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How to Hire a Japanese Chef in Singapore: Passes, Pay and Cost

Which work pass a chef from Japan can get in Singapore, how MOM's chef wages compare with the EP and S Pass floors, what one hire costs over two years, and a week by week timeline.

Updated September 27, 2026 WashokuJob

A chef from Japan can only work in a Singapore restaurant on an Employment Pass (EP) or an S Pass; the services Work Permit does not accept Japanese nationals. The EP floor starts at S$5,600 a month and rises with age, while MOM's June 2025 survey puts the median chef at S$3,650. So most chef hires land on an S Pass, with a S$650 monthly levy and a quota. Allow about 14 weeks from job ad to first shift.

For owners and group HR deciding whether to sponsor one chef in Singapore. This page covers which pass fits, what the hire costs in total, the timeline, and how MOM's wage data compares with the pass floors. For the points test, see COMPASS points for chefs. For quotas, levies and the rest of the kitchen, see Work Permit vs S Pass for kitchen staff. For the 14 day job ad, see the Fair Consideration Framework for restaurants. For the steps on the Japan side, see sending a chef from Japan to Singapore.

On this page

  1. Which pass fits the role
  2. The pay reality: MOM wages against the pass floors
  3. How to set the offer
  4. What one hire costs over two years
  5. Timeline, counted back from the start date
  6. Candidates who can already work here
  7. What to do this week
  8. Questions employers ask

Which pass fits the role

The services Work Permit takes workers from Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan, and a few occupations from nine South and Southeast Asian countries. Japan is not on the list, so a Japanese national needs one of two passes, chosen by salary, age and your headcount.

Your situationRealistic passWhat decides it
Head chef or executive chef, and you can pay at least the EP floor for their ageEmployment PassCOMPASS score of 40 points. No quota, no levy.
Sous chef or senior cook paid between the S Pass and EP floorsS PassYour quota: at least 9 locals at the Local Qualifying Salary for the first S Pass. S$650 levy a month.
Chef already employed by your parent company in Japan for at least a year, moving as a manager or specialistEP as an intra corporate transfereeStill needs the EP floor, but exempt from COMPASS and the job ad. Family members generally cannot get a Dependant's Pass.
Spouse of someone who already holds an EP or S Pass in SingaporeDP Work PermitAny nationality, no minimum salary, but uses Work Permit quota and levy.
Salary below the S Pass floor for the candidate's ageNoneRaise the salary or hire locally.

MOM publishes no list saying chefs do or do not qualify. It is a salary and points question.

The pay reality: MOM wages against the pass floors

MOM's Occupational Wage Survey for June 2025, published on 30 June 2026, covers full time resident employees in private establishments with at least 25 staff. Gross monthly wages, all industries:

Occupation (SSOC 2024)25th percentileMedian75th percentile
Chef (excluding pastry chef)S$2,743S$3,650S$4,784
Kitchen operations head or supervisorS$3,116S$4,517S$5,781
Pastry chefS$2,665S$3,436S$5,305
Senior cookS$1,664S$2,515S$3,495
CookS$1,600S$1,897S$3,000
Restaurant managerS$2,857S$3,900S$5,086

Now the floors. These are MOM's minimum fixed monthly salaries for sectors other than financial services:

Candidate's ageS Pass, applications to 31 Dec 2026S Pass, from 1 Jan 2027EP, applications to 31 Dec 2026EP, from 1 Jan 2027
23 or belowS$3,300S$3,600S$5,600S$6,000
30S$3,777S$4,077S$7,223S$7,750
35S$4,118S$4,418S$8,382S$9,000
40S$4,459S$4,759S$9,541S$10,250
45 or aboveS$4,800S$5,100S$10,700S$11,500

Side by side: the 75th percentile chef earns S$4,784, below the lowest EP floor, and a kitchen head at the 75th percentile (S$5,781) clears the EP floor only at age 23 or under. The S Pass floor for a 35 year old sits between the chef median and the 75th percentile. An EP chef costs well above the local market for the job; an S Pass chef costs roughly its upper quarter plus the levy.

This edition codes jobs under SSOC 2024, and several job titles differ from the June 2024 tables, so do not compare the two editions line by line.

How to set the offer

Use four numbers, in this order, and take the highest.

  1. Market: the 75th percentile for the role in the table above. A chef who moves countries expects at least what a good local earns.
  2. Floor now: the pass floor for the candidate's age in the year you apply.
  3. Floor at renewal: the floor for their age when the first pass ends, on the 2027 schedule. A first S Pass or EP runs up to two years, and the new floors apply to renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
  4. COMPASS: for an EP, the salary that earns enough points. That is worked out on the COMPASS page.

Example: a 35 year old on an S Pass applied for in November 2026 needs S$4,118. At renewal in November 2028 they are 37, and the 2027 schedule asks S$4,555. Start at S$4,118 and you face a S$437 monthly rise at renewal or a refusal. Starting nearer S$4,555 removes that cliff.

