Opening in Singapore: Staffing a Japanese Restaurant Launch

Staffing a Singapore opening is decided by numbers more than in most countries. To bring a Japanese head chef you need an Employment Pass (EP) or an S Pass, and each has a salary floor, a points or quota test, and a cap on how many you can hold. On top of that, you must advertise the job locally before you apply. If you do not decide when in the opening plan each condition will be met, you can end up with no head chef on opening day.

This article is written for a Japanese restaurant company or owner opening in Singapore. For the rules of each pass in detail, see Singapore EP and S Pass for Japanese restaurant staff; for hiring in general, see Hiring a Japanese chef in Singapore.

1. Singapore in numbers

More than 85% of Japanese nationals here are long-term residents. Many are likely to be company postings and their families, and whether they can work for you depends on their own pass. Do not count on filling a kitchen with Japanese people hired locally.

2. In practice, two passes

The services sector Work Permit is limited to set source countries, and Japan is not one of them. To employ a Japanese chef you need an EP or an S Pass.

Under COMPASS, the qualifications criterion (C2) scores zero without a degree equivalent qualification, so a culinary school diploma is unlikely to score. Chef is also not on the Shortage Occupation List effective 1 January 2026. How to build the points is covered in COMPASS points for chefs.

3. The order of your opening steps affects the application

Three rules tie the passes to the order in which you open.

1) Registering the local company

MOM says most EP applications submitted online are processed, or given an update, within 10 business days. For overseas companies not registered in Singapore, it gives 6 weeks for most cases. Registering the company first and then applying puts you in the faster lane.

2) Advertising on MyCareersFuture

Under the Fair Consideration Framework, employers applying for an EP or S Pass must first advertise on MyCareersFuture and consider all candidates fairly. The advert must run for at least 14 consecutive days, and you should not make a job offer to any candidate during that period. So even if your head chef in Japan is already chosen, you cannot apply until the 14 day advert has run. See the Fair Consideration Framework for restaurants.

3) S Pass quota depends on your local staff

In services, S Pass holders can make up no more than 10% of the total workforce. A company that has not yet hired local staff before opening has almost no S Pass quota. If you plan to bring Japanese cooks on S Passes, hire local staff first.

4. What one head chef costs in salary

This is the point most often missed in a Singapore budget. MOM's wage survey puts the median monthly wage for chefs at S$3,850. The EP minimum is S$5,600 even for the youngest applicants, and S$10,700 at age 45 and over. Bringing a head chef on an EP means paying well above the market median.

From 1 January 2027, the EP minimum rises to between S$6,000 and S$11,500, and the S Pass minimum to between S$3,600 and S$5,100. If you will open in 2027 or later, budget on the new figures. S Passes also carry a levy of S$650 a month. For costs beyond salary, see budgeting staff costs for an overseas opening.

5. Why local hiring comes first

Taken together, these conditions point to one model for Singapore: secure your local team first and keep the Japanese staff to a small core.

• S Pass quota depends on the number of local staff.
• The EP salary floor is high, so bringing several people gets expensive quickly.
• Most Japanese nationals in Singapore are long-term residents, so local Japanese hires are hard to rely on.

But the average monthly resignation rate in F&B services is 2.2%, above the 1.2% for all industries. If local staff do not stay, your S Pass quota wobbles too. Retention after opening is covered in keeping chefs abroad, and the choice of pass for kitchen roles in Work Permit vs S Pass.

6. Building it into the opening schedule

7. Checklist

• Is the EP minimum salary for your head chef's age in the P&L?
• Have you costed it on the rules that apply from 1 January 2027?
• Can the chef reach 40 COMPASS points?
• If you use S Passes, does the plan hire local staff first?
• Is a MyCareersFuture advert of at least 14 days scheduled before the application?
• Will you apply after the company is registered?

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Salary thresholds and procedures were checked as of September 2026. Check MOM's official site for the latest requirements.