Singapore revokes work passes for 11 EP and S Pass holders who submitted false certifications

These pass holders, who worked in the ICT industry between 2018-2020, have also been permanently banned from working in Singapore, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng has shared.

A total of 11 Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders working in Singapore's infocomm technology (ICT) industry were found to have submitted false qualifications to the Ministry of Manpower from 2018 to 2020, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng has shared.

These pass holders have since had their work passes revoked, and have been permanently barred from working in Singapore.

The Minister shared this in response to a question by Member of Parliament Gan Thiam Poh on Monday (2 August), who also asked whether the ministry will "review and work with only reputable overseas educational institutions with a proven track record for approval of both EP and S Pass applications."

To this, Dr Tan highlighted that employers have the primary responsibility to ensure the authenticity and quality of their candidates' qualifications when submitting work pass applications.

He added that the Ministry also conducts additional checks by screening the qualifications submitted through its database of institutions, which is regularly reviewed through a scan of open source reports and research from third-party screening organisations. For applications containing qualifications from institutions not in MOM's database, employers are required to submit verification proof from third-party screening organisations to ensure the qualifications submitted are accredited. Applications containing fake or unaccredited qualifications will be rejected.

The Minister said: "MOM takes a firm stance against foreigners who submit false qualifications to fraudulently obtain work passes. Besides revocation of work passes and debarment from employment in Singapore, we may also prosecute offenders for false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which carries a fine of up to S$20,000, up to two years’ imprisonment, or both."

Photo / 123RF

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