ET Explainer: Why IT industry has flagged new Singapore visa framework

While Singapore's new visa rules aim to simplify processes and meet local job demands, they also present challenges for the IT sector. The industry has expressed concerns to the Indian government regarding the new rules for skilled worker visas, stating that these regulations could hinder business operations due to a shortage of such workers.

What is the new framework?

Those applying for Singapore visa renewals will have to earn at least 40 points under the new Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS), on top of meeting the qualifying salary, to get an Employment Pass (EP) to work in Singapore. The new framework is set to be implemented from September 1 this year.

Currently, only eight Indian universities qualify for these points. Also, all nationalities are considered equally for diversity, which might not show the real situation in the job market.


Industry concerns and government discussions:

Shivendra Singh, vice president of global trade development at Nasscom, highlighted that the tech industry needs to hire from more universities than those currently listed.

Also, giving equal points to all nationalities for diversity might not reflect the actual demand for digital skills worldwide, he added.

"India is known as a global hub for digital talent. Given our focus on STEM education, there is a large pool of digitally skilled workforce available in India as compared to the rest of the world. Hence, equal weightage to all nationalities for diversity assessment may not fairly reflect the on-the-ground demand-supply situation,” said Singh.

Under the diversity criteria, 20 points can be gained only if not more than 5% of PMET (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) employees in a candidate’s company are of their particular nationality.

Singh said talks were underway with the Indian government to tackle these issues with Singapore.

Need for more job categories

Nasscom suggests expanding the list of jobs in short supply to better match industry needs. This change would help bring in the right talent needed for different roles using visas like the Employment Pass.

The organisation also requested fairer rules, especially regarding how points are awarded based on nationality within a company.

Singapore government's stance

The new norms seek to recognise organisations undertaking “ambitious investment, innovation and internationalisation activities in partnership with economic agencies” or those endorsed by Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress as “strong partners on company and workforce transformation activities,” as per the website of Singapore's ministry of manpower.