Q:	Why should the EP candidates provide verification proof of education qualification for the EP application?
A:	The Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”) has implemented new education verification proof requirement for new EP applications and renewal of EPs. All candidates are required to get their post-secondary diploma and above qualification that will be declared to MOM, be verified by the MOM-recognized source. The new verification proof requirement will be taking effect on the new EP applications and EP renewals with effect from the following dates: For new EP applications     From 1 September 2023 For EP renewal applications whose EP is expiring From 1 September 2024
Q:	Is it mandatory to declare the candidate’s education qualification during EP application?
A:	No. MOM does not require every candidate to declare their educational qualifications upon submitting their EP application. However, if the candidate intends to accrue points from the qualification criterion to successfully pass COMPASS, the submission of verification proof is mandatory for the qualifications declared in the EP application. Additional comprehensive information regarding EP application procedures and the COMPASS scoring framework can be found here for your reference. Employers should not declare the qualification that cannot be verified or are from unaccredited institutions upon submission of the candidate’s EP application.
Q:	What verification does the candidate required?
A:	If the candidate’s qualification awarding institution is not found in application’s form drop-down list, the candidate will need to engage the MOM-recognized background screening companies to provide the verification proof of both authenticity of the qualification and the accreditation status of the institution. If the candidate’s qualification awarding institution is able to be found in application’s form drop-down list, only qualification authenticity will be required to be verify by the MOM-recognized source. You may wish to note that the authenticity checks confirm that the candidate was awarded the qualification, while the accreditation checks confirm the qualification is recognised by the local government authority.
Q:	How does the candidate obtain verification proof?
A:	You may wish to obtain verification proof of the candidate’s qualifications (and/or accreditation) from the following MOM-recognized sources:- Background Screening Companies Government/ Awarding Institution’s Verification Portal Digital certificates issued by educational institutions and verified through OpenCerts Portal (Singapore Qualification Only)
Q:	Can the Notarized Education Certificates and School Letter be used as a verification proof?
A:	No. MOM does not accept the Notarized Education Certificate and/or School Letters to be a valid verification proof.
Q:	What are the Background Screening Companies acceptable by MOM?
A:	The following background screening companies are the MOM-recognized companies who are able to verify authenticity  of qualifications and accreditation of the candidate’s education qualification(s): (1)  Avvanz International Background Checks (2)  Cisive (3)  Dataflow (4)  eeCheck (5)  First Advantage (6)  GPC Gateway (7)  HireRight (8)  Risk Management Intelligence (RMI) (9)  Sterling RISQ (10)  Veremark (11)  Verity Intelligence (12)  Vero Screening The verification proof issued by other background screening companies that are not listed above is not acceptable by MOM.
Q:	What is the Government/ Awarding Institution’s Verification Portal acceptable by MOM?
A:	Candidates are only allowed to submit the verification proof from online verification portal, if the information is: (a) available in English; and (b) public and accessible by third parties. At the same time, the screenshots of the verification portal showing details of the website address, and candidate’s information are required to be submitted with MOM. However, if the candidate’s qualification is obtained from China, the candidate may apply verification proof from the Center for Student Services and Development (“CSSD”), as it is acceptable by the MOM.
Q:	Can the candidate obtain verification proof from the OpenCerts portal?
A:	The OpenCerts portal allows candidates who obtain qualification from the education institution in Singapore to verify the digital certificates issued by the education institutions. The aforementioned includes the followings affiliated educational institutions: (1) Institute of Technical Education (2) Lassalle College of The Arts (3) Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (4) Nanyang Polytechnic of Singapore (5) Nanyang Technological University Singapore (6) National University of Singapore (7) Ngee Ann Polytechnic of Singapore (8) Republic Polytechnic of Singapore (9) Singapore Institute of Technology (10) Singapore Management University (11) Singapore Polytechnic (12) Singapore University of Social Sciences (13) Singapore University of Technology and Design (14) Temasek Polytechnic of Singapore OpenCerts website as of the date of this article’s publication date>
Q:	Does the candidate need to submit the verification proof for every new EP application and/or EP renewals?
A:	The submission of verification proof is a one-off requirement. The candidate is only required to verify the qualification once. Unless there are any new education qualification to be declared with MOM for new EP application and/or EP renewals, otherwise, the MOM system will have records of the candidate’s verification proof records.

See also:
Singapore Employment Pass Application Procedures and Fees
Singapore Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) Application Procedures and Fees

All the information and requirement are revised periodically and may be subject to change from time to time by the Singapore government authorities without prior notice. Please consult with Kaizen Consultants for more information.

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