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
- India
- Myanmar
- Philippines
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- Bhutan
- Cambodia
- Laos
Requirements
Firms must meet all of the following requirements:
NTS Occupation List
The NTS Occupation List comprises:
MOM has put together a panel comprising industry and government stakeholders in Indian cuisine to assess firms’ eligibility. To be eligible for the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) for cooks in Indian Restaurants, restaurants must meet the following requirements:
- Have a valid SFA food licence with a Business Trade Description as 'Restaurant', 'Restaurant with catering', 'Small Restaurant' or 'Coffeeshop/eating house'.
- Serve primarily Indian cuisine, such as biryani, prata, or Indian snacks e.g. vadai, paniyaram.
To see if your firm is eligible, please apply online.
Upon approval, you can apply to hire cooks from NTS.
Indian restaurants will be able to hire cooks from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Work Permit level under the NTS Occupation List.
You can apply for a Work Permit for the other NTS occupations listed below.
- Housekeeping workers and porters in licensed hotels
- Food processing workers
Excludes:
- Food processing supervisors and general foremen.
- Other food and beverage jobs like tasters, graders, bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery makers.
- Workers in manufacturing firms such as general manufacturers, precision engineering, transport engineering, automotive firms, working as:
- Sheet metal workers
- Welders and flame cutters
- Metal moulders and coremakers
- Riggers and cable splicers
- Structural metal preparers and erectors
From 1 September 2025, the NTS Occupation List will also include the following occupations:
- Cooks (this will replace the occupation ‘Cooks in Indian restaurants’)
- Heavy vehicle drivers who have a valid heavy vehicle licence (Class 4 and 5) as of 1 September 2025
- Manufacturing operator roles
More details on the additional occupations and requirements to hire NTS workers in these occupations will be provided on MOM’s website before 1 September 2025.
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: