Kakon's Journey: A Bangladeshi Construction Worker's Path to a Singapore Work Permit (2026)

Kakon is a Bangladeshi construction worker placed in Singapore through Stagencies. Like every worker from Bangladesh taking this path, his journey ran through two governments and a fixed sequence of steps. Here's exactly what that journey looks like, step by step, from certification in Bangladesh to the first day on a Singapore job site.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recognises Bangladesh as one of its Non-Traditional Source (NTS) countries for construction Work Permits — alongside India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and a handful of others. If you're in Bangladesh and a Singapore construction job is on your mind, the door is genuinely open to you, the same way it was for Kakon.

Step 1: Get your BCA Skills Evaluation Certificate (SEC(K))

Before an employer can even apply for your Work Permit, you need to already hold your Skills Evaluation Certificate — SEC or SEC(K) — a pre-entry requirement set by Singapore's Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Without it, the Work Permit application cannot proceed. Right now, that means getting assessed and certified in Bangladesh before you travel — it's not something arranged after you arrive.

That's changing, but not yet for Bangladesh. Singapore announced in April 2026 that it's removing this pre-entry requirement so workers can get certified in Singapore instead, cutting the hiring process from about 4 months to 1. The rollout happens in two phases: China and Thailand from January 2027, then India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka from January 2028. Until then, you'll still need your SEC(K) sorted before you leave. When it does apply to you, your employer will need to get you certified within 6 months of arrival — miss that, and they face a higher levy; miss a year, and your Work Permit won't be renewed. (See our certification guide for how SEC(K) differs from CSOC and CoreTrade, and our full breakdown of the policy change.)

Step 2: An employer selects you, and applies for your Work Permit

With your SEC(K) in hand, a Singapore employer (or the employment agency acting for them, like Stagencies) applies for your Work Permit with MOM and receives an In-Principle Approval (IPA). This is the official green light — it confirms MOM has approved you to work for that specific employer, in that specific job.

In Kakon's case, MOM issued the IPA just two days after his employer submitted the application, and his agent in Bangladesh had the news and Kakon's copy of the IPA the same day it came through. Timelines vary case by case, but that's a realistic sense of how fast this step can move once everything else is in order.

Nothing else in this process can move forward until the IPA is issued. If a recruiter asks you for money before an IPA exists, that's a warning sign — legitimate agencies don't need payment from workers to get this far.

Step 3: You complete BMET clearance in Bangladesh

This is the part of the journey that's specific to leaving Bangladesh, not to entering Singapore — and it's non-negotiable under Bangladeshi law regardless of which country you're going to work in.

• Register with BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training) through the Ami Probashi portal, and have your job contract verified.

• Apply for your BMET Smart Clearance Card. You cannot legally leave Bangladesh for overseas work without it — airport immigration checks scan its QR code.

• Join WEWB (Wage Earners' Welfare Board) for welfare and insurance coverage while you're abroad.

• Attend your Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) — a mandatory 3-day briefing at a Technical Training Centre before you travel; a completion certificate is one of the documents needed to get your Smart Clearance Card.

Pack your documents carefully. Besides your passport, bring your SEC(K) certificate, your existing CSOC safety card if you already hold one from previous work in Singapore, your CoreTrade certificate if you have one, and your vaccination certificates. Keep every receipt too — you'll want all of this on hand at the airport and, often, again after you arrive.

Step 4: The employer arranges your security bond, insurance and MWOC booking — then you check in

Your employer has to buy a security bond (required for all non-Malaysian Work Permit holders) and medical insurance with a Primary Care Plan on your behalf, before your Work Permit can be issued. This is entirely the employer's responsibility and cost — it should never be charged to you.

Your employer also needs to book your MWOC (Migrant Worker Onboarding Centre) check-in — MWOC is the facility where every first-time (or returning-after-2-years) construction Work Permit holder goes through the MOM Onboard Programme, the mandatory settling-in and medical screening stage, before starting work. Your travel date has to be arranged so you arrive in Singapore on the same day as that MWOC check-in date, so this booking and your flight need to be coordinated together, not handled separately.

Landing is not the finish line: you travel directly from Changi Airport to the MWOC — not to your dormitory or accommodation first. Once there, over 2 or 3 days depending on whether you've worked in Singapore before:

• Medical examination (ME) — MOM's appointed team screens you for infectious diseases (tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis, malaria) and confirms you're fit to work and to live in a dormitory.

• Settling-in Programme (SIP) — for first-time arrivals and workers returning after more than 2 years, this covers Singapore's workplace laws, dormitory rules, and your rights as a worker. Returning within 2 years, you skip this.

Bring your IPA letter, your physical passport (the original, not a photocopy), any proof of vaccination you have, and a working smartphone — you'll download essential apps and get a free SIM card at the centre. We've written a full breakdown of what to expect — see the link below.

You'll also need a valid Construction Safety Orientation Course (CSOC) card before you can be deployed to any site — every worker needs one, regardless of trade or experience. If you already hold a valid CSOC card from previous work in Singapore, you don't need to redo it; if you don't, your employer arranges it, and you must complete it within two weeks of arrival and pass within three months, or your Work Permit is at risk.

What to watch for along the way

• Use a licensed agency on both ends. In Bangladesh, that means BOESL or a properly licensed recruiter. In Singapore, check the employment agency's EA licence number — Stagencies' is 19C9576, and you can verify any agency's licence yourself before signing anything.

• No IPA, no payment. Legitimate placements don't ask you to pay significant fees before an IPA exists.

• Don't skip BMET clearance. It's tempting to look for shortcuts when you're eager to start, but travelling without your Smart Clearance Card isn't just risky — it's not legally possible to board your flight.

• Recruitment fee abuse is real. Singapore's migrant worker support group TWC2 has documented Bangladeshi workers charged wildly inflated "processing fees" for the same BMET clearance and flight a licensed agency arranges for far less. Ask for an itemised breakdown of any fee before you pay anything — and remember, a licensed agency's fees are regulated; an unlicensed middleman's are not.

The process has a lot of steps, but every one of them exists to protect you as much as to satisfy two governments' paperwork. Understanding the sequence in advance is the single best way to avoid delays — or worse, a bad-faith recruiter exploiting the parts you don't yet know to check.

Kakon's placement followed exactly this path, from certification in Bangladesh to his first day on a Singapore site. Thousands of Bangladeshi workers make this same journey every year — know the steps, go through a licensed agency on both ends, and yours can go just as smoothly.

Read next: What Is the MOM Onboard Programme? A Guide for Construction Workers Coming to Singapore