If you hold a Dependant’s Pass or a Long-Term Visit Pass and want to work — or keep running a business — in Singapore, the rules around the Letter of Consent Singapore framework changed materially in May 2021 and are tightening again in 2026. Many family members of Employment Pass and S Pass holders still arrive in Singapore expecting to slot into a job through a quick LOC, only to discover the door has been narrowed.
This guide sets out, as at 28 April 2026, exactly who can still rely on a Letter of Consent, who must instead obtain a full Employment Pass or S Pass, and what the upcoming 1 July 2026 Local Qualifying Salary increase means for the dwindling group of DP holders who run their own businesses on an LOC. The aim is operational clarity: enough detail for a family or employer to know which pass to file, before the application is keyed into MOM’s EP Online or ICA’s e-Service.
For background on the underlying family-pass framework, our companion piece on Dependant’s Pass and LTVP Singapore 2026 covers eligibility for the parent pass itself.
What is a Letter of Consent Singapore? A 2026 Definition
A Letter of Consent (LOC) is a permission granted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or, for some categories, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), allowing the holder of a long-term pass — most commonly a Dependant’s Pass (DP), Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or LTVP+ — to engage in employment without having to obtain a separate Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit.
The key feature: an LOC is tethered to the main pass. If the DP, LTVP or LTVP+ expires or is cancelled, the LOC falls with it. The LOC is also exempt from foreign-worker quotas and levies, which historically made it an attractive workaround for employers hiring spouses of Employment Pass holders. That attraction is exactly why the framework was tightened from 1 May 2021.
The 1 May 2021 Rule Change Every Family Should Understand
From 1 May 2021, DP holders are no longer permitted to take up employment under an LOC. Per MOM’s policy update, every DP holder seeking employment must apply for and qualify under a regular work pass — Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit — in the same way as any other foreign hire. The qualifying salary, COMPASS scoring (for EP), sectoral quotas and levies (for S Pass and WP) all apply.
Two operational consequences follow:
First, employers hiring a DP holder must comply with the Fair Consideration Framework job-advertising requirement on MyCareersFuture, which was historically waived for LOC hires. This adds a minimum 14-day public posting before any EP application can be lodged.
Second, the salary thresholds bite. A DP-holding spouse who previously earned S$3,500 a month on an LOC may not qualify for an EP at all under the 2026 thresholds (S$5,600 minimum for non-financial sectors, S$6,200 for financial services), and may need to be re-slotted into an S Pass. For more on EP qualifying salaries, see our Complete Singapore Employment Pass Guide 2026.
Who Can Still Get an LOC in 2026
Despite the 2021 rule change, two categories of long-term pass holder remain eligible for a Letter of Consent in 2026.
Category 1: LTVP and LTVP+ holders who are spouses or unmarried children of Singapore citizens or PRs
Per MOM, an LTVP or LTVP+ holder who is the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of a Singapore citizen (SC) or Permanent Resident (PR) can apply for an LOC to take up employment. The application is sponsored by the prospective employer. Notably, the LTVP-holder LOC is the most flexible category: it is not tied to qualification or salary thresholds, does not count towards foreign-worker quotas, and is generally renewable along with the LTVP itself.
For LTVP+ holders, the LOC is normally co-terminus with the underlying pass (typically valid for up to three years on first issuance and up to five years on renewal).
Category 2: DP-holder business owners with at least 30% shareholding
The narrow exception for DP holders kept open in May 2021 is for those running their own business. A DP holder may continue to apply for or renew an LOC where:
- the DP holder is a sole proprietor, partner, or company director with at least 30% shareholding in the business; and
- the business has hired at least one Singaporean Citizen or PR earning at least the prevailing Local Qualifying Salary (LQS), with CPF contributions for at least three months.
From 1 July 2026, the Local Qualifying Salary increases from S$1,600 to S$1,800 per month (or S$10.50 per hour for part-time work). Any DP-business-owner LOC up for renewal in the second half of 2026 will need to demonstrate that the local hire is paid at the new S$1,800 floor — not the old S$1,600. Renewal applications submitted on or after 1 July 2026 with a local employee earning, say, S$1,650 will be refused.
This is a deceptively important compliance point: DP-owner businesses that have been comfortably at the old LQS need to budget for the increase now, not at renewal. Our guide on salary threshold changes lays out the same logic for S Pass employers.
Letter of Consent Application: The Process Step by Step
The LOC application route depends on which category applies.
