Foreign Manpower Management Division

About us

Foreign Manpower Management Division (FMMD)’s work is to maintain high compliance of the work pass framework and to protect migrant workers (MWs) and migrant domestic workers (MDWs)’ basic rights. This helps businesses get the foreign manpower they need to grow, and thereby provides employment opportunities for locals.

Vision

A well-managed migrant workforce

Mission

To develop a progressive migrant workforce landscape through effective and efficient education, engagement and enforcement.

Key Work Areas

FMMD’s work is focused on three key areas:

• Ensuring the migrant worker landscape is well-managed through dedicated ops to address specific issues of concern, reviewing enforcement frameworks and policies to address perennial issues, by employing both deterrent measures and education.
• Better management of the migrant domestic worker landscape through measures to enhance MDW protection, building a more progressive Employment Agencies (EA) industry and providing support to MDW employers.
• Improving housing standards in dormitories with the expansion of Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA) to cover more types of migrant worker housing, through building capabilities of the dorm operator industry and increased enforcement oversight.

Our departments

FMMD has six departments:

Transformation & Resources

The department guides FMMD’s work with the goal of being a trusted and stakeholder-centric enforcer.

Through leveraging data and technology, the department anticipates and identifies opportunities to streamline and guide FMMD’s work and processes, namely through the strategies underpinning FMMD’s Transformation approach which are to:

• Extend the use of data and analytics
• Automate and digitalise processes, and
• Develop tech-savvy and capable officers.

Ops Directorate

The department provides analysis of enforcement data and develops foreign manpower operational policies and frameworks that deliver effective enforcement and build fair and progressive workplaces.

Ops Directorate focuses on effective enforcement planning and Ops Control and Development to build organisational capabilities, utilising data and statistics to ensure the division is highly effective and operationally prepared.

Inspection

The department enforces MOM’s foreign manpower regulations, focusing on illegal employment and deployment, false salary declaration, kickbacks and illegal labour importation.

Inspection department is continuously strengthening its enforcement efforts to uphold basic workplace standards through targeted inspections. The department is progressively taking on enforcement of various key regulations and enhancements, including:

• Employment Agencies Act (EAA) from 2011,
• Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) enhancements (with seven amendments since 2011),
• New Prevention of Human Trafficking Act from 2015, and
• Foreign Employees Dormitories Act (FEDA) from 2015 to regulate large dormitories and was extended to all dormitories from October 2022.

Licensing Branch manages regulatory compliance and service standards of EAs, including licensing new EAs and placements of MWs and MDWs yearly.

Transit Management Branch comprehensively manages Special Pass holders by ensuring their well-being and offering temporary work arrangements so they can be meaningfully engaged.

Investigation

The department supports the division’s investigative efforts, and operationalises the enforcement framework, working with the Legal Services Division to prosecute egregious cases.

Besides general investigations, the Investigation department also investigates into complex cases that involve syndicates or multiple offences across agencies. The department provides assessment of the Police Blacklist, and investigation support services such as polygraph, digital forensic and financial investigation.

Intelligence

The department provides timely intelligence to support policy making and enforcement activities for the effective management of foreign manpower. This is achieved through strategic and operational analysis, field intelligence and information capability and development. The department also builds strategic partnerships with other enforcement agencies.

Engagement

The department works with partners and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to facilitate the well-being and protection of MDWs and outreach to MDW employers. Through media and educational programmes, the department educates and raises awareness on foreign manpower related regulations and progressive practices among employers, MDWs and the public. The MDW Engagement Unit was set up in 2021 to enhance MDW well-being efforts.