An Employment Pass is required for foreign (i.e. non-Singaporean) professionals across all nationalities and citizenships who:
- Have a job offer in Singapore
- Work in a managerial, executive, or specialised job role
- Have acceptable qualifications (usually good university degree and above), professional qualifications, or specialised skills
- Earn a fixed monthly salary comparable to the top one-third of the local PMET workforce by age
As part of the Employment Pass application, and with effect from 01 September 2023, all employers must ensure that where an individual’s educational qualifications (diploma level and above) contribute to the application, such awards are authentic, and have also been issued by an accredited institution. Where an institution (university/professional accreditation body) is not pre-accredited by MOM, then an approved background screening provider (i.e. only those providers who are listed on the MOM website) must perform an accreditation check on the institution, as well as verifying the award.
With effect from 01 September 2023, Vero Screening are authorised by MOM to:
- Verify qualifications are legitimate and authentic; and
- Verify that the qualification has been issued by an accredited institution
The verification requirement for renewal of existing Employment Passes which were not previously assessed under COMPASS will be implemented from 01 September 2024.
Let’s get started
If you are an existing Client who requires accreditation and verification checks as part of Employment Pass, please contact your Client Relationship Manager.
Alternatively, if you do not currently use Vero Screening for employment screening services but wish for us to carry out verifications as part of an Employment Pass application, please register through our MOM pay as you go platform (coming soon).
FAQs
Can employers get an indicative outcome of a Candidate’s eligibility for a work pass application?
Employers are able to use the MOM Employment Pass/S Pass Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) to get an indicative outcome, including COMPASS scores for the Employment Pass. These assessments are based on salary, educational qualifications, and work experience. Please note that such indications do not guarantee the actual outcome of the application as additional criteria are considered by the MOM and will also not include the outcomes of the educational checks conducted by background screening companies.
What type of awards are relevant to, or count towards, an Employment Pass?
Degrees/awards equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s degree (and above) will count towards the Employment Pass.
Additionally, some professional qualifications may also count towards the Employment Pass (please see MOM list). If a professional qualification is declared on an Employment Pass application which does not appear on this MOM list (for professional qualifications), then it will not receive any points as part of the COMPASS assessment, but will nevertheless require verification.
As an individual, can I submit a request to complete an education verification on behalf of myself?
No, we currently only accept requests for education verification from employers.
If I have previously had my education verified as part of an Employment Pass application, will I need to subsequently have my education re-checked for future Employment Pass renewals?
The Ministry of Manpower have stated that a Candidates qualifications do not need to be rechecked as part of future Employment Pass renewals, if the qualifications have been verified before.
What information must be provided to perform these education verification checks?
Documentation: we require a copy of the individual’s passport, degree certificate/award, and if the name on the award is different from that on the passport, we also require evidence of the name change (e.g. deed poll document or marriage certificate etc).
Information: we also require the name and address of the institution (awarding body if applicable), faculty, award type, dates of attendance and date of award, and suitable contact details for the individual.
Will my personal data be shared, and if so, with whom?
Accreditation and verification checks are required by MOM as part of the Employment Pass application process. We are required to share your data with institutions and organisations that awarded your qualification, your prospective employer (who ordered the education verification), and also with MOM themselves (who require this information to properly assess the application and require us to retain this personal data for a minimum period set by MOM for audit purposes). In certain cases, we may also share your data with a supplier from our trusted network (that is subject to appropriate data protection contractual arrangements) to expedite or assist with the completion of an element of the education check. In all cases, only the minimum amount of personal data will be shared that is required to complete the checks.
Does Vero Screening determine whether an Employment Pass application is successful?
No. Vero Screening is not involved in determining the success of an application; this is the responsibility of MOM. Our role is simply to provide authenticity and accreditation checks in respect to the application.
How long will the process take?
Once an individual has submitted all required information on our portal, we’ll proceed as quickly as possible to seek accreditation and verify the award with the institution. Please note, turnaround times may vary depending on the responsiveness of the individual, the institution, whether additional steps need to be taken to verify the education, and if the employer requires additional checks to be conducted as part of the screening process.
Region Average Turnaround Time:
EMEA: 7 days
APAC: 8 days
AMER: 6 days
The turnaround times provided above are based on regional averages, specific to Employment Pass verifications and accreditation.
How much will the checks cost?
We charge a fixed rate of 112 SGD for a single qualification check*. This is inclusive of both the accreditation of the institution and verification of award. For each additional qualification check, an additional $80 SGD fee will apply.
*Where Universities charge for confirmation/verification of an individual’s award, or in cases where additional investigation is required to complete a check, additional fees may sometimes apply.
We are an existing Client, who can we talk to about this service?
For existing Vero Screening Clients, please speak to your Client Relationship Manager. However, if you are not an existing Client, please contact our Sales Team at intouch@veroscreening.com.
Can Vero Screening provide other types of background check?
As a global provider of background screening services, we offer a wide range of screening services helping our Clients make informed hiring decisions, wherever they are based. Should you be interested in additional checks or verifications, please contact our Sales Team.
Where can I find more information about work passes?
