- As an employer, you’ll face a number of situations where you’ll need to cancel an employee’s work pass.
- Once your employee submits their resignation letter or has been informed of their retrenchment, you’ll need to cancel their work pass within one week after their last day of notice.
- If your employee wishes to resign and find another job in Singapore, it is the responsibility of their new employer to get them another work pass.
When an employee on a work pass leaves, you have 1 week from their last day to cancel the pass with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and, for foreign employees, you must file tax clearance (Form IR21) with IRAS at least 1 month before that last day and hold back their final pay until IRAS responds. Miss either step, and you are exposed to penalties and, in the case of tax, the employee’s unpaid bill. This guide covers the cancellation deadline, how to do it, what happens to the employee afterwards, and the IR21 step that often gets forgotten. It is about cancelling a pass when someone leaves, not applying for an EP or renewing an employment pass.
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Quick answer When an employee on a work pass leaves, you (the employer) must cancel the pass with MOM within 1 week of their last day. You cancel it yourself through the EP eService on the myMOM Portal (Work Permits go through WP Online), and processing is usually immediate. For foreign employees, you must also file tax clearance (Form IR21) with IRAS at least 1 month before their last day and withhold their final pay until IRAS clears it. These are two separate obligations, and both have to happen. Cancel within: 1 week of last day | Where: EP eService on myMOM Portal | Tax clearance: file IR21 at least 1 month before last day | After cancellation: STVP up to 30 days |
When must you cancel a work pass in Singapore?
You must cancel the pass within 1 week (7 days) after the employee’s last day of employment. If the pass holder has already left Singapore permanently, cancel it within 1 week of their departure date. You can also submit the cancellation up to 14 days in advance, for example on 1 February for a cancellation dated 15 February, which is useful when you know the leaving date ahead of time.
The employer, or an authorised employment agent acting for you, is responsible for cancelling the pass. You cannot refuse to cancel a pass to hold leverage in a salary or contract dispute. Employees have the right to resign by serving notice or paying salary in lieu, and if an employer will not cancel after that, the employee can approach MOM directly. Here is the timeline at a glance:
|
Stage |
What happens |
Timing |
|---|---|---|
|
Employee resigns or is given notice |
Start IR21 tax clearance for foreign staff and plan the final pay run |
As soon as notice is served |
|
Last day of employment |
Employment ends; the pass is no longer valid for work |
Day 0 |
|
Cancel the pass with MOM |
Submit via EP eService on myMOM Portal (or WP Online for Work Permits) |
Within 1 week of the last day |
|
Employee’s status after |
Short-Term Visit Pass granted if still in Singapore; cannot work on it |
On cancellation |
How to cancel an EP or S Pass via MOM
Cancellation is an online process. Which system you use depends on the pass type.
|
Pass type |
Where to cancel |
|---|---|
|
Employment Pass, S Pass, PEP, ONE Pass, EntrePass, Tech.Pass |
EP eService on the myMOM Portal |
|
Work Permit |
WP Online |
In short: employers and employment agents cancel every pass except the Work Permit through the EP eService on the myMOM Portal, and cancel Work Permits through WP Online. Cancellation is usually immediate once you submit it, unless you have asked for an advance cancellation date. When you cancel the main pass, any related passes tied to it, such as a Dependant’s Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass held by the employee’s family, are cancelled automatically at the same time.
What happens to the employee’s status after cancellation?
Once the pass is cancelled, it is invalid immediately, and the person can no longer work for you. If they are still in Singapore, you can request a Short-Term Visit Pass (STVP) that grants them a valid stay of up to 30 days from the date of the request, so they can wind up their affairs or line up a new role. They cannot work on an STVP. Longer validity is granted in some cases at MOM’s discretion.
Because related passes are cancelled with the main one, any dependants on a Dependant’s Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass must also regularise their stay or leave. If the employee is moving to a new employer in Singapore rather than leaving, it is the new employer who applies for a fresh pass, and the employee should ideally have that approval in hand before their current pass is cancelled.
Where someone is switching between an EP and a work arrangement on their spouse’s pass, our guide to letter of consent vs EP explains the options, and if a fresh application is knocked back, see EP rejection and next steps.
Tax clearance (IR21) for departing foreign employees
Tax clearance is a separate obligation from the MOM cancellation, handled with IRAS, and it is the step teams most often miss. It applies to non-citizen employees (foreigners and Singapore Permanent Residents) who cease employment, go on an overseas posting, or plan to leave Singapore for more than three months. It covers all work pass holders, including PEP and ONE Pass holders. Here is what you must do:
- File Form IR21 at least 1 month before the last day of employment or departure. If notice is shorter than a month, file immediately and state the reason.
- Withhold all monies due to the employee, including salary, bonus, leave pay, allowances, and any lump sums, from the moment you know they are leaving, until IRAS issues a clearance directive.
- e-file through myTax Portal. Most Forms IR21 are processed within 21 days, and e-filed forms are faster than paper.
- Act on the directive. If IRAS issues a Directive to Pay, settle the tax from the withheld monies within 10 days, then release the balance to the employee.
Do not release the final pay before clearance, even if the employee asks. If you fail to withhold, IRAS can hold you, the employer, liable for the employee’s unpaid tax.
What happens if you cancel late?
Cancelling on time is a legal obligation, not a courtesy. Employers must cancel a work pass under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and missing MOM’s deadline is an offence that can lead to enforcement action and financial penalties, and can put your ability to hire foreign staff at risk if your work pass privileges are curtailed. There is a practical risk too: once employment ends, the person has no valid basis to remain in Singapore unless an STVP or another pass is granted, so a late cancellation can leave a former employee overstaying. Treat the 1-week window as a hard stop in your offboarding checklist, and pair it with the IR21 filing so both deadlines are met together.
How Sleek helps you offboard cleanly
Offboarding a foreign employee touches HR, finance, and MOM at the same time, which is exactly where things fall through the cracks. Sleek’s payroll and offboarding support builds the tax-clearance stop into your final pay run, files IR21 with IRAS, and releases the balance once the directive arrives. Our employment pass and work visa services team handles the MOM cancellation itself, so the pass is cancelled inside the 1-week window, and the employee’s status is sorted. You get one clean process instead of three disconnected ones.
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FAQs: Cancel a Work Pass in Singapore
How long do I have to cancel a work pass after an employee resigns?
You must cancel the pass within 1 week (7 days) after the employee’s last day of employment. If the pass holder has already left Singapore permanently, you must cancel it within 1 week of their departure date.
Can I cancel a work pass before the employee's last day?
Yes. You can submit the cancellation up to 14 days in advance and set the cancellation date. Otherwise, cancellation is usually immediate upon submission.
Who is responsible for cancelling the work pass, the employer or the employee?
The employer, or an authorised employment agent acting on behalf of the employer, is responsible. You cannot refuse to cancel a pass as leverage in a dispute. If an employer will not cancel after an employee has resigned and served notice, the employee can contact MOM for help.
Which portal do I use to cancel an EP or S Pass?
Employment Passes, S Passes, and most other passes are cancelled through the EP eService on the myMOM Portal. Work Permits are cancelled through WP Online.
What happens to the employee after their pass is cancelled?
The pass is invalid immediately, and the person cannot work. If they are still in Singapore, you can request a Short-Term Visit Pass valid for up to 30 days so they can wind up their affairs or find a new role. They cannot work on it.
