Singapore organisers in limbo over work visa ban on foreign performers
A scheme allowing foreign performers to work up to six months at public entertainment outlets in Singapore will end, following ‘widespread abuse’
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced on Monday that it would scrap a long-running scheme allowing foreign performers to work for up to six months at public entertainment outlets. The programme, in place since 2008, will end in June after enforcement raids uncovered widespread abuse.
A series of operations in September and October revealed syndicates allegedly running shell entertainment outlets to obtain work permits for foreign artists, according to the ministry. Some of these people were believed to have been released to work as freelance hostesses in other venues.
The announcement came as a shock to legitimate operators such as Goodwill Entertainment, which runs HaveFun. CEO Flint Lu said that the measure risked penalising businesses that had abided by the rules.
“I can fully understand where the authorities are coming from,” he told This Week in Asia. “But the concern is, will that really resolve the misuse issue or only damage the legal operators? All the legal operators need a solution for this.”
Lu warned that while illegal groups might simply exploit other visa categories, the impact on compliant operators would be “deep” and the damage “very heavy”.