Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) Occupation List

Firms in Manufacturing and Services sectors can hire Work Permit holders from NTS for a restricted set of occupations in the NTS Occupation List.

What is the NTS Occupation List

Firms in the Manufacturing and Services sectors can hire Work Permit holders from the following countries or regions:

Malaysia
People’s Republic of China (PRC)
North Asian sources (NAS):
- Hong Kong (HKSAR passport)
- Macau
- South Korea
- Taiwan

Under the NTS Occupation List, firms will be allowed to hire Work Permit holders from the following countries or regions for a restricted set of occupations:

Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
India
Laos
Myanmar
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand

Requirements

Firms must meet all of the following requirements:

Keep within a sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) of 8% for NTS Work Permit holders in the NTS Occupation List.
Pay their Work Permit holder performing occupations in this list a fixed monthly salary of at least $2,000.
Work Permit holders must only perform the occupation stated on their Work Permit.

NTS Occupation List

The NTS Occupation List contains the following occupations:

Occupation	You need to ensure that
Cooks (this will replace ‘Cooks in Indian restaurants’)	The company is in the Services sector and has a valid Singapore Food Agency (SFA) Food Shop licence. The licence must be under the company’s name.
Food processing workers, but excluding: Food processing supervisors and general foremen. Other food and beverage jobs like tasters, graders, bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery makers.	The company has a valid SFA Food Processing Establishment or Slaughterhouse licence. The licence must be under the company’s name.
Heavy vehicle drivers, such as: Trailer truck drivers Lorry drivers	Workers have a class 4 or 5 licence as of 1 September 2025. Workers should not be driving cars or light good vehicles which are considered as Class 3.
Housekeeping workers and porters	Workers are working in licensed hotels.
Manufacturing workers, such as: Assemblers Machine operators Metal moulders and coremakers Quality checkers & testers Riggers and cable splicers Sheet metal workers Structural metal preparers and erectors Welders and flame cutters	The company has a work pass account under the Manufacturing sector.

Levy requirements

You must pay a monthly levy for Work Permit holders. For your worker to qualify for higher-skilled worker levy, they must meet the requirements for their respective sector:

For more information

Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).