Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990

any building, erection, edifice, structure, wall, fence or chimney, whether constructed wholly or partly above or below ground level;

any road, motorway, harbour works, railway, cableway, canal or aerodrome;

any drainage, irrigation or river control work;

any electrical, water, gas or telecommunication works; or

any bridge, viaduct, dam, reservoir, earthworks, pipeline, sewer, aqueduct, culvert, drive, shaft, tunnel or reclamation,and includes any works which form an integral part of, or are preparatory to the works described in paragraphs (a) to (e), including site clearance, earth-moving, excavation, laying of foundation, site restoration and landscaping, and such other works or activities as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify to be construction works;

any work; or

providing any training for that person,whether under a contract of service or otherwise, and with or without salary;

for the purposes of an application for a work pass — any person who has the intention or purports to have the intention to employ a foreign employee; or

in a case where a foreign employee has or had a valid work pass — any person specified in the work pass as the employer of the foreign employee;

any foreigner, other than a self-employed foreigner, who seeks or is offered employment in Singapore; or

any other person or class of persons as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify;

the person having the charge, management or control of either the whole or part of the premises either on the person’s own account or as an agent; and

any person who is carrying out construction or other works at the premises on behalf of some other person;

any building or structure, whether permanent or temporary;

any land, whether or not built on;

any place, whether or not enclosed, including any place situated underground or underwater;

any vehicle, vessel or aircraft; and

any part of any premises;

any contravention of section 9(1), 25(1), (2), (3) or (4) or 25A(2);

any contravention of any provision in the regulations made under this Act that is prescribed as a prescribed infringement; or

the abetment, within the meaning of section 25F, of any contravention mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b);

is prescribed by the Minister as a regulatory condition; or

is imposed by the Controller under section 7 as a regulatory condition;

any trade, vocation or profession, whether for the purpose of gain or otherwise; or

any other activity in Singapore for the purpose of gain;

be an image of, or a measurement or recording of, an external part of the human body; and

not be an identifier the obtaining of which would involve the taking of an intimate sample within the meaning of section 13A of the Registration of Criminals Act 1949.

a Controller of Work Passes who has such functions and powers as are conferred on him or her by this Act; and

any number of Deputy Controllers of Work Passes and Assistant Controllers of Work Passes as the Minister may think necessary to assist the Controller in the proper discharge of the Controller’s functions.

be liable on conviction to a fine of at least $5,000 and not more than $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and

on a second or subsequent conviction —

in the case of an individual — be punished with a fine of at least $10,000 and not more than $30,000 and with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than 12 months; or

in any other case — be punished with a fine of at least $20,000 and not more than $60,000.

to avoid doubt, where a person has been convicted of an offence under subsection (6), and the person has on a previous occasion been convicted for contravening section 5(1) of the Employment of Foreign Workers Act (Cap. 91A, 1997 Revised Edition) in force immediately before 1 July 2007, the firstmentioned conviction shall be considered a second or subsequent conviction under subsection (6); and

all convictions against the same person for the contravention of subsection (1) at one and the same trial shall be deemed to be one conviction.

had control of access to the work place;

had permitted the foreigner to enter or remain at the work place; and

had knowledge that the foreigner did not possess a valid work pass.

to prevent the foreigner from entering or remaining at the work place;

to ascertain that the person was a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore by checking the person’s passport, document of identity or other travel documents; or

to ascertain that the foreigner had at the material time in his or her possession a valid work pass by checking his or her original work pass.

on conviction to a fine not exceeding $15,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and

on a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

where the work pass belongs to any category of work passes prescribed by the Minister, be made by a person prescribed for that category of work passes;

be in any form as the Controller may determine;

be accompanied by the prescribed fee, if any; and

be accompanied by such information, statements and documents as the Controller may require.

issue a work pass, with or without conditions —

if the prescribed fee has been paid; and

if the Controller is satisfied that the foreign employee or self-employed foreigner to whom the work pass is to be issued is not a prohibited immigrant under section 8 of the Immigration Act 1959; or

refuse to issue any work pass.

vary or revoke any of the existing conditions of a work pass or impose new conditions;

cancel any in-principle approval, or vary, suspend or revoke a work pass;

reinstate a work pass which has been suspended or revoked, if the prescribed fee has been paid; or

debar any person from applying for or being issued with a work pass for any fixed period of time as the Controller may determine.

