EP Application Outsourcing Service

What this service is

This page describes a service, not the rules. If you want the rules, our Employment Pass guide sets out the qualifying salary by age, the COMPASS criteria, the documents and the process. What follows is what we do when an employer hands us an Employment Pass application, what it costs, and where the line sits between our work and yours.

Little Big Employment Agency Pte Ltd is licensed by the Ministry of Manpower under the Employment Agencies Act 1958, EA Licence 19C9790. The Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012 set out the categories of work pass that may be issued, the Employment Pass among them. An application may be submitted by the employing company itself or by an appointed agent acting for it. A candidate cannot apply for their own pass. We act as that appointed agent, most often for small and mid-sized companies with no in-house immigration specialist, for companies hiring in Singapore for the first time, and for HR teams that want the pass work off their desk.

The engagement end to end

A typical new Employment Pass engagement runs like this.

1. Eligibility read before anything is spent

We take the candidate’s date of birth, nationality, qualifications, work history and the fixed monthly salary you intend to pay, together with your company’s sector and headcount profile. We check the salary against the applicable floor for the candidate’s age and run the COMPASS position, including the two criteria that score your company rather than the candidate. We then give you a plain read: likely, needs adjustment, or unlikely as it stands. If it is unlikely, we say so before you pay a fee.

2. Advertising strategy

We confirm whether the role must be advertised on MyCareersFuture or whether an exemption applies. If it must be advertised, we agree the occupation title, salary range and vacancy count with you, draft copy that matches what will go into the application, and track the 14 consecutive days. Our Fair Consideration Framework guide covers this in depth, because it is where applications most often come apart.

3. Document collection and checking

We send the candidate and your HR contact a single itemised list rather than a stream of requests. We then check what comes back: passport validity, whether the qualification will need verification, whether the CV dates reconcile with the references, whether translations are needed, and whether the offer letter’s fixed salary matches the figure we are about to declare. Inconsistency between documents is the most common avoidable problem and it is cheaper to fix before filing.

4. Pre-submission confirmation

Before we file, you receive a summary of every declared figure and field, and you confirm it in writing. The declarations in an Employment Pass application are made by the employer, and we will not file figures you have not seen.

5. Filing and management

We file in EP eService, pay the MOM application fee, and manage the file from there, including any queries or requests for additional documents. You hear from us when something needs a decision from you, not every time a status changes.

6. In-Principle Approval to issuance

An approved application produces an In-Principle Approval letter. We coordinate the candidate’s entry, request issuance, arrange fingerprint and photo registration where required, and confirm when the card has been delivered. We also tell the candidate, plainly, that an In-Principle Approval is not permission to work and that employment may only begin once the pass has been issued.

7. Handover

At the close we give you the case file: the advertisement record and posting reference, the declared figures, the approval, the pass details and the expiry date. If you want that expiry date watched and the renewal driven, that is our work pass administration service.

What stays with you, what we handle

The employment decision is yours. Whom to hire, what to pay, what the job is, what the contract says, whether to proceed at all. We will tell you when a salary is below the floor or when a job title will read badly against the duties described, but we do not set your terms and we will not invent a job description that the role does not match.

The declarations are made in your name. We prepare them, we check them, we ask you the questions that surface the facts, and you confirm them before filing. An employment agency cannot relieve an employer of its own declaration.

Everything procedural is ours. The assessment work, the advertisement drafting and timing, the document chase, the filing, the fee payment, the correspondence with MOM, the issuance sequence and the appeal if there is one.

Why use a licensed employment agency rather than doing it in house

There are three honest reasons, and one that is not a reason.

The first is time. A first Employment Pass application done carefully by someone who has not done one before takes a working week of scattered effort. The second and third go faster, but not much, because the rules move. The qualifying salary changes. The COMPASS C1 benchmarks are refreshed annually on a different clock from the salary floor. The Shortage Occupation List is revised. Someone has to keep up with that, and in most companies nobody is paid to.

The second is pattern recognition. We see the same failures repeatedly: a salary range on the advertisement that is too broad, an occupation code that does not match the duties, a qualification relied on for points that will not survive verification, a company whose nationality concentration has drifted since the last approval. Those are cheap to catch in advance and expensive to discover in a rejection advisory.

The third is that a licensed employment agency is regulated in how it does this work. Employment agencies are expected to uphold the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Consideration Framework when they undertake work for clients, which is a reason to prefer a licensed agency over an unlicensed consultant.

The reason that is not a reason: nobody has an inside track. Applications are assessed by MOM on the material submitted. An agency improves the material and the sequencing. It does not improve your odds by being an agency.

The compliance exposure an employer carries

Work pass applications sit under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 and the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012. The obligations run to the employer, not to whoever filled in the form. Two consequences matter commercially: debarment, and prosecution.

