Singapore Targets Hong Kong’s High Earners With Latest Work Visa

(Bloomberg) -- If you earn over a quarter-million dollars a year, Singapore wants you.

A new, flexible five-year work visa for foreigners making at least S$30,000 ($21,500) a month is the latest salvo in a race to attract an exclusive group that makes up just 5% of expatriate workers in the city-state. 

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s latest initiative targets high-paid workers around the world -- and professionals in some fields who make less than that base salary level -- but the reality is that it ups the ante with regional rival Hong Kong at a weak moment for the former British colony.

With Beijing tightening its grip and Covid-19 restrictions like hotel quarantine remaining in force, Hong Kong is seeing a historic exodus. Singapore, which ended most mask mandates this week and has no quarantine requirement for incoming travelers, is adding extra flexibility to its new visas, allowing holders to switch jobs and making it easier for their spouse to work. 

“It really is targeting some of the pain points of many people who are currently in Hong Kong looking at relocating to Singapore, or even organizations which are looking to relocate talent into the region and would normally choose between Hong Kong and Singapore,” said Lee Quane, the Hong Kong-based Regional Director of Asia for ECA International.

The salary requirement is a high bar. 

Bankers and employees in the finance industry, not surprisingly, are at the top of the list when it comes to potential candidates. Singapore salary data compiled by recruitment company Michael Page International in a 2022 report suggest heads of investment banking meet the minimum qualifying criteria, as well as those leading private banking and financial institutions, with S$415,000-S$425,000 in average annual income. 

Other potential targets include partners at international law firms, which Michael Page’s study said earn annual salaries of S$480,000 in Singapore, and senior executives at chemicals and engineering firms who can fetch up to S$500,000 per year.  

Outsized salaries aren’t always a requirement, though. Experienced technology professionals with skills deemed to be in shortage in Singapore can qualify with a salary of $10,500 per month if they meet other criteria. In addition, individuals with “outstanding achievements in the arts and culture, sports, science and technology, and research and academia, can also qualify” without meeting the salary threshold. 

Prime Minister Lee, in his national day address this month, said the search for elite talent will benefit Singaporeans as a whole by improving the country’s skill base and giving citizens and companies the advantage of working alongside top global talent. The government estimates that only 5% of so-called foreign employment pass holders, which numbered 161,700 last year, meet the salary threshold. 

“These changes underscore Singapore’s commitment to remain open to the world,” the government said in a document outlining details of the visa plan, which people can apply for starting Jan. 1. “By building a deep local talent pool, and welcoming talent from around the world, we can be a vibrant global city, and create a society of opportunities for Singaporeans now, and in the years to come.” 

Singapore Unveils Long-Term Work Visas to End Talent Crunch 

The changes also reflect the delicate balance Lee has to strike between making the country as attractive and competitive as possible and assuaging the concerns many Singaporeans expressed during the pandemic that foreign workers were being favored over local hires. 

Issues over pay have long been a hot topic politically in Singapore, where the median monthly income was S$4,680 last year. Government ministers -- whose monthly starting pay of S$46,750 makes them among the highest paid in the world, have been forced to defend their salaries and take pay cuts amid public criticism in the past.

Without mentioning Hong Kong, Lee said Singapore risks being out-competed if it doesn’t do more to lure foreign talent. 

“When it comes to top talent, we can never have enough,” Lee said in his Aug. 21 speech. “This is an age where talent makes all the difference to a nation’s success.”

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