Requirements: Services Sector

Companies in the service sector include engaged in the following business activities:

• Financial, insurance, real estate and business services;
  
• Transport, storage and communications services;
  
• Commerce (retail and wholesale trade);
  
• Community, social and personal services (excluding domestic workers);
  
• Hotels;
  
• Restaurants, coffee shops, food courts and other approved food establishments*;
  
• Dispatch and delivery services; or
  
• Hairdressing and beauty shops.
  

* Foreign workers are not allowed to work at food stalls or hawker stalls. These stalls are small establishments and can be operated by the licensees alone or with family assistance. Food stalls refer to those where there is retail sale of food and/or beverage, in a coffeeshop, eating house, food court or canteen and need to be licensed under the Environmental Public Health Act. Hawker stalls refer to stalls that are rented from the Government, i.e. Housing Development Board, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources or JTC corporation. Foodshop, foodstall and hawker licence stalls are administered by the National Environment Agency (NEA). For more information, please refer to NEA's website at www.nea.gov.sg.

Other food and beverage establishments that wish to employ foreign workers have to produce NEA licences issued in the name of the body corportate, sole proprietor or partner for the purpose of work permit applications. NEA licences issued in the name of an individual (eg. a Director) will not be acceptable.

Service sector companies can recruit workers from the following countries:

• Malaysia;
  
• Hong Kong;
  
• Macau;
  
• South Korea;
  
• Taiwan; and
• People's Republic of China (PRC). 

Service-sector companies are allowed to employ foreign workers on Work Permits up to 50% of the company's total workforce. PRC workers can make up 10% within the 50% DC.

Find out more about the computation of company's quota balance.

The levy rate for foreign workers varies across different sectors. Find out more about the levy rates for foreign workers in the service sector.

A company can apply to convert its levy:

• From 2^nd to 1^st tier if its dependency ratio falls below 30%; and
• From 3^rd to 2^nd tier if its dependency ratio falls between 30% to 40%.

The existing levy rate will apply while approval of the new levy rate is pending.

Upon approval, the new levy rate will commence on the first day of the following month. For example, if the application for levy conversion is approved in September, the new levy rate will apply from 1 October.

Apply for Conversion

Companies can apply for the levy conversion via Work Permit Online.