Singapore has unveiled new work visa rules to lure talented foreigners into the country as it gears up to strengthen its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian financial hub added that it will begin in January 2023.
In a Reuters report, the measures have introduced a new five-year visa for individuals earning at least S$30,000 ($21,445.42) a month that grants holders to look for a job in various companies at a time and allows their significant others the eligibility to work.
Singapore had been a popular location for foreign firms to base their regional headquarters, and the country had strictly controlled its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to many expatriates leaving the country, causing the population to drop for the first time in almost twenty years.
“We cannot leave any room for investors to doubt or have questions as to whether Singapore remains open,” Tan See Leng, the city-state’s manpower minister, had stated in a news conference.
“As a country with little or no resources, talent is our only resource, and talent acquisition is an offensive strategy for us,” he added.
Amidst the other measures, some tech pros whose skills are in limited supply will as from September 2023, be eligible for five-year visas, an increase from the two- to three-year being issued currently. The processing time for employment passes which are usually granted to high-paid professionals will additionally be reduced to 10 days.
