8 New Jobs Added to Singapore’s Work Permit List from September — What It Means for Filipinos

If you have ever scrolled FIS group chats and seen a kababayan ask *"pwede ba mag-apply ng Work Permit dito as cook or driver?"* — the answer is changing again this year. Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced in March 2026 that eight more occupations will be added to the Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) Occupation List, effective 1 September 2026. The new roles span Food Services, Social Services, and Air Transportation — sectors where Filipino workers are already a visible part of the workforce.

This sits on top of the bigger reforms that already kicked in earlier this year: the maximum age cap for Work Permit holders was raised from 60 to 63, and the long-standing employment-duration limits (which used to cap how many total years a worker could stay on a Work Permit) were removed. From May 2026, MOM is also rolling out a new Issue Work Permit function on the myMOM Portal, which moves more of the issuance process online.

Here is the practical version of all of this for Filipinos already in Singapore — or thinking of coming.

What the NTS Occupation List actually is

The NTS list is the short, sector-specific list of jobs that companies in Manufacturing and Services are allowed to fill with Work Permit holders from non-traditional source countries — a group that currently includes the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Bhutan. If a job is *not* on the NTS list, it cannot be filled by an NTS Work Permit holder for that sector, full stop.

In other words: the list is the door. Adding eight new occupations means the door opens wider in three sectors most Filipinos in SG either already work in, or know someone who does.

What is being added on 1 September 2026

According to MOM’s March announcement and subsequent industry summaries, the eight new occupations are spread across:

• Food Services — expanded cook roles, no longer restricted by cuisine type. Earlier rules limited NTS cooks to specific restaurant categories; the new framing allows cooks in any restaurant, subject to the usual quota and salary rules.
• Social Services — additional care-related roles for Singapore’s ageing population, on top of the existing nursing and healthcare-support categories.
• Air Transportation — ground-handling and related airport-side roles, reflecting Changi’s continued capacity expansion.

This is on top of earlier 2025–26 expansions that already added heavy vehicle drivers (Class 4 or 5 licence issued on or before 1 September 2025) and manufacturing operators to the list.

The official list of all eight new occupations is maintained by MOM and updated on the NTS Occupation List page. Always check that page before relying on any third-party article — including this one.

Who this matters for

A few groups should pay attention:

Filipinos already in SG on a Work Permit in Food Services, Social Services, or Air Transportation — your employer may now have more flexibility on how your role is classified, and you may be eligible to renew under broader categories. The age-cap change also matters: if you are 58–62, you are no longer being quietly aged out the way you would have been a year ago.

OFWs in the Philippines considering Singapore as a destination — the door is genuinely a bit wider for cooks, certain caregivers, drivers, and operators than it was 12 months ago. That does not mean walk-in jobs are easy to get. It means licensed SG employers in those sectors now *can* sponsor you, where many could not before.

Employers and recruiters — hiring caps still apply. NTS workers cannot exceed 8% of your total workforce, and the minimum fixed monthly salary of S$2,000 still holds. A small restaurant with 13 local staff can hire at most one NTS cook. That math has not changed.

What to confirm before you sign anything

Three checks every kababayan should do before paying any agency fee or signing a contract:

1. Is the job actually on the current NTS list, in the right sector? Cross-check the role title and sector against the MOM page before believing any agent’s claim.

2. Is the offered salary at or above S$2,000 fixed monthly? Allowances and overtime do not count toward the floor. If the basic is below that, the application will not pass MOM.

3. Does the employer have the right business classification? A restaurant must be licensed as a restaurant; a logistics company must hold the relevant transport licences; a care provider must be registered. If the employer cannot show this, the Work Permit will not be issued.

For policy questions specific to your situation, the safest path is to confirm with MOM directly through the Contact MOM page, or with the Migrant Workers’ Office (MWO) at the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, which routinely fields these queries. Our earlier guide to Philippine government services in Singapore explains where MWO sits and how to reach them.

What to do this week

If you are already here on a Work Permit in one of the affected sectors, talk to your employer’s HR before September — not after — to understand whether your role classification or renewal terms change. If you are job-hunting from the Philippines, prioritise SG employers who can specifically point to which NTS occupation code your offer falls under; vague offers are the single biggest red flag in the recruitment process.

The list is wider than it was. That is a real shift. Just make sure you are walking through the legitimate door, not paying someone for a fake key.