Construction workers will be able to take skills test after they enter Singapore
PUBLISHED : 1 May 2026 at 15:50
Singapore will ease entry rules for Thai and Chinese labourers from January next year as the city-state needs more workers for building construction projects.
The Singapore Building and Construction Authority announced the rule changes on Thursday to ensure a sufficient labour force for the construction sector.
At present, all foreign workers are required to apply for work permits and pass skills tests in their home countries before they are allowed to enter Singapore.
From Jan 1 next year, the pre-entry test for Thai and Chinese workers will be scrapped. Companies can bring in new construction workers directly, but they will be required to sit the skills test and pass it in Singapore instead.
Employers will be responsible for booking examination slots in Singapore before they bring in the new workers from Thailand and China.
The change will be applied to workers from other countries in 2028, the agency said.
Singapore needs to import more construction workers as its government plans to make the country more liveable in line with a plan to position itself as a global city.
About 5,000 Thais, most of them semi-skilled technicians, were working in Singapore according to Thai Ministry of Labour figures in 2022.
