NTS-OL Expansion September 2026: 8 New Occupations Singapore Employers Can Hire For

From September 2026, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is widening the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) to include eight additional occupations across the food services, social services, and air transportation sectors. For employers who have struggled to find local hires for roles such as waiters, kitchen assistants, infant caregivers, and cabin crew, this is the most significant broadening of the NTS-OL since it was first introduced in 2022.

The expansion comes at a time when many small and medium-sized enterprises are also absorbing higher S Pass and Employment Pass qualifying salaries, announced at the same Committee of Supply 2026 sitting. For labour-intensive sectors that cannot easily automate or attract local candidates, the NTS-OL offers a practical, if tightly controlled, route to plug persistent manpower gaps.

This article explains what the NTS-OL actually is, which eight occupations have been added and why, the safeguards employers must observe (the 8% sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling and the $2,000 minimum fixed monthly salary), and the practical steps employers in the affected sectors should take before September 2026.

What Is the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL)?

The NTS-OL was announced at Committee of Supply 2022 and implemented from 1 September 2023 under the Work Permit framework administered by MOM’s Work Permit rules. It allows employers in the Manufacturing and Services sectors to hire Work Permit Holders (WPHs) from Non-Traditional Source (NTS) countries — a broader pool than the traditional Work Permit source countries — for a defined, restricted list of occupations.

The policy exists because two things happened at once: the S Pass qualifying salary has been rising steadily, and many non-PMET roles in Singapore (cooks, food processing workers, drivers, housekeeping staff) see chronically low take-up from locals and cannot be automated away. Workers who were previously hired on S Pass but are displaced by the salary increase, and who cannot be hired on an ordinary Work Permit due to source-country restrictions, can instead be brought in as NTS Work Permit Holders — provided the role sits on the NTS-OL and the employer meets the applicable safeguards.

If you are still getting familiar with how the wider work pass system fits together, our overview of work passes available in Singapore is a useful starting point before diving into the specifics of the NTS-OL.

The September 2026 Expansion: Eight New Occupations

MOM’s factsheet on foreign workforce policy announcements at Committee of Supply 2026 confirms that eight new occupations will be added to the NTS-OL from September 2026, spanning three sectors: Food Services, Social Services, and Air Transportation. This brings the full NTS-OL to thirteen occupation categories across five sub-sectors.

These join the five occupation categories already on the list since 2023 and 2024: food processing workers and a range of manufacturing roles (assemblers, machine operators, welders, riggers and similar trades), housekeeping workers and porters in licensed hotels, cooks, and drivers of heavy vehicles (Class 4 and above).

Why These Sectors Were Chosen

MOM worked with sector agencies to identify occupations with genuinely insufficient local pipelines — roles that see persistently low interest from Singaporean and PR jobseekers despite fair wages, and where automation is not a realistic near-term substitute. Food and beverage outlets have long cited chronic front-of-house and kitchen staffing shortages; the social services sector (infant care, childcare support) faces similar strain as demand for childcare and eldercare-adjacent services grows; and air transportation operators have flagged difficulty resourcing cabin crew roles at the volumes needed to support Singapore’s aviation hub ambitions.

For employers in these sectors already managing S Pass and Work Permit headcount, this is a natural complement to the workforce planning covered in our guide to S Pass and Work Permit quotas.

The Safeguards: 8% Sub-DRC and $2,000 Minimum Salary

The NTS-OL is not an unrestricted hiring channel. MOM has kept the same two safeguards that have applied since 2023, and they will continue to apply to the newly added occupations:

• 8% NTS sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling (sub-DRC): NTS Work Permit Holders hired under the NTS-OL cannot exceed 8% of a firm’s total workforce. This sits within, not on top of, the employer’s overall Work Permit/S Pass Dependency Ratio Ceiling for its sector, and is designed to prevent the NTS-OL from becoming a backdoor to unlimited non-traditional-source hiring.
• Minimum fixed monthly salary of $2,000: Every worker hired under the NTS-OL must be paid a fixed monthly salary of at least $2,000. This exists to safeguard local wage norms and ensure employers are using the list to access higher-quality workers rather than to undercut the local labour market.

