- In the services sector, work permit holders can make up to 35% of your total workforce, and S Pass holders are capped at 10%.
- Every local employee earning at least $1,800 a month counts fully toward your quota; those earning $900 to $1,800 count as half.
- The S Pass levy is a flat $650 per month across all sectors and tiers, effective from 1 September 2025.
- Crossing a work permit levy tier raises the monthly rate for every worker in that band, not just the newest hire.
- Exceeding your quota gets new applications rejected and can bar you from hiring foreign workers for six months.
If you run a small business in Singapore, the work permit quota is the first number that decides whether you can make a foreign hire at all. It sets how many Work Permit and S Pass holders you can hold against your local headcount, and the figures moved again in 2026. Get it wrong, and MOM rejects the application, or makes you cancel a pass you have already promised someone.
Get it right, and you can plan every hire and its monthly levy before you make the offer. Good work pass application support starts with knowing your own ceiling.
Not sure how many foreign workers you can actually hold right now?
How many foreign workers can my Singapore company hire?
In the services sector, Work Permit holders can make up to 35% of your total workforce, and S Pass holders are capped at 10% of it (MOM, as at August 2026). The two caps stack rather than add: the S Pass sub-limit sits inside the wider Work Permit ceiling. The exact number depends on your sector and your local headcount, which MOM calculates for you in Work Permit Online.
Here is the quota for work permit and S Pass hires by sector.
| Sector | Work permit quota (DRC) | S Pass sub-cap |
|---|---|---|
| Services | 35% of your total workforce | 10% |
| Manufacturing | 60% of your total workforce | 15% |
| Construction | 5 work permit holders per local employee on the LQS | 15% |
| Process | 5 work permit holders per local employee on the LQS | 15% |
| Marine shipyard | Ratio-based quota, confirmed in Work Permit Online | 15% |
Figures confirmed with MOM as at August 2026. Construction, process and marine shipyard run on ratio-based quotas that MOM works out from your qualifying local headcount, so a quick work permit quota check in Work Permit Online gives you the exact figure for your firm. The rest of this guide focuses on services, where most small businesses hire.
What is the Dependency Ratio Ceiling, and how does it vary by sector?
The Dependency Ratio Ceiling, or DRC, is the maximum share of your workforce that can be Work Permit holders. For services, it is 35%, so at most roughly one in three of your people can be on a Work Permit (MOM, as at August 2026). The other sectors sit higher because they rely more heavily on foreign labour, but the services Dependency Ratio Ceiling Singapore employers rely on stays at 35%.
The Dependency Ratio Ceiling Singapore businesses face is calculated on your total workforce, counting your local employees, your Work Permit holders and your S Pass holders together. That is why adding one local can lift your quota for work permit hires, and losing one can push you over it overnight. The ceiling is a moving figure, not a fixed allowance, so it is worth watching whenever your headcount changes.
How many S Pass holders can a services company hire?
Inside that wider ceiling sits a tighter S Pass quota. In services, S Pass holders are capped at 10% of your total workforce; in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process, the sub-cap is 15% (MOM, as at August 2026). So a services firm with a 30-person workforce can hold about 3 S Pass holders, even though its Work Permit room is larger.
That S Pass quota is easy to breach when your headcount shrinks, so recheck it whenever someone leaves.
The S Pass sub-cap is separate from application strategy, which is a different question from how many you can hold. If you are weighing eligibility, salary thresholds and approval odds, securing an S Pass covers the application side in detail. This guide stays on the numbers: the cap and the cost.
How does MOM count your local employees?
Your quota is built on the local employees MOM recognises, not everyone on your payroll. From 1 July 2026, a Singaporean or Permanent Resident earning at least $1,800 a month counts as one full local head; someone earning $900 to below $1,800 counts as half; anyone below $900 does not count at all (MOM, as at August 2026). This threshold is the Local Qualifying Salary, or LQS.
The rule matters more than it looks. Two part-time locals on modest pay might together add only one head to your quota, while one well-paid local adds a full one. A director on a proper salary can count too, but the same local can only be counted toward the quota of up to two companies.
