If you’re an HR manager or business manager recruiting overseas talent for your organisation in Singapore, you will need to apply for an Employment Pass (EP) from Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Your candidate will need to fulfill MOM’s work pass eligibility requirements to be able to work in Singapore.
As part of the EP process, your candidate must pass a points-based qualification framework called the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) with 40 points. One of the main components of COMPASS is a candidate’s educational qualifications, which can be scored up to 20 points by itself.
Because a valid qualification is so crucial for EP approval, and because qualifications from dodgy diploma and degree mills are sadly common among overseas candidates, it is important for employers to verify a candidate’s credentials. This is best achieved via a MOM-endorsed background check provider who can fast-track the process and ensure accuracy.
If a candidate has had a previous employer apply for an EP and verify their qualifications any time after 1 September 2023, you will not need to verify their qualifications again. If your organisation is sponsoring a foreign candidate for an EP for the first time, or this is your candidate’s first EP application to Singapore, you will need to perform a new verification.
As a first step, you will want to find out if your candidate’s university or institution is already recognised by the Singaporean authorities. Below is a simple guide to help you check whether your candidate’s university or institution is recognised by MOM in Singapore.
What different recognition levels mean for your EP application
To understand what you might need to do to verify the authenticity of your candidate’s education, you need to know which category the qualification falls into within COMPASS.
COMPASS classifies qualifications under three categories:
- Degrees from top 100 universities, Singaporean universities, or other highly-recognised Asian universities or degree-equivalent industry institutions. These are awarded 20 points.
- Other degree-equivalent qualifications, including foreign degrees awarded by Singapore private education institutions, and industry qualifications that have been endorsed by a relevant sector agency in Singapore. These are awarded 10 points.
- Non-degree-equivalent qualifications. These will not count in COMPASS and are not awarded any points.
How to check if a candidate’s university is recognised by MOM in Singapore
MOM list of recognised 20-point universities
For employers who want to do a COMPASS qualifying institution check to see whether their candidate’s university is recognised in Singapore, the good news is that MOM has already made it easy for you to validate the first category. MOM has a list of recognised institutions that fall within the first 20-point category, which you can view online. If your candidate’s university is on the list, it is already recognised and awarded maximum points.
MOM Self-Assessment Tool
You can also check whether a university is pre-accredited (and thus recognised) on MOM’s EP Self-Assessment Tool (SAT), and whether it comes from the 20-point category or not. This is a tool used to identify gaps or shortcomings in a candidate’s application, and it is immensely useful for fast-tracking the MOM approval process.
Inside the educational institution dropdown menu, MOM maintains a list of the most declared educational institutions encountered in Singapore work pass applications. If your candidate’s university is listed here, it is recognised by MOM, although the COMPASS score is still subject to MOM decision.
What to do if the institution is not on the MOM qualifying lists
If your candidate’s institution cannot be found on the MOM-qualifying lists, don’t immediately assume that it is not recognised. First, confirm that the institution’s name is spelled or translated correctly, or that its most recent name is reflected, if it recently underwent a name change.
If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then you will need to engage a MOM-endorsed background screening company like RMI to independently authenticate your candidate’s qualifications. A verification partner can help you provide the verification proof obtained from the education provider to MOM.
If my candidate’s university is recognised by MOM, what’s next?
Ascertaining that your candidate’s university or institution is recognised by MOM gives you peace of mind, and certainty as to how strong their qualification will be during the COMPASS scoring process. However, you still need to ensure that their qualifications are genuine and authentic.
Stringent laws in Singapore mandate that all new EP applications and submissions of educational qualifications for foreign candidates must be verified by a MOM-endorsed background screening company. Thus, if your candidate has not had their qualifications verified in a previous EP application, your next step will be to engage a MOM-endorsed background check provider like RMI.
RMI has the experience, connections, and proven track record to effectively and quickly verify your candidate. The screening provider proactively verifies even the most difficult-to-find details, while ensuring the process stays respectful, private, and personal. This is all achieved within a turnaround time of 15 days or less. A strong background check partner like RMI will make a great difference in how smoothly your EP application proceeds, helping you secure the best talent for the future. Discover more about our MOM educational verification services here.