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Tools · Foreign worker quota

Foreign Worker Quota Calculator

The number of Work Permit and S Pass holders your company can hire is capped by a quota — the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) — set as a share of your total workforce and driven by how many local employees you have. This calculator gives an indicative quota from your local headcount and sector, plus your S Pass and PRC sub-limits.

Indicative estimate

Foreign Worker Quota Calculator

Estimate how many Work Permit and S Pass holders your company can hire, based on your local employees and your sector's Dependency Ratio Ceiling.

Maximum foreign workers you can hire

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How it works

How is the foreign worker quota calculated?

Your quota is based on your local employees — Singaporeans and Permanent Residents on a contract of service, including directors. A local earning at least the Local Qualifying Salary counts as one; a local earning half the LQS up to that counts as half. Your sector’s DRC then sets how many foreign workers you may hire as a share of your total workforce.
Dependency Ratio Ceiling

What is the Dependency Ratio Ceiling?

The DRC is the maximum share of your workforce that can be foreign (Work Permit plus S Pass).
It is 35% in services, 60% in manufacturing, 75% in marine shipyard, and 83.3% in construction
and process. Construction and process are commonly expressed as five Work Permit holders
per local; marine shipyard as three per local.

35%

Services

60%

Manufacturing

75%

Marine shipyard

83.3%

Construction & process
S Pass sub-quota

What is the S Pass sub-quota?

Within your total foreign quota, S Pass holders are capped separately — at 10% of total workforce in services and 15% in the other sectors. The calculator shows this S Pass ceiling alongside your overall quota.
Local Qualifying Salary

How do local salaries affect my quota?

Only locals paid at or above the Local Qualifying Salary count in full. From 1 July 2026 the LQS rises to S$1,800 (with the half-count band at S$900), so some lower-paid locals will count for less and quotas can tighten. The calculator flags this.

Is this my exact quota?

No. This is an indicative estimate. Your live entitlement is computed by MOM from your CPF
declarations and updates weekly. Confirm your actual balance with MOM before applying for or
renewing passes.
How compass works

Foreign worker quota — common questions

Quota/DRC is the maximum share of foreign workers a company can employ. It depends on the sector and number of local employees. Once the limit is reached, the employer cannot hire more foreign workers.
A local employee is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident who meets the qualifying salary requirements and is counted for quota purposes under MOM rules.

LQS (Local Qualifying Salary) is the minimum salary a Singapore citizen or permanent resident must earn to be counted towards an employer's foreign worker quota.

S Pass sub-quota is the maximum percentage of your workforce that can hold S Passes within your overall foreign worker quota.

  • Services: Up to 10% of the total workforce.
  • Manufacturing, Construction, Marine Shipyard, and Process: Up to 15% of the total workforce.

PRC sub-quota limits how many People's Republic of China (PRC) Work Permit holders an employer can hire. The cap is 8% of the workforce in the Services sector and 25% in the Manufacturing sector.

If you exceed your quota, you generally cannot obtain or renew additional work passes until you reduce your foreign workforce or increase your quota eligibility. Existing pass holders may also be affected if renewals are not approved.

The figures come from the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and are based on official employment records, workforce data, and government labour market statistics.

Want your quota worked out for your exact
headcount?

Send us your local headcount and sector on WhatsApp. You deal directly with us — not a call centre — and we come back with the numbers and what they mean for your next hire.

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