Working in Singapore: one employer, no side job, and the week in which your pass lapses

Working in Singapore means working for one employer, and MOM says so without detour: a pass holder works only for their own employer and may not take a side job or earn income in any other way. So no freelance gig next to your job, no sole proprietorship, no web shop. Owning shares is allowed. The contract is otherwise free: there is no minimum wage, and the labour law protects professionals only partly. The trap is at the end: if you resign, your pass lapses within a week of your last day, and with it your family's. Which pass you need is in the visa routes.

What is in a Singapore contract?

Less than you are used to, because the law prescribes less. The Employment Act covers, according to MOM, all employees with a contract of service, local and foreign, but Part 4, on working hours, rest days and overtime, applies only to those who are not a manager or executive and earn at most S$ 2,600 basic salary. An Employment Pass holder is almost always above that: working hours and overtime are therefore in your contract, or nowhere.

Topic	What MOM prescribes
Minimum wage	does not exist; pay is negotiation
Payment	at least once a month, within 7 days after the salary period
Notice period without an agreement in the contract	1 day up to 26 weeks of service, 1 week up to 2 years, 2 weeks up to 5 years, 4 weeks after that
Notice	in writing; buying out with pay over the period is allowed
Final pay when resigning with notice	on the last working day
Advertising the vacancy before an EP application	14 days on MyCareersFuture, unless fewer than 10 employees or salary from S$ 22,500

What is not in it is pension. The CPF, Singapore's savings system, has mandatory contributions only for citizens and permanent residents. Your employer contributes nothing for you, and what you lost in the Netherlands to pension premiums is yours here; see AOW, pension and tax. Medical insurance is also not an obligation with an Employment Pass; read healthcare in Singapore.

May your partner work?

Yes, but not just on the Dependant's Pass. An employer applies for your partner's own Employment Pass or S Pass, at the usual salary requirements, or a DP-Work Permit without a minimum salary but with a quota and levy for the employer. Whoever wants to start their own business applies for a Letter of Consent. Volunteer work without payment is always allowed. If your partner gets their own EP, the Dependant's Pass lapses and they are no longer dependent on your pass.

Can you change jobs?

Yes: the new employer applies for a new Employment Pass, and the old one does not need to be cancelled first. The application is assessed again against the salary threshold and COMPASS, so whoever has grown older since their first pass sits at a higher threshold. Whoever wants flexibility without a new application per job looks at the Personalised Employment Pass from S$ 22,500 a month; it still prohibits freelancing and your own business and must be handed in after six months without work.

Resigning is resigning your pass. Your employer must cancel the Employment Pass within a week of your last day, and with that pass all your family's passes lapse; they cannot be reinstated. You may no longer work afterwards, not even in the weeks you are still in Singapore. At the employer's request you get a visit pass of at most 90 days to find a new employer or to leave. So sign the new contract first, and have the new pass applied for before you resign the old one.

What happens to your final pay?

It stays with your employer for a while. On leaving Singapore, or on an absence of more than three months, your employer must according to IRAS apply for tax clearance with form IR21 at least one month ahead and withhold all money still owed to you: salary, leave days, bonuses. IRAS sends a directive within five to seven working days: either the employer transfers your tax debt, within ten days, or gets permission to release the withheld amount. MOM names a withholding of up to thirty days after the notification. So do not count your final month in your departure budget. How the pass and your FIN work at the start is in registration and numbers.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Singapore or go straight to step 2.1 in the open plan.