For LTVP/LTVP+ holders (spouse or child of SC/PR)
The prospective employer applies through MOM’s Letter of Consent for ICA-issued LTVP holders e-Service. Documents required include the employment offer letter, a copy of the LTVP card, and the sponsoring spouse’s Singapore IC or PR card. Processing is typically within seven working days for straightforward cases.
For DP-business-owner LOCs
The DP holder applies through MOM’s e-Service for their own LOC, supported by ACRA’s BizFile+ records of shareholding (≥30%), the latest CPF contribution records evidencing at least one local employee at the prevailing LQS for three months, and a directors’ resolution where the DP holder is appointed as a director.
If the DP holder is incorporating the company specifically to obtain an LOC, the operational sequencing matters: incorporate, hire the local, run three months of CPF, then apply. Our sister site Raffles Corporate Services handles the incorporation and ongoing accounting/CPF work that the LOC application will be tested against.
Renewal Discipline: Why LOCs Lapse Quietly
The most common compliance failure in our caseload is not a rejected LOC — it is a lapsed one. Three reasons recur.
First, the underlying DP, LTVP or LTVP+ is not renewed in time, and the LOC dies with it. Per ICA, LTVP renewal must be filed at least one month before expiry; for DP, MOM allows renewal up to six months ahead.
Second, the local-hire CPF contributions stop, often because the employee resigns and the business does not replace them within a reasonable window. The LOC is reviewed at renewal, and gaps are flagged.
Third, the shareholding drops below 30% through new investor entry, dilution, or share transfer. This is silently disqualifying — the DP holder may not realise until renewal that the LOC basis has evaporated.
Routine compliance reviews — a quick quarterly check of the company’s BizFile+ shareholder snapshot, CPF submissions and pass expiry dates — catch all three.
Common Scenarios in 2026
Scenario A — DP-holding spouse offered a corporate role. The spouse cannot accept the role on the LOC; the employer must apply for an EP or S Pass. If the offered salary is S$5,600+ (S$6,200 in financial services), the EP route is the right one — and COMPASS will apply. See our guide to scoring COMPASS points.
Scenario B — DP-holding spouse wants to start a small consultancy. She incorporates a Singapore Pte Ltd, takes 100% shareholding, hires a local employee at S$1,800+ per month, runs three months of CPF contributions, then applies for an LOC as a director. This pathway is open in 2026 — but with the LQS increase in mind.
Scenario C — LTVP-holder spouse of a Singapore PR. The LOC remains the cleanest route. No salary threshold, no quota, no levy. The LTVP itself is the gating constraint, not the work pass.
Scenario D — LTVP-holder parent of an EP holder. Note the limit: parents of EP holders receive an LTVP but are not automatically eligible for an LOC. Most LTVPs issued to parents of EP holders do not carry employment rights, and any work would require a separate work pass.
What This Means for Employers
Three practical points for HR teams hiring DP or LTVP-attached candidates.
One: do not rely on the candidate’s self-assessment of their LOC eligibility. Verify the underlying pass type yourself — DP, LTVP, or LTVP+. The work-rights position differs substantially.
Two: build the FCF advertising requirement into your offer timeline. A 14-day MyCareersFuture posting is required for any EP or S Pass application now that LOC is no longer the route for DP holders. Review our MOM compliance calendar for the full annual cadence.
Three: never let an employee start work before the LOC, EP or S Pass is in-principle approved. Per MOM, doing so is illegal employment, and penalties under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act are severe — fines of up to S$30,000 and prosecution of company directors.
Conclusion
The Letter of Consent is no longer the catch-all backdoor it once was. For DP holders, the door is mostly closed; the EP, S Pass or Work Permit route is the default. For LTVP and LTVP+ holders attached to a Singaporean or PR family member, the LOC remains a flexible and practical route to employment. For DP-business owners, the LOC continues to work — but the 1 July 2026 Local Qualifying Salary rise to S$1,800 needs to be planned for now, not at renewal.
If you are a family member contemplating work in Singapore, an EP holder whose spouse has just received a job offer, or a business owner running on a DP-LOC and wondering how the LQS increase affects you, our team at Singapore Employment Agency (the consumer brand of Little Big Employment Agency Pte Ltd, MOM Licence 19C9790) can assess the right pass route and handle the application end-to-end. Where the case involves company incorporation, accounting or local-hire payroll set-up, we coordinate directly with our sister firm Raffles Corporate Services.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency