapore/do-we-have-to-get-loc-before-adding-dp-as-a-shareholder/
Feel free to interact with us in the forum if you need further clarification. We will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Paul
My wife who is DP holder is planning to do Threading / Waxing beauty service from home only for few of her friends and building ladies who are interested. Please advise if she need Letter of Consent for doing this as she is not doing this professionally. It will be occasionally only for ladies who will request her
Hi Mahesh,
In short, you don’t need a LOC to do threading business
Please read our full reply in the forum link below:
https://www.paulhypepage.com/forums/business-forums-singapore/can-a-dp-holder-start-their-own-business-in-singapore/#post-205
Feel free to interact with us in the forum if you need further clarification. We will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Paul
Hi, I am a DP pass Holder. Can I start online business of selling imported gift articles in Singapore?
Hi Sonia,
In short, we recommend you to get a LOC to start your online business.
Please read our full reply in the forum link below:
https://www.paulhypepage.com/forums/business-forums-singapore/can-a-dp-holder-start-online-business-in-singapore/#post-202
Feel free to interact with us in the forum if you need further clarification. We will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Paul
Can a DP holder sell home baked goods? Is there any additional step required
Hi Dihe,
Your question has been answered under our forum.
https://www.paulhypepage.com/forums/business-forums-singapore/can-dp-holder-sell-home-baked-goods/
Feel free to interact with us in the forum if you need further clarification. We will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Paul
Hi, can a DP holder sell home-cooked food online? Does this require LOC as well?
Hi Tahamina,
Your question has been answered under our forum.
https://www.paulhypepage.com/forums/business-forums-singapore/can-a-dp-holder-sell-home-cooked-food-online/
Feel free to interact with us in the forum if you need further clarification. We will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Paul
Could you please let me know, Is it allowed to start a beauty parlour business in Singapore with the help of DP. If Yes, May I know the procedure for it.
Hi Sulthan,
A DP holder is not allowed to work in Singapore. A DP holder needs to apply for LOC to work in Singapore.
Please contact us via Paul Hype Page to discuss further.
Thank you for your question.
Warm regards
Paul