MOM raised the administrative penalties for discrimination cases from January 2020. The minimum period of work pass debarment is 12 months, and for more egregious cases up to 24 months, and it covers renewals as well as new applications. MOM’s own illustration is worth reading twice: because most work passes run two to three years, a 12-month debarment means one third to half of a firm’s passes cannot be renewed, and a 24-month debarment can mean none of them can be renewed and no new foreign employees can be hired. For a company whose delivery team is largely on passes, that is an operating issue rather than a compliance one.

Separately, MOM will prosecute employers or key personnel who make false declarations that they have considered all candidates fairly. Conviction for false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act carries imprisonment of up to 2 years, a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.

Outsourcing does not transfer that exposure. What it does is reduce the chance of the underlying mistake, and give you a documented file if you are asked to explain a hiring decision.

Fees, and what they include

Table 1. Our published fees and the MOM fees that sit alongside them

Item	Amount	Notes
New EP application, our fee	S$1,400	Includes the MOM application and issuance fees, and one appeal if the application is rejected
EP renewal, our fee	S$200	Excludes MOM fees such as the issuance fee
MOM application fee	S$105	Payable on submission
MOM issuance fee	S$225 per pass	Payable on issuance, new applications and renewals
Multiple Journey Visa	S$30 each	Where the nationality requires it
Qualification verification	At cost	Charged by the verification provider, where MOM requires it
Certified translation	At cost	For documents not in English

The point of the S$1,400 figure is that it is one number. It absorbs the MOM application fee, the MOM issuance fee and one appeal. We did that deliberately, because a fee that excludes the appeal creates an incentive we do not want: it pays the agency to file an application it knows is weak. What sits outside the fee is the small set of costs we cannot control: third party qualification verification where MOM asks for it, certified translations, and MOM’s card replacement charges if a card is later lost or damaged.

Turnaround expectations

Table 2. Realistic timeline for a new application

Stage	Typical duration	Who drives it
Eligibility read	1 to 2 business days from receiving the facts	Us
MyCareersFuture advertising	14 consecutive days minimum, unless exempt	Us, with your confirmation of the role details
Document collection	Usually the constraint. Days to weeks	Candidate and your HR contact
Pre-submission confirmation	Same day once documents are complete	You
Filing	Same day as your confirmation	Us
MOM outcome	Most applications within 10 business days	MOM
Issuance and card	Days, once the candidate is in Singapore	Us and the candidate

Two things determine how long a case takes, and neither is the filing. The advertising window, which cannot be compressed, and the candidate’s documents, which arrive slower than anyone plans for. An employer who starts the advertisement on the day the offer is accepted, and pushes the candidate on documents in that same fortnight, will usually have a pass in hand about a month later.

What happens if the application is rejected

An appeal may be lodged within three months of the rejection, and only the employer or the authorised third party that submitted the original application may lodge it. MOM will not deal with the candidate directly. Our fee for a new application includes one appeal.

What we will not do is submit an appeal that restates the original application. The rejection advisory indicates where the application fell short, and an appeal has to answer that specifically: a salary raised above the applicable floor, a qualification properly verified, a changed nationality mix in the firm, an advertisement corrected and rerun. Where the underlying problem cannot be fixed within the appeal window, we will tell you that a fresh application later, with the facts genuinely changed, is the better use of the money.

Volume and multi-pass arrangements

Where one advertisement covers several hires of the same role, the total number of applications cannot exceed the number of vacancies stated in the advertisement. That rule gets broken often, usually by an employer who advertised one vacancy, liked two candidates and filed twice. We plan the vacancy count before the advertisement goes up.

For employers running a hiring intake, we work to a schedule: a single advertising wave where the roles are genuinely the same, a batched document chase, and staged filings so the approvals land in the order your onboarding can absorb. Fees for volume arrangements are agreed in advance against a projected annual number rather than per case.

If the volume is high enough that you are effectively running a small pass function, the more sensible arrangement is usually our work pass administration outsourcing, which covers the renewals, cancellations and MOM notifications as well as the applications.

How onboarding works

We do not need a long engagement process to start a single application. First, a short email with the role, the candidate’s date of birth and nationality, the intended fixed monthly salary, and your company’s approximate headcount and sector. That is enough for the eligibility read. Second, our engagement letter and fee confirmation, and the MOM declaration form for your authorised signatory, because an employer appoints the employment agency to transact on its behalf and that appointment is on the record. Third, the document request goes to you and the candidate at the same time, as one list. Fourth, the advertising sequence starts as soon as the role details are settled, usually before the documents are complete. Running those two in parallel is where most of the calendar time is saved.

For a foreign group that has no Singapore entity yet, the sequence is incorporation first and then the pass, because there has to be an employer to sponsor the application. Our affiliate Raffles Corporate Services handles incorporation and the resident director requirement, and we pick the pass up from there.