Before any WP quota planning, confirm which of your staff clear the LQS.
What does each work permit worker cost you per month?
Every Work Permit holder carries a monthly levy, and in services the rate rises as foreign workers make up more of your team. The levy sits in three tiers, and higher-skilled workers cost less than basic-skilled ones at every tier (MOM, as at August 2026).
| Tier | Share of your workforce | Basic-skilled | Higher-skilled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Up to 10% | $450 | $300 |
| Tier 2 | Above 10% to 25% | $600 | $400 |
| Tier 3 | Above 25% to 35% | $800 | $600 |
The tiers are the part that catches employers out. Once your foreign share tips into the next tier, the higher rate applies to the workers in that band, so your marginal hire can cost far more than your first. Levy rates, waivers and payment sit with MOM, and the foreign worker levy explains how the bill is charged and settled.
Why is the S Pass levy now a flat $650?
Since 1 September 2025, the S Pass levy has been a flat $650 a month across all sectors and all levy tiers, with a daily rate of $21.37 for any worker who does not work a full calendar month (MOM, as at August 2026). This harmonisation removed the old tiered S Pass structure entirely.
That single change trips up a lot of published guidance. Many older articles and even some payroll templates still show tiered S Pass levies that no longer exist. If you are budgeting a new S Pass hire, use the one flat figure: $650 a month, every sector, every tier.
Worked example: how much can a 20-person services firm hire and spend?
Take a services company with 20 local employees, each earning at least $1,800 a month, so each counts as one full head. On the 35% services DRC, that local base supports roughly 10 Work Permit holders, giving a total workforce of about 30. The 10% S Pass sub-cap on that workforce allows about 3 S Pass holders.
Now the monthly levy bill, assuming all 10 Work Permit holders are basic-skilled. Watch the levy climb as the hires cross tiers.
| Line | Working | Monthly levy |
|---|---|---|
| 3 work permit holders in Tier 1 | 3 x $450 | $1,350 |
| 4 work permit holders in Tier 2 | 4 x $600 | $2,400 |
| 3 work permit holders in Tier 3 | 3 x $800 | $2,400 |
| 3 S Pass holders | 3 x $650 | $1,950 |
| Total | $8,100 |
The eighth basic-skilled Work Permit hire costs $800 a month, against $450 for the first three. That is the real lesson of the tiers: the last worker you add is the most expensive one on the team. Treat this as an illustration; Work Permit Online gives you the exact quota and levy for your own headcount.
Where can your work permit holders come from?
For the services sector, Work Permit holders can be hired from an approved list of source countries: Malaysia, the People’s Republic of China, and the North Asian sources of Hong Kong (on an HKSAR passport), Macau, South Korea and Taiwan (MOM, as at August 2026). Non-Traditional Sources are open only for a restricted set of occupations on MOM’s list.
If you plan to hire from outside that list, check the role against MOM’s Non-Traditional Source occupation list before you commit. The source-country rules are narrower for services than for sectors like construction, so a candidate who would be eligible elsewhere may not qualify for a services Work Permit.
What are the age limits for work permit holders?
A Work Permit holder can work in Singapore up to age 64, in line with the local retirement age, and the maximum age to apply for a new Work Permit is 62 (MOM, as at August 2026). The minimum age at application is 18. These limits apply to the worker, not to your quota, but they shape how long a hire can stay with you.
Age matters most at renewal, because a worker approaching 64 cannot be renewed past the cap. If you are managing an ageing Work Permit team, plan replacements early; renewing a work permit walks through the timing and paperwork.
How do you check your own quota?
MOM does not publish a formula that spits out your number, because the calculation depends on your live workforce. Instead, you run a quota check through MOM’s foreign worker quota calculator and confirm the detail in Work Permit Online, the same system where you apply for and manage passes. A MOM quota check there shows your current entitlement, your used quota and any headroom left.