impose conditions that the employer of the foreign employee must comply with —

relating to the employment of the foreign employee; or

relating to the foreign employee, after the in‑principle approval or the work pass relating to that foreign employee is cancelled or revoked or expires; and

impose conditions that the foreign employee must comply with relating to his or her employment as a foreign employee.

vary or revoke any existing condition of a work pass to become inconsistent with any condition prescribed by the Minister by regulations under section 29(2)(c); or

impose any new condition for a work pass that is inconsistent with any condition prescribed by the Minister by regulations under section 29(2)(c),and any condition varied, revoked or imposed by the Controller which is so inconsistent shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

whether the person has acted, or is acting, in concert with or on the direction of a debarred person for or in connection with the employment of any foreign employee; or

whether the person, as an associate of a debarred person, is engaged in a trade or business which is substantially similar to any trade or business of the debarred person.

a person is an associate of an individual —

if the person is the individual’s spouse, or if the person is a relative, or the spouse of a relative of the individual or his or her spouse;

if the person is in partnership with the individual, or the individual is the spouse or a relative of any other person with whom the firstmentioned person is in partnership;

if the person employs the individual or the individual employs the person, and for this purpose, any director or other officer of a person that is a company must be treated as employed by that company;

a person in his or her capacity as trustee of a trust is an associate of an individual if the beneficiaries of the trust include, or the terms of the trust confer a power that may be exercised for the benefit of, that individual or an associate of that individual;

a company is an associate of an individual if that individual has control of it or if that individual and persons who are his or her associates together have control of it;

for the purposes of paragraph (a), a person is a relative of an individual if the person is that individual’s brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal ancestor or lineal descendant;

any reference in this subsection to a spouse includes a former spouse;

for the purposes of paragraph (c), an individual is taken to have control of a company if —

the directors of the company or of another company which has control of it (or any of them) are accustomed to act in accordance with the individual’s directions or instructions; or

the individual is entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, one-third or more of the voting power at any general meeting of the company or of another company which has control of it,and where 2 or more persons together satisfy sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii), they are taken to have control of the company; and

in this subsection, “company” includes any body corporate (whether incorporated in Singapore or elsewhere), and references to directors and other officers of a company and to voting power at any general meeting of a company are to have effect with any necessary modifications.

an application for a Mandatory Order, a Prohibiting Order or a Quashing Order;

an application for a declaration or an injunction;

an Order for Review of Detention; and

any other suit or action relating to or arising out of any decision made or act done pursuant to any power conferred upon the Minister or the Controller by this section.

apply to the Controller to cancel the work pass; and

if so required, return the work pass to the Controller within 7 days of such cancellation.

capable of negotiation with a trade union representing the foreign employee;

a matter in respect of which any form of industrial action may be taken by any such trade union;

the subject matter of a trade dispute or of conciliation proceedings or any method of redress whether or not under any written law; and

any industrial matter within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1960.

be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and

on a second or subsequent conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than 2 years and also be liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000.

to avoid doubt, where a person has been convicted of an offence under subsection (2), and the person has on a previous occasion been convicted for contravening section 10(1) of the Employment of Foreign Workers Act (Cap. 91A, 1997 Revised Edition) in force immediately before 1 July 2007 or section 10(1) of this Act in force immediately before 9 November 2012, the firstmentioned conviction shall be considered a second or subsequent conviction under subsection (2); and

all convictions against the same person for the contravention of subsection (1) at one and the same trial shall be deemed to be one conviction.

has expired;

has been suspended or revoked by the Controller; or

has been cancelled by the Controller on application by the employer.

any levy imposed under subsection (1); or

any penalty due under subsection (4).

the trade, sector, occupation or type of employment —

that is specified in the work pass; or

in any other case, that was submitted to the Controller in, or in connection with, the application for the work pass; and

any trade, sector, occupation or type of employment not specified in the work pass, for which the foreign employee has the Controller’s approval to engage in.

the trade, sector, vocation, profession or activity —

that is specified in the work pass; or

in any other case, that was submitted to the Controller in, or in connection with, the application for the work pass; and

any trade, sector, vocation, profession or activity not specified in the work pass, for which the self-employed foreigner has the Controller’s approval to engage in.

