SINGAPORE: Reminder – Update of Residential Address During Pass Issuance

September 17, 2019


The Singapore Ministry of Manpower has reminded employers of foreign national work pass holders of the address registration requirements.

When an employment agent issues a request to issue a work pass, or to update the employee’s residential address, MOM will only approve the request if the applicant’s address meets the relevant housing requirements.

Housing Requirements

There are various types of housing that a foreign employee can live in, each with its own set of requirements. These include:

HDB Flats

Public housing flats managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), which may be rented out as a whole flat or by rooms, subject to HDB’s approval.

HDB Requirements:

  • Before registering an employee’s address with OFWAS or EP online (when requesting MOM to issue or update a work pass), employers must ensure that the HDB flat owner has registered the employee as tenant with HDB.  Previously, the applicant only had to be registered with HDB as tenant before they moved in.
  • The HDB’s eService can be used to check if the flat owner has registered the work pass holder/applicant as tenant of the flat.

Private Residential Premises (PRPs)

Private properties such as condominiums, landed residential properties, terraced houses, semi-detached houses, bungalows, residential units in shop houses, etc.

PRP Requirements:

  • For private property and stays with occupants who are not related to the applicant, the total number of occupants cannot exceed six. The Foreign Worker Tenant Enquiry Service can be used to check the number of occupants in the property. If the total number of tenants exceeds six, the employer cannot register the employee’s address with OFWAS or EP Online and MOM cannot update the residential address or issue a work pass.

Our Advice

Employers who may be affected are encouraged to contact a Newland Chase immigration specialist for case-specific advice.

For general advice and information on immigration and business travel to Singapore, please contact us.