Do the check before you make an offer, not after. Quota adjusts only when you pay a new local employee’s first full-month salary and CPF, so a hire you are counting on may not lift your ceiling as quickly as you expect. Running a work permit quota check at the point of decision saves you a rejected application later.
What happens if you exceed your quota?
If your workforce tips over the ceiling, Work Permit Online shows the excess, and MOM rejects any new Work Permit or S Pass applications and renewals until you fix it (MOM, as at August 2026). You have to cancel the excess passes to come back within your limit.
Leave it unresolved, and the consequences harden. The excess passes can be revoked, and your company can be barred from hiring any new foreign workers for six months. A single miscounted local, or one resignation, is enough to trigger this, which is why keeping your WP quota under the ceiling with a regular MOM quota check is cheaper than the alternative.
Which passes count toward your quota, and which don’t?
Not every pass sits inside the quota. The Employment Pass does not count toward your Dependency Ratio Ceiling at all, because it runs on MOM’s separate COMPASS points framework rather than the quota system. If your candidate qualifies for the Employment Pass route, which has no quota, you sidestep the ceiling entirely.
What does count can surprise you. Training Work Permits draw on the same quota as ordinary Work Permits, so hiring interns, which also uses quota, can quietly eat into your headroom. Count trainees in before you assume you have space for a permanent hire.
How Sleek helps you plan quota, levies and payroll together
Your quota, your levy bill and your monthly payroll are one connected problem, and they are easy to get wrong when you are also running a business. Sleek handles work pass applications, tracks your levies and manages payroll and CPF as a single service, so your quota for work permit hires and the cost of each one are planned before you commit, not discovered afterwards for your SME in Singapore. If you are weighing a hire, or you have hit a ceiling you did not expect, our team can map your options across visas and hiring employees in Singapore.
Plan your next hire around your real quota and levy bill.
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FAQs: Small Business Guide: Work Permit Quota in Singapore
How do I check my work permit quota?
Run a quota check in MOM’s online foreign worker quota calculator, then confirm it in Work Permit Online, where you apply for and manage passes. Work Permit Online shows your current entitlement, how much you have used, and any headroom left. Do the check before you make an offer, because your quota only updates once a new local’s first full-month salary and CPF are paid.
How much is the foreign worker levy per month?
In services, the Work Permit levy runs from $450 to $800 a month for basic-skilled workers and $300 to $600 for higher-skilled workers, rising across three tiers as foreign workers make up more of your team. The S Pass levy is a flat $650 a month. All figures are current with MOM as at August 2026.
Did the S Pass levy change?
Yes. Since 1 September 2025, the S Pass levy has been a single flat rate of $650 a month across every sector and every tier, with a daily rate of $21.37 for part-months. The old tiered S Pass levy structure no longer exists, so any guide still showing tiered S Pass rates is out of date.
How many local employees do I need to hire one work permit holder?
It depends on salaries rather than a fixed ratio, because MOM counts locals by the Local Qualifying Salary. A local earning at least $1,800 a month counts as one full head, and someone earning $900 to $1,800 counts as half. In services, each full local head earns you room for a set share of foreign workers up to the 35% ceiling, which MOM calculates for you.
Does an Employment Pass count against my quota?
No. Employment Pass holders sit outside the Dependency Ratio Ceiling entirely, because the EP runs on MOM’s COMPASS points framework rather than the quota system. Hiring on an Employment Pass does not use up any of your Work Permit or S Pass quota, which can be a route worth checking for higher-earning candidates.
Do interns count against my quota?
Yes, if they are on a Training Work Permit. Training Work Permits draw on the same quota as ordinary Work Permits, so an intern can reduce the headroom you have for a permanent hire. Count any trainees into your numbers before you assume you have space.
What happens if I go over my quota?
MOM rejects any new Work Permit or S Pass applications and renewals while you are over the ceiling, and you must cancel the excess passes to come back within your limit. If you do not fix it, the excess passes can be revoked, and your company can be barred from hiring new foreign workers for six months. A single miscounted local is enough to trigger it.