may retain the work pass if no duplicate work pass has been issued by the Controller under subsection (1); or

must immediately return the work pass so recovered to the Controller for revocation if a duplicate work pass has been issued by the Controller under subsection (1).

a person who makes an application for a work pass is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have knowledge of the information provided in the application; and

subject to subsection (2), the burden of proving the truth of the contents of an application for a work pass is on the person who makes the application.

to enter and inspect, at any reasonable time —

any premises when he or she has reasonable cause to believe that any foreign employee or self‑employed foreigner is employed or engaged in or accommodated at those premises; or

where an application for a work pass has been made, the business premises of the employer who made the application;

to enter and search, by day or by night, any premises when he or she has reasonable cause to believe that evidence of a prescribed infringement or the commission of an offence under this Act (as the case may be) can be found in those premises;

to require any person who the authorised officer or employment inspector has reason to believe has any document, including documents of identity and travel documents, or information relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act, to produce any such document or give such information;

to retain any document relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act;

to examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act, and to reduce into writing the answer given or statement made by that person who is bound to state truly the facts and circumstances with which the person is acquainted; and the statement made by that person must be read over to that person and must, after correction, be signed by that person;

to require by written order the attendance before him or her of any person who, from information given or otherwise, appears to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act, and that person must so attend as required and if that person fails to attend as so required, to report such failure to a Magistrate who may thereupon issue a warrant to secure the attendance of that person as required by the order;

to take such photographs, or audio or video recording, as he or she thinks necessary of the premises and persons reasonably believed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act;

to require any person to produce any article which is relevant to any investigation into a prescribed infringement or an offence under this Act (as the case may be) and, if necessary, to take into custody any such article;

to require an employer to produce all or any of his or her employees for the purposes of any investigation into a prescribed infringement or an offence under this Act when required by the authorised officer or employment inspector, as the case may be.

break open any outer or inner door or window leading to the premises;

forcibly enter such premises and every part thereof; or

remove by force any obstruction to such entry or search.

intentionally offers any resistance to or wilfully delays an authorised officer or employment inspector in the exercise of any power under this section;

fails to comply with the requisition of an authorised officer or employment inspector under this section;

fails to produce any document which the person is required by or under this section to produce;

wilfully withholds any information as to who is the occupier of the premises or who is the principal contractor or who is the person’s employer; or

conceals or prevents or attempts to conceal or prevent a person from appearing before or being examined by an authorised officer or employment inspector,that person is deemed to obstruct an authorised officer or employment inspector (as the case may be) in the execution of the employment inspector’s duties under this Act.

where the employer is an individual registered under the National Registration Act 1965 — by reporting the change of his or her place of residence under section 10 of that Act;

where the employer is a body corporate incorporated under the Companies Act 1967, a sole proprietorship or a firm registered under the Business Names Registration Act 2014 or a limited liability partnership registered under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 — by reporting the change of the address of the registered office or place of business under section 143 of the Companies Act 1967, section 20 of the Business Names Registration Act 2014 or section 32 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005, as the case may be; or

where paragraphs (a) and (b) are not applicable — in writing.

by delivering it to the person or to some adult member or employee of the person’s family or the person’s household at the person’s last known place of residence;

by leaving it at the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business in an envelope addressed to the person; or

by sending it by ordinary or registered post addressed to the person at the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business.

in the case of a company incorporated in Singapore — to the registered office of the company;

in the case of a company incorporated outside Singapore — either to the individual authorised to accept service of process under the Companies Act 1967 at the address filed with the Registrar of Companies, or to the registered office of the company wherever it may be situated;

in the case of an individual, a partnership (including a limited liability partnership as defined in section 4(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005) or a body of persons — to the last known business or private address of such individual, partnership or body of persons.

to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the body corporate; or

to be attributable to any neglect on the officer’s part,the officer as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner; or

to be attributable to any neglect on the partner’s part,the partner as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the unincorporated association or a member of its governing body; or

to be attributable to any neglect on the part of such an officer or member,the officer or member as well as the unincorporated association shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

is primarily responsible for the act or omission which constitutes the offence; and

has failed to exercise reasonable supervision or oversight as such officer, member or partner.

in relation to a body corporate, means any director, partner, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; or

in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of president, secretary or member of a committee and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity;

is committing or has committed an offence under section 5(6), (7) or (8), 10(2), 22(1)(a), (c), (d), (e) or (f), (2), (3) or (4), 22A(2) or 22B(1); or

has abetted the commission of any offence mentioned in paragraph (a).

