Foreign Workers · NTS-OL
FROM SEPTEMBER 2026
Hire foreign F&B staff and caregivers under the September 2026 NTS-OL expansion
From September 2026, Singapore’s expanded NTS Occupation List lets services employers hire more roles — including food and beverage staff and caregivers — from Non-Traditional Source countries such as India and Bangladesh. If you run an F&B business or a care setting, this widens your candidate pool significantly. We can line up your pipeline now, ready for September.
What is changing in September 2026?
Until now, services-sector employers could only hire Work Permit workers from a narrow set of source countries for most roles. From September 2026, the NTS Occupation List expands to add food and beverage and social-service roles — meaning employers can hire these workers from Non-Traditional Source countries such as India and Bangladesh. For F&B operators and care providers who have struggled to fill roles locally, this opens a much larger candidate pool through a lawful, regulated route.
This is a meaningful shift for the services sector, which has the tightest foreign worker quota of all sectors. The expansion doesn’t change your quota, but it widens where you can source from — which, for hard-to-fill F&B and care roles, can be the difference between an open vacancy and a filled one.
Which roles can I hire under the expanded NTS-OL?
| Occupation | Sector scope | Effective from | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooks | Services | Now | Active |
| Food processing workers (excludes supervisors/foremen, tasters, graders, bakers, pastry-cooks, confectionery makers) | Manufacturing | Now | Active |
| Heavy vehicle drivers (trailer truck, lorry) | Services Manufacturing | Now | Active |
| Housekeeping workers and porters | Services | Now | Active |
| Manufacturing workers (assemblers, machine operators, metal moulders & coremakers, quality checkers & testers, riggers & cable splicers, sheet metal workers, structural metal preparers & erectors, welders & flame cutters) | Manufacturing | Now | Active |
| Butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers | Food Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Food/drink stall assistants | Food Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Kitchen assistants | Food Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Waiters | Food Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Cabin attendants | Air Transport | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Babysitters/Infant caregivers | Social Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Educarers | Social Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
| Teacher aides | Social Services | 2026-09-01 | Announced |
NTS countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
Compiled from officially published Ministry of Manpower information · Last reviewed against officially published rates: 2026-06-13. Figures may change — confirm with official sources before acting.
Can I hire Indian or Bangladeshi kitchen staff and caregivers?
Yes — from September 2026, the relevant F&B and care roles open to Non-Traditional Source countries, which include India and Bangladesh. India in particular offers a large, English- speaking hospitality and care workforce, which suits front-of-house F&B and caregiving roles. We recruit through licensed partners in each country, verify documents at source, and match candidates to your specific roles — whether that’s kitchen staff, service crew, or infant and
elder caregivers.
Reserve your September 2026 pipeline
No obligation. We'll confirm eligibility and timing with you. Pipeline preparation is subject to the rules in force when the expansion takes effect.
How do quota and levy work for these service roles?
The NTS-OL expansion changes where you can source from, not your quota or levy. Services has the tightest Dependency Ratio Ceiling of all sectors, so your headroom still depends on your local headcount, and the services levy still applies per worker by skill tier and quota band. Before you build a pipeline, it’s worth checking your quota — there’s no point sourcing candidates you don’t have the headroom to hire.
| Sector | Pass | Source group | Skill tier | Quota band | Monthly levy (SGD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Services | WP | All sources | Higher-skilled (R1) | Up to 10% of total workforce | $300 |
| Services | WP | All sources | Basic-skilled (R2) | Up to 10% of total workforce | $450 |
| Services | WP | All sources | Higher-skilled (R1) | Above 10% to 25% | $400 |
| Services | WP | All sources | Basic-skilled (R2) | Above 10% to 25% | $600 |
| Services | WP | All sources | Higher-skilled (R1) | Above 25% to 35% | $600 |
| Services | WP | All sources | Basic-skilled (R2) | Above 25% to 35% | $800 |
Compiled from officially published Ministry of Manpower information · Last reviewed against officially published rates: 2026-06-13. Figures may change — confirm with official sources before acting.
How do you prepare an F&B or care pipeline for September?
Preparing early means you’re ready to file as soon as the expansion takes effect, rather than starting from scratch in September. We confirm your eligible roles and quota, begin sourcing and screening suitable candidates through our licensed partners, line up document verification and any required testing, and hold the pipeline ready. When the rules take effect, we move straight to application — so your roles fill faster.
1
Confirm roles & quota
2
Source & screen candidates
3
Verify documents at source
3
Ready to file from September.
NTS-OL expansion — your questions answered
Q1: What is the NTS Occupation List?
The NTS Occupation List is the set of service-sector roles that Singapore employers may fill with Work Permit workers from Non-Traditional Source countries such as India and Bangladesh. From September 2026 it expands to add food and beverage and social-service roles.
Q2: Can I hire Indian kitchen staff in Singapore?
From September 2026, eligible food and beverage roles open to Non-Traditional Source countries including India, under the expanded NTS Occupation List. We can prepare your pipeline now so you’re ready to hire when the expansion takes effect.
Q3: Can I hire foreign caregivers for my preschool or eldercare setting?
From September 2026, specific care roles such as infant caregivers and educarers are being added to the NTS Occupation List, opening them to Non-Traditional Source countries. We confirm the exact eligible roles and conditions for your setting.
Q4: When exactly does the expansion take effect?
The expansion is announced to take effect from September 2026. Exact conditions may be refined before then; we track the official position and confirm the current rules with you before you commit.
Q5: Does this change my foreign worker quota?
No. The expansion changes which countries you can source from for these roles, not your quota or levy. Services still has the tightest quota of all sectors — run a free quota check to see your headroom.
Q6: Why prepare before September?
Because the employers who line up candidates early will fill roles first. Sourcing, screening and document verification take time; having a pipeline ready means you can file as soon as the expansion takes effect rather than starting then.
Q7: Which countries can I hire these workers from?
The roles open to Non-Traditional Source countries, which include India and Bangladesh. We run licensed recruitment partnerships in both, with documents verified at source.