Written Answer to PQ on Change of employer for work permit holders with valid employment claims

NOTICE PAPER NO. 44 OF 2025 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 24 SEPTEMBER 2025
QUESTION NO. 222 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Eileen Chong Pei Shan

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Change of Employer (COE) letters have been issued to work permit holders with valid employment claims (i) in 2024 and (ii) from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025, respectively; and (b) how many of these work permit holders subsequently got In-Principle Approvals issued within the validity period of their COE letters.

Answer:

1. Work Permit holders with valid salary claims lodged with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) are allowed to look for a new employer and would be issued with Change of Employer (COE) letters. About 1,600 and 1,100 Work Permit holders with valid salary claims were issued with such COE letters in 2024 and from January to June 2025 respectively.

2. Of these, about 65% subsequently obtained a Work Permit approval within the validity period of their COE letters. For the remaining workers, there were either no Work Permit applications submitted, or their Work Permit applications were rejected because employer did not meet Work Permit requirements, such as having insufficient Work Permit quota.