Singaporeans take pride in holding the world’s most powerful passport. As of 2025, the Singapore passport grants visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 195 destinations, reflecting our nation’s reputation for security and trust.
But such global openness cuts both ways.
Just as we can travel freely to most parts of the world, many foreigners can also enter Singapore without needing a visa. Citizens from around 162 jurisdictions, including all European Union and ASEAN member states, can enjoy visa-free stays of up to 30 or 90 days in Singapore.
That accessibility has helped our tourism and business sectors, but it also creates an opening for some to work illegally here.
Given Singapore’s higher wages and stable economy, it’s easy to see why this happens.
“Illegal Work” Doesn’t Mean Doing Illegal Things
When it comes to “illegal work”, it’s possible that the work itself is legitimate, but that person doing it isn’t authorised to do so, even if they have the competency to do it well.
A simple example will be platform-based jobs like food delivery or private-hire driving. These are positions reserved for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, as work passes are not issued for such jobs, nor do these “gig workers” technically work for the platforms they are on. In other words, for such jobs, there is simply no legal way for a foreigner to do them.
Similarly, foreign domestic helpers are only permitted to work for their registered employers. Taking on additional cleaning or babysitting jobs elsewhere for extra income breaches their work-permit conditions.
Another typical example involves freelancers from abroad. A wedding photographer who enters Singapore on a tourist visa to perform or shoot at an event is likely to be working illegally. While the work might appear harmless, but because it’s done without a proper employment or work pass, it counts as illegal employment.
Why Singapore Is Stepping Up Enforcement
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has intensified its enforcement efforts in recent years. The reasons, in our opinion at least, are simple.
Wage Suppression For Locals
First, illegal workers artificially increase the labour supply without going through proper channels. This can suppress wages, especially in flexible or lower-income roles such as food delivery, private hire transport, and cleaning. For example, if foreigners were allowed to do gig economy work on platforms like Grab and Foodpanda, wages for local workers on these platforms will likely be (further?) suppressed. This is why, in most countries, taxi drivers are almost always residents, unless they are driving illegally, of course.
Illegal Workers Do Not Pay Taxes
Second, illegal workers do not pay taxes, even though they earn an income here. This obviously undermines fairness, since locals and legitimate foreign workers contribute to the system that funds our roads, hospitals and public services, while illegal workers do not. Even for S Pass and work permit holders, employers have to pay a levy to the government to hire these workers.
Protecting Fairness In The Labour Market
Finally, there is a fine line between innovation and exploitation.
A simple example is the use of foreign vehicles, typically Malaysian-registered ones. Since owning and renting a Singapore-registered car is going to be more expensive than a similar vehicle in Malaysia, some individuals may see an opportunity to exploit the situation by using their Malaysian-registered vehicles to take on passengers within Singapore through ride-hailing apps or informal trips. This creates unfairness in the labour market.
Realistically, we can’t possibly expect illegal work to be eradicated entirely in Singapore. However, when locals are suffering from potential wage suppression and there is unfairness in the labour market, the authorities will likely have to clamp down on it.
Read Also: Guide To Work Passes In Singapore: Work Permits, S Pass and Employment Pass (EP)
Photo Credit: DollarsAndSense/Raymond Quek
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