Some 2,600 Employment Passes not renewed in first half of this year

Responding to Nominated MP R Dhinakaran, Mr Tan said slightly more than half of the EPs that were not renewed were from the lowest tier, or Q1 pass holders.

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Here is the transript of the speech in Parliament:

Oral Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Non-Renewal of Employment Passes in the First Half of 2013

Notice Paper No. 275 of 2013 For The 3rd Available Sitting
Question No. 1335 For Oral Answer

MP: Mr R Dhinakaran

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many foreign employment passes are not renewed in the first half of this year; and (b) what is the breakdown in terms of the type of employment pass and which are the industries/professions that the employment pass holders belong to.

Answer:

In the first half of 2013, about 2,600 Employment Passes have not been renewed, of which slightly more than half were Q1 Pass holders. The top industries for these EP holders were Wholesale and Retail Trade, Professional Services and Information and Communications. This is likely due to the tightening of the EP qualifying criteria implemented in Jan 2012, as part of the government's effort to raise the quality profile of foreign professionals working here.