Effective October 1, 2022, Singapore will only require certain applicants for work pass renewals to be fully vaccinated. Specifically, only Work Permit and S Pass holders employed in the construction, marine shipyard, or process sectors, or those staying in dormitories, will be required to be fully vaccinated to apply for renewal passes. All applicants for new passes must continue to be fully vaccinated. The announcement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is expected to ease the renewal process for many MOM pass holders.

Singapore’s Work Pass Vaccination Requirement

Under the country’s COVID-19 protocols, Singapore requires that all MOM pass holders – including work pass holders, dependents, and helpers – aged 13 and above be fully vaccinated before they can apply for new passes.

According to this requirement, pass holders are required to obtain a booster, if eligible. Pass holders must obtain a booster dose within 270 days from their last primary vaccination dose to maintain their fully vaccinated status. Pass holders may walk into any of Singapore’s Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres to receive their vaccination or booster dose.

Pass holders who were vaccinated overseas may be required to obtain a serology test to confirm their vaccination status or have their digitally-verifiable vaccination certificates (DVCs) verified at a local clinic.

Updates to the Work Pass Vaccination Requirement

Starting on October 1, 2022, the vaccination requirement to apply for or renew passes will change. Specifically, the following requirements will apply:

Types of pass holdersMust be
Work Permit and S Pass holders employed in construction, marine shipyard or process sectorsWork Permit and S Pass holders staying in dormitoriesFully vaccinated to:
  • Apply for new passes
  • Renew passes
    • All other pass holdersFully vaccinated to apply for new passes.

    According to the updated requirements, all pass holders aged 13 and above must be fully vaccinated to apply for new passes. However, only Work Permit and S Pass holders employed in the construction, marine shipyard, or process sectors, or those staying in dormitories, will be required to be fully vaccinated to apply for renewal passes. According to the MOM, vaccination will continue to be a requirement for the renewal of existing work passes for these two groups as their worksites and dormitories are settings with a higher risk of disease transmission.

    To be considered fully vaccinated by the Singaporean government, individuals must have taken at least one dose of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, or at least 2 doses of AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Moderna, Covishield, Novavax, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, or Sinopharm. Mixtures and boosters of these vaccines, and recovery from COVID-19 with vaccination, are also acceptable.

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