In-house versus agency

Table 3. Handling Employment Pass applications in house compared with using a licensed agency

Consideration	In house	Licensed employment agency
Direct cost per application	MOM fees only, plus internal time	S$1,400 including MOM fees and one appeal
Internal time	Typically several days spread across a month, more on a first case	Your time is the eligibility conversation, the document chase on your side, and one written confirmation
Keeping up with rule changes	Someone has to read MOM’s updates and act on them	Part of what you are paying for
Advertising compliance	Common failure point, particularly the salary range and occupation match	Drafted to match the application, timed and evidenced
Consistency across documents	Checked only if someone thinks to check	Reconciled before filing as a standard step
Appeal handling	Additional internal effort at the worst moment	One appeal included in the fee
Who carries the statutory obligation	The employer	The employer, unchanged
Audit trail if questioned later	Depends on what the individual kept	A file per case, held and retrievable
Suits	Companies with a settled in-house specialist and steady volume	Companies without one, first-time hirers, and teams who want the work off their desk

What we do not promise

MOM decides every Employment Pass application. We do not promise approval, we do not quote approval rates, and we do not offer any form of guarantee. Any agency that does is telling you something it cannot know.

We do not promise a timeline that depends on MOM. We can tell you that MOM processes most online applications, or provides an update, within 10 business days. We cannot commit to it on your behalf.

We do not write job descriptions to fit a shortage occupation the candidate does not actually perform, restate a salary we have not seen in the offer letter, or advertise a role the company has already decided not to consider locals for. Those are the shortcuts that produce debarment.

We do not give legal advice. Where a matter needs it, we refer it to an independent Singapore law firm under a separate engagement.

Frequently asked questions

How much does your Employment Pass application service cost?

S$1,400 for a new application. That figure includes the MOM application fee of S$105, the MOM issuance fee of S$225, and one appeal if the application is rejected. Renewals are S$200 excluding MOM fees.

Can we appoint you if we have already started the application ourselves?

Usually yes. Tell us what has been done, particularly whether an advertisement is already running and what occupation and salary range it states, because that determines whether we can use it or have to start the 14 days again.

How long does the whole process take?

Plan on about a month from a standing start where advertising is required. Fourteen consecutive days of advertising, then filing, then most MOM outcomes within 10 business days, then issuance. Candidate documents are usually what moves that date.

What happens if MOM rejects the application?

We review the rejection advisory with you and, where there is something substantive to answer, we lodge one appeal within the three month window at no further fee. Where the problem cannot be fixed, we will say so rather than file an appeal for the sake of it.

Do you handle renewals as well?

Yes, at S$200 excluding MOM fees. If you want the renewal dates tracked and driven rather than handled when you remember them, that sits in our work pass administration service.

Can you sponsor a pass for us?

No. An Employment Pass is tied to the employing company. We act as your appointed agent, not as the employer. Any arrangement where an agency holds the pass for a worker placed with you is not something we offer.

We are a foreign company with no Singapore entity. Can you still help?

There has to be an employer. In most cases the sequence is to incorporate first and then apply, and our affiliate Raffles Corporate Services handles the incorporation. There is also EP (Sponsorship) for overseas companies using a Singapore-based sponsor, which we can assess for you.

Do you charge the candidate anything?

No. Our fee is charged to the employer. We do not take a fee from the pass holder for an employer-sponsored application.

Will you tell us if you think the application will fail?

Yes, before you engage us. That is the point of the eligibility read. We would rather tell you that a salary is S$400 short of the floor than take a fee and file it.

What do you need from us to start?

The role, the candidate’s date of birth and nationality, the intended fixed monthly salary, and your company’s sector and rough headcount. That is enough for an honest first read.

Do you handle S Pass, Work Permit and Dependant’s Pass applications too?

Yes, on the same basis and quoted separately. This page covers the Employment Pass because it is the most frequently outsourced.

How we can help

Little Big Employment Agency Pte Ltd is an employment agency licensed by the Ministry of Manpower, EA Licence 19C9790. We prepare and file Employment Pass applications for Singapore employers, and we handle renewals, appeals and cancellations.

Enquire about an application

Send us the role, the candidate’s date of birth and nationality, and the fixed monthly salary you intend to pay. We will come back with an honest read on whether it is likely to be approved as it stands, what would need to change if not, and a fixed fee. There is no charge for that first assessment.

Talk to our team about an Employment Pass application. If you want the underlying rules first, read our Employment Pass guide and our Fair Consideration Framework guide.

Official sources

• MOM: Apply for an Employment Pass
• MOM: Employment Pass eligibility and COMPASS
• MOM: Consider all candidates fairly before you apply for an Employment Pass
• MOM: Fair Consideration Framework
• MOM: Appeal against a rejected application
• MOM: Renew an Employment Pass
• Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990
• Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012
• Employment Agencies Act 1958

Figures checked against MOM guidance on 15 September 2026. Eligibility and approval depend on the individual application, and the Ministry of Manpower decides every case. This page is general information and not legal advice. See our legal and referral information.