On 5 March 2018, the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore announced that it will be making several foreign workforce policy changes, to improve the quality and productivity of the foreign workforce.

Some of these include:

Increasing the minimum qualifying salary for S Pass applicants from SGD 2,200 to SGD 2,300 with effect from 1 January 2019 and to SGD 2,400 with effect from 1 January 2020. The rates are revised regularly to keep pace with rising local wages, maintain the quality of Singapore’s foreign workforce and to enhance their complementarity to the local workforce.

Extending the maximum period of employment for work permit holders from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the People’s Republic of China by four years, with effect from 1 May 2018. This extension is intended to encourage companies to retain their trained and experienced work permit holders, so as to raise overall workforce productivity.