Singapore Work Permit Levy Explained for Construction Employers: Rates, the 10% Rule, and How to Reduce Your Bill
Every construction Work Permit (WP) holder you employ in Singapore comes with a monthly levy paid to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and the rate depends on two things: where your worker is from, and their skill certification. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive tier is $650 a month per worker, which means most employers are either overpaying without realising it, or sitting on a real cost-reduction opportunity they haven't used yet.
Current Work Permit Levy Rates for Construction (2026)
These rates have applied since 1 January 2024 and were last re-confirmed on MOM's site on 3 July 2026, so they remain current.
Source Country or Region / Tier | Monthly | Daily |
|---|---|---|
Non-Traditional Sources (NTS), Higher-Skilled | $500 | $16.44 |
Non-Traditional Sources (NTS), Basic-Skilled | $900 | $29.59 |
Malaysia, North Asian Sources (NAS), People's Republic of China (PRC), Higher-Skilled | $300 | $9.87 |
Malaysia, NAS, PRC, Basic-Skilled | $700 | $23.02 |
Off-site Construction, Higher-Skilled | $250 | $8.22 |
Off-site Construction, Basic-Skilled | $370 | $12.17 |
A worker whose Work Permit is approved or issued without the required certification is charged $900 a month regardless of source country, filed under an "Unskilled" category. That's the highest standard rate on the table, and it's a default employers fall into by not certifying a worker, not a fixed cost of hiring.
Two operational details worth knowing: the daily rate only applies to a worker who didn't work a full calendar month, calculated as (monthly rate times 12) divided by 365, rounded up to the nearest cent. And if your worker's skill status changes mid-month, the new levy rate only takes effect from the 1st of the following month, not immediately.
The Off-site Construction Levy Tier Most Employers Don't Know About
There's a third rate tier beyond the standard NTS and Malaysia/NAS/PRC columns: Off-site Construction, at $250 (Higher-Skilled) and $370 (Basic-Skilled) a month. This applies to facilities recognised by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) for off-site work, and sits well below the standard construction rates most employers assume are their only option. If any part of your operation involves off-site fabrication or prefabrication work, it's worth checking your facility's eligibility against BCA's off-site levy scheme criteria before assuming the standard rate is your only rate.
The 10% Higher-Skilled (R1) Minimum Rule
At least 10% of your construction Work Permit holders must be Higher-Skilled (R1). Fall below that, and two things happen. First, you can't hire new Basic-Skilled (R2) workers, and you can't renew existing R2 Work Permits either. Second, and this is confirmed directly on MOM's rate rule (not just a renewal block): MOM will actively revoke the Work Permits of your excess R2 workers. That's not the same as simply letting them lapse at their next expiry. Check your current R1 percentage in WP Online before it becomes a problem.
This sits alongside the separate construction sector quota: you can employ 5 Work Permit holders for every local employee earning the Local Qualifying Salary, the same Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) mechanic that governs how many workers you can hire in the first place.
Levy Bond vs. Security Bond: Don't Confuse These Two
This is where employer confusion costs real money. These are two separate instruments, triggered in different situations, and most employers never encounter the first one at all.
Security Bond ($5,000 per worker): required for every non-Malaysian Work Permit holder, arranged before the worker arrives. If it's not in effect on arrival day, immigration will refuse entry and you'll need to send the worker home immediately.
Levy Bond ($600 per Higher-Skilled or Basic-Skilled worker, $2,000 per Unskilled worker): a separate requirement from the security bond above. It only applies if:
Your worker's Work Permit was revoked for unpaid levy, and you don't already have a levy bond for that worker.
You've paid your levy late three or more times in 12 months.
Your sole proprietorship has changed owner.
You're starting a new business entity (sole proprietorship, partnership, or an incorporated business with paid-up capital under $50,000).
The monitoring period is usually 12 months (6 months for new companies). A late payment during that window resets it for another 12 months. You can pay via PayNow Corporate or a banker's or insurer's guarantee. Skilled and unskilled workers need separate bond purchases.
Most employers will never see a levy bond notice. But if you've had a late levy payment or two, it's worth knowing this is what's coming, and why it's a different instrument from the security bond you already budget for on every non-Malaysian hire.
How to Actually Reduce Your Levy Bill
Three concrete levers, not just "consider upgrading your workers":
1. Upgrade eligible workers from Basic-Skilled to Higher-Skilled. There are four official pathways, and which one fits depends on your worker's experience and salary. For a full comparison of CoreTrade, SEC(K), and the Construction Safety Orientation Course (CSOC), see our certification guide:
Pathway | Minimum Experience | Certification Required | Minimum Fixed Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
CoreTrade | 4 years | CoreTrade skills assessment | No minimum |
Multi-Skilling Scheme | 4 to 6 years | SEC(K) in a second trade, or safety training/Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) certification | No minimum |
Direct R1 Pathway | No minimum | Country-specific certificate (SEC(K), SPM for Malaysians, or Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) validation) | $1,600 |
Market-Based Skills Recognition Framework (MBF) | 6 years | None | $1,600 |
Once a worker passes, the lower levy rate takes effect on the 1st of the following month. The Direct R1 Pathway is worth flagging in particular: no experience minimum, and Malaysian or North Asian Source workers earning at least $1,600 a month can qualify with a SEC(K), SPM (Malaysians only), or ALP validation. R1 status is also commonly a requirement for supervisory roles, see our guide to hiring a construction supervisor or foreman.
2. Check whether your facility qualifies for the Off-site Construction rate. If eligible, it's the single lowest rate on the entire table, well below even the Malaysia/NAS/PRC Higher-Skilled tier.
3. Cancel Work Permits you no longer need. You pay levy for every Work Permit holder on your books, even one who isn't actively working that month. This usually isn't about cutting headcount. It's about closing administrative gaps: a worker who's already left but whose Work Permit was never cancelled, or one kept "on the books" between projects with no active deployment plan. Check your headcount against who's actually deployed, and cancel any Work Permit you don't need. That's the most common way employers overpay without breaking any rule.
One thing this is not a workaround for: you can't skip paying a worker, or skip the levy, just because you have no work for them that month. MOM requires you to pay at least the fixed monthly salary declared on the Work Permit, whether or not you give the worker work; the only exception is a worker on no-pay leave outside Singapore. Levy works the same way: it runs from the day the Work Permit is issued until it's cancelled or expires, regardless of how many days the worker was actually deployed. The only way to stop paying for a worker you're not using is to cancel their Work Permit.
If you're not sure where your current headcount sits against the 10% R1 rule, or what your actual monthly levy exposure looks like across your workforce, WhatsApp us at +65 8836 4624 and we'll walk through it with you.
Not the Same as Your Full Hiring Cost
This post covers the levy on its own. For the full first-year cost picture, security bond, medical insurance, and safety course fees included, see our complete cost breakdown below. And if you're comparing source countries, levy is only one factor. Our Malaysia vs. Bangladesh vs. India comparison covers the other one: wages often move in the opposite direction from levy.
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