inflicting any bodily injury to the person or others;

damaging any property;

creating any disturbance; or

escaping from custody.

where the document or article is produced in any criminal trial, be dealt with in accordance with section 364(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010; or

in any other case —

be returned to the owner; or

if the owner is not known, be reported to a Magistrate’s Court.

to be forfeited; or

to be disposed of in any manner as the Magistrate’s Court thinks fit.

being an employer, a foreign employee or a self-employed foreigner to whom a work pass applies or had applied, contravenes any condition (other than a regulatory condition) of the work pass or in-principle approval of the application for the work pass;

contravenes section 13(4);

wilfully obstructs an authorised officer or employment inspector in the exercise of his or her powers under section 16, 21, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21E or 21F (as applicable);

in connection with any application for or to renew a work pass or for any other purpose under this Act, makes any statement or provides any information to the Controller or an authorised officer or employment inspector which the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, is false in any material particular or is misleading by reason of the omission of any material particular;

sells, forges, unlawfully alters or, without lawful authority, transfers or allows another person to use any in-principle approval or work pass;

uses or, without lawful authority, has in the person’s possession any in-principle approval or work pass that is forged or unlawfully altered, or which is issued to another person; or

contravenes section 13(1), (2) or (3), 14 or 17(1) or (3),shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

in the case of an offence under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) — to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both;

in the case of an offence under paragraph (d), (e) or (f) — to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and

in the case of an offence under paragraph (g) — to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

knows, or has reason to believe, that an offence has been committed under subsection (1)(d); and

intentionally omits to provide any information to the Controller in respect of that offence,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

knows, or has reason to believe, that an offence has been committed by the foreign employee or self‑employed foreigner (as the case may be) under subsection (3); and

intentionally omits to provide any information to the Controller in respect of that offence,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

as consideration or as a condition for the employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person;

as consideration or as a condition for the continued employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person; or

as a financial guarantee related, in any way, to the employment of the foreign employee, whether by that person or any other person.

the whole or part of any fee, cost, levy, penalty, charge or amount that the employer of the foreign employee must bear and is liable to pay under section 25(6);

the whole or part of any fee or deduction prescribed as recoverable from the foreign employee under section 25(6)(a);

where sections 26 to 32 of the Employment Act 1968 apply to the foreign employee, the whole or part of any deduction from the salary of the foreign employee authorised to be made under those sections;

where sections 26 to 32 of the Employment Act 1968 do not apply to the foreign employee, the whole or part of any deduction from the salary of the foreign employee made in accordance with the terms of the employment of the foreign employee; or

the whole or part of any fee, remuneration, profit or compensation that a licensee under the Employment Agencies Act 1958 may lawfully charge the foreign employee and receive under that Act,is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have done so as consideration for the employment of the foreign employee.

obtains a work pass for a foreign employee for a trade or business that does not exist, that is not in operation or that does not require the employment of such a foreign employee; and

fails to employ the foreign employee,shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a presumptive minimum term of not less than 6 months and not more than 2 years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding $6,000.

charged with more than 5 offences under subsection (1); and

convicted of at least 6 of those offences at the same trial,the person shall be punished, subject to sections 325(1) and 330(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, with caning in addition to the punishment prescribed for those offences.

in the case of an offence under section 22A(2) — a sum which is equal to the amount of the sum or other benefit (where such benefit is a sum of money, or the value of such benefit can be assessed) the person deducted or received in contravention of that section; or

in the case of an offence under section 22B(1) — a sum which is equal to the amount of the sum or other benefit (where such benefit is a sum of money, or the value of such benefit can be assessed) the person obtained or received for obtaining the work pass mentioned in that section.

any relevant evidence admitted in the proceedings against the defendant for the offence concerned; and

any order for the payment of compensation by the defendant in respect of any injury arising from the offence concerned to the person injured, or his or her representative, under section 359 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010.

a warrant to commit the defendant to prison is issued for a default in payment of a sum of money ordered to be paid under subsection (1) in respect of an offence or offences; and

at the time the warrant is issued, the defendant is liable to serve any term of imprisonment in respect of the offence or offences,the term of imprisonment to be served in default of payment of that sum shall not begin to run until after the term mentioned in paragraph (b).