No. S 46
Employment of Foreign Manpower Act
(Chapter 91A)
Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Pass Exemptions) Notification 2008
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the Minister for Manpower hereby makes the following Notification:
Citation and commencement
1.  This Notification may be cited as the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Pass Exemptions) Notification 2008 and shall come into operation on 1st February 2008.
Exemption for certain activities
2.—(1)  Any foreigner who —
(a)seeks or is offered employment in Singapore to perform any of the activities specified in sub-paragraph (3) (referred to in this paragraph as the specified activities) for an employer for a period of not more than 60 days; and
(b)notifies the Controller, in such form and manner as the Controller may require, of the nature and duration of the specified activity after arriving in Singapore and before commencing to perform the specified activity,
shall, subject to paragraph 3, be exempted from the requirement in section 5 of the Act of having a work pass to be in the employment of the employer during the period of 60 days referred to in sub-paragraph (a), or such longer period as the Controller may allow.
(2)  The employer of a foreigner referred to in sub-paragraph (1) shall, subject to paragraph 3, be exempted from the requirement in section 5 of the Act in respect of that foreigner.
(3)  For the purposes of this paragraph, the specified activities are as follows:
(a)performing as an actor, a singer, a dancer or a musician, or involvement as a key support staff, in an event supported by the Government or any statutory board constituted by or under any written law for a public purpose;
(b)performing as an actor, a singer, a dancer or a musician, or involvement as a key support staff, in any event which is held at a performance venue to which the public or any class of the public has access whether gratuitously or otherwise (including any theatre or concert hall), but not at any bar, discotheque, lounge, night club, pub, hotel, private club or restaurant;
(c)journalism activities (including media coverage for events or media tours) supported by the Government or any statutory board constituted by or under any written law for a public purpose;
(d)activities relating to any sports competition, event or training (including involvement as a sportsman, a coach, an umpire, a referee or a key support staff) supported by the Government or any statutory board constituted by or under any written law for a public purpose, other than being engaged as a sportsman of any sports organisation in Singapore pursuant to a contract of service;
(e)participating in any exhibition or trade fair as an exhibitor or a trader;
(f)activities relating to any location filming or fashion show (including involvement as an actor, a model, a director, a member of the film crew or technical crew, or a photographer);
(g)activities relating directly to the organisation or conduct of any seminar, conference, workshop, gathering or talk which —
(i)does not relate, directly or indirectly, to any religious belief or to religion generally;
(ii)does not relate, directly or indirectly, to any race or community or to race generally; and
(iii)is not cause-related or directed towards a political end,
including involvement as a speaker, moderator, facilitator or trainer;
(h)providing expertise or specialised skills —
(i)in the commissioning or audit of any new plant or equipment (including any audit to ensure regulatory compliance or compliance with one or more standards); or
(ii)in the installation, dismantling, transfer, repair or maintenance of any equipment, process or machine, whether in relation to a scale up of operations or otherwise,
except that, in relation to the installation, dismantling, repair or maintenance of any equipment or machine, the expertise or specialised skills shall be of a kind that is not available in Singapore or is to be provided by the authorised service personnel of the manufacturer or supplier of the equipment or machine (as the case may be);
(i)providing arbitration or mediation services (including involvement as an arbitrator or a mediator) in relation to any case or matter which —
(i)does not relate, directly or indirectly, to any religious belief or to religion generally;
(ii)does not relate, directly or indirectly, to any race or community or to race generally; and
(iii)is not cause-related or directed towards a political end.
Withdrawal of exemption
3.  The Controller may at any time, by notice in writing to any foreigner referred to in paragraph 2(1) and his employer, withdraw the exemption of the foreigner and his employer from section 5 of the Act with effect from such date as may be specified in the notice.
Saving
4.  Nothing in this Notification shall be construed to limit or in any way affect the operation of any other written law.
Made this 31st day of January 2008.
LEO YIP
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Manpower,
Singapore.
[WP(S) 17:02; AG/LEG/SL/91A/2003/1 Vol. 3]