Floors are tested on fixed monthly salary. Allowances, bonuses and overtime do not count, so put the pass money into basic pay and treat relocation separately.

What one hire costs over two years

A 35 year old chef, application filed from 1 January 2027, salary at the floor, two year first pass. Only MOM set items are totalled; add your quotes for the rest.

ItemS PassEmployment Pass
Fixed salary, 24 monthsS$106,032 (S$4,418 a month)S$216,000 (S$9,000 a month)
Levy, 24 monthsS$15,600 (S$650 a month)None
MOM application fee and issuance feeS$205 (S$105 + S$100)S$330 (S$105 + S$225)
Employer CPF contributionsNone (not payable for pass holders)None
Total of MOM set itemsS$121,837S$216,330
Medical insuranceRequired, cover of at least S$60,000 a year. Premium: your quote.Optional
Housing, if you rent a whole flatMedian HDB 3 room rent approved June to August 2026 was S$2,900 a month, S$69,600 over two years (our calculation from HDB data). Sharing or a room costs less; we found no official figure for a room.
Flights, agency, recruitmentYour quotes. No official figure.

At 35 the EP costs about S$94,000 more over two years than the S Pass. The gap narrows only for young candidates: at 23 the 2027 EP floor is S$6,000 against an S Pass cost of S$4,250 (S$3,600 plus levy). The S Pass also needs quota. With no other foreign staff, MOM's formula gives the first S Pass only when you have 9 locals at the Local Qualifying Salary, and the second at 18. The full headcount table is on the kitchen workforce page.

Timeline, counted back from the start date

Built from MOM's service times with a buffer. Week 0 is the first shift.

WeekStepSource of the timing
−14Fix the pass, salary and budget. Run MOM's Self Assessment Tool. Check S Pass quota.Your decision
−13Post the job on MyCareersFuture (unless exempt) and on Japanese channels at the same time.Ad must stay open 14 consecutive days
−11Ad period ends. Interview, then make the offer.No offer during the 14 days
−10Submit the EP or S Pass application online.MOM aims to process within 10 business days
−8In principle approval (IPA). Send the candidate their copy.Longer if MOM asks for documents
−8 to −2Chef serves notice in Japan and prepares to move.Set by their current contract
−1Chef arrives. Buy medical insurance (S Pass), get the pass issued, register fingerprints if asked.S Pass IPA: arrive within 60 days. EP IPA: within 6 months.
0First shift. Card arrives within 5 working days of registration.MOM

If your parent company has no registered entity in Singapore, an EP must go through a local sponsor, and MOM quotes 6 weeks for most such cases. Add four weeks.

Candidates who can already work here

MOFA counted 33,397 Japanese nationals in Singapore on 1 October 2025. Hiring one who already lives here can simplify things, but check their status:

What to do this week

  1. Write down the candidate's age at application and at first renewal, and read both floors from the table above.
  2. Count locals paid at least S$1,800 over the last three months. Fewer than 9 means no S Pass.
  3. For an EP, score the application on the COMPASS page before you name a salary.
  4. Decide whether the application will be filed before or after 1 January 2027, and set the ad's salary range to match.
  5. Get quotes for insurance, flights and housing.

Figures that expire: EP and S Pass floors change for new applications on 1 January 2027 and for renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028 (both columns shown above). MOM's Occupational Wage Survey is published each June for the previous June; the next edition, for June 2026, is expected around June 2027. HDB rent data updates monthly. Checked 27 September 2026.

Questions employers ask

Can I hire a Japanese cook on a Work Permit for a junior kitchen role?

No. The services Work Permit only accepts workers from the source countries MOM lists, and Japan is not one of them. The exception is a spouse of an EP or S Pass holder, who can work on a DP Work Permit whatever their nationality.

Is an Employment Pass or an S Pass cheaper for a chef?

Usually the S Pass, even after the S$650 levy. At 35, on the 2027 floors, it costs S$5,068 a month in salary and levy against S$9,000 for the EP. The EP makes sense when the role already pays at EP level or you have no S Pass quota.

Do housing and meal allowances count towards the salary floor?

No. MOM tests the fixed monthly salary. Allowances, overtime and bonuses do not count towards the EP or S Pass floor or towards COMPASS points.

How long does it take to get a chef from Japan working in Singapore?

Plan on about 14 weeks from posting the job ad to the first shift. The fixed parts are the 14 day ad and MOM's target of 10 business days to process. The variable part is the chef's notice period in Japan.

Should I apply before 1 January 2027 to use the lower floors?

You can, but the pass will be renewed on the higher 2027 schedule, at the chef's older age. Budget for that rise now, or start the salary at the renewal level.

General information checked against official sources on 27 September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. MOM changes floors, fees and benchmarks; confirm on the linked pages and in MOM's Self Assessment Tool before making an offer.

Sources

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