Singapore details qualification checks for construction hires from China and Thailand
For the recognised-certificate route starting in January 2027, BCA says verification can take up to about four to five weeks before employers apply for Work Permits.
In a 30 October circular, Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority set out the verification sequence for employers recruiting construction workers from China and Thailand with recognised vocational qualifications from January 2027: centres submit worker details and certificate checks to BCA before firms apply for Work Permits.
The circular supplies operating instructions for a change announced in April. Mandatory pre-entry Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge), or SEC(K), testing in the two countries is due to cease from 1 January 2027. The wider phase-out across source countries is scheduled for January 2028.
Verification comes before the permit application
Under the recognised-certificate route within the Alternative Entry Pathway (AEP), employers approach vocational centres to arrange training and certification for prospective workers, or to recruit graduates who already hold a recognised qualification.
The centres then provide BCA with worker information and verification of their vocational certificates. BCA says this stage takes up to approximately four to five weeks. Once it is completed, the centre notifies the employer, which may then submit a Work Permit application through the Ministry of Manpower’s myMOM Portal.
That estimate covers the verification stage, rather than the full recruitment, training or permit-processing period. The circular says MOM’s application process remains unchanged.
Different routes retain different conditions
BCA’s current AEP list contains nine recognised vocational qualifications across six trades, including electrical wiring, timber and aluminium formwork, steel reinforcement, plastering and tiling. Holders can enter without obtaining SEC(K) locally. Formwork workers must still pass the specified WSQ Perform Formwork Activities course before working on site.
Separately, firms can apply to pilot an employer-led AEP recruitment channel for workers without SEC(K) or recognised vocational certificates. They must submit a proposal explaining how they would select and train workers in specific trades; the circular’s certificate-verification sequence is for the recognised-qualification route.
Workers who obtained the relevant SEC(K) in China or Thailand before 1 January 2027 can still enter under the existing qualification. All routes remain subject to prevailing Work Permit criteria, including employers’ Dependency Ratio Ceiling. Mandatory overseas testing continues in other source countries during the phased transition, alongside employer-led AEP pilots.