Employers that breach either safeguard — for example, by paying below $2,000 or allowing NTS-OL headcount to exceed 8% of total workforce — risk enforcement action from MOM, including potential revocation of the Work Permits concerned. This is consistent with the broader compliance obligations we set out in our payroll and CPF guide for employers — wage compliance for foreign employees is monitored just as closely as CPF compliance for local staff.

Worked Example: An F&B Operator Planning Ahead for September 2026

Consider a mid-sized restaurant group in Singapore with a total workforce of 100 employees, comprising 60 locals and PRs and 40 foreign employees (a mix of S Pass holders and Work Permit Holders in the Services sector).

Because the group’s proposed 6 NTS-OL hires sit within its 8% sub-DRC ceiling of 8 workers, and each will be paid at least $2,000 a month, the hires are compliant. If the group later wanted to add cabin-crew-adjacent catering roles or expand further, it would need to check the updated headcount against the sub-DRC afresh — the ceiling is a live, ongoing test, not a one-time approval.

What Employers in Affected Sectors Need to Do Before September 2026

1. Map your current workforce against the sub-DRC. Calculate your existing NTS-OL headcount (if any) as a percentage of total workforce, and determine how much headroom you have under the 8% ceiling before adding new hires.
2. Review job descriptions against the official occupation definitions. MOM will publish detailed requirements for the new occupations on its website closer to implementation — employers should not assume every “waiter” or “kitchen assistant” title automatically qualifies without checking the precise scope.
3. Budget for the $2,000 salary floor. Factor this into hiring cost projections alongside existing levy obligations, which vary by sector and Dependency Ratio Ceiling tier.
4. Coordinate with your employment agency or HR team on sourcing. Because NTS-OL hires draw from a wider pool of source countries, sourcing timelines and agent relationships may differ from your existing traditional-source Work Permit pipeline. Our associated licensed employment agency, Singapore Employment Agency, can advise on sourcing and application logistics for NTS Work Permit hires.
5. Keep records ready for audit. MOM periodically reviews employer compliance with DRC and salary conditions, so maintain clear payroll and headcount records demonstrating adherence to both safeguards.

Employers that are simultaneously navigating the higher EP and S Pass qualifying salaries taking effect from January 2027 for new applications should read this alongside our S Pass 2026 complete employer guide and our Singapore Work Permit 2026 eligibility guide, since workforce planning across pass types now needs to be done holistically rather than pass-by-pass.

Getting the Compliance Side Right

Beyond the immigration mechanics, expanding your foreign workforce always has knock-on implications for payroll structuring, budgeting, and sound financial management more broadly — particularly when a business is scaling headcount in a low-margin sector like F&B. Where there is genuine uncertainty about whether a role qualifies, or a dispute arises with MOM over compliance, it is worth seeking legal advice on your obligations before proceeding rather than after an enforcement notice arrives.

Singapore’s foreign workforce policy is being recalibrated on several fronts at once in 2026 — higher qualifying salaries, a streamlined levy framework from 2028, and now a wider NTS-OL. Getting your workforce strategy right means looking at all of these moving parts together, not just the one directly affecting your immediate hiring need.

Conclusion

The September 2026 NTS-OL expansion gives food services, social services, and air transportation employers a wider, but still carefully bounded, channel to access non-PMET foreign manpower. The 8% sub-DRC and $2,000 minimum salary safeguards are not going away, so the real work for employers is planning headcount and budgets now, well ahead of implementation, rather than scrambling in September.

If your business needs help assessing your Work Permit and S Pass quota position, structuring compliant payroll for NTS-OL hires, or simply making sense of how the latest MOM changes affect your hiring plans, the team at Raffles Corporate Services can help you navigate the compliance requirements alongside your broader corporate secretarial and accounting needs.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services