Why MyCareersFuture Matters for Every EP Hire
Before most companies can lodge an Employment Pass (EP) application in Singapore, they must first advertise the role to local jobseekers. This obligation comes from the Ministry of Manpower's Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), and the advertisement has to run on MyCareersFuture (MCF) — the government's national jobs portal.
It sounds like a simple box to tick. In practice, the MCF requirement is one of the most common reasons an EP application is delayed or rejected: the advertisement was missing, ran for too few days, didn't match the job being applied for, or a job offer was made before the advertising period closed.
This guide explains the MCF requirement in plain English — when it applies, when you're exempt, and how it connects to your COMPASS eligibility — and then shows exactly how VisaOne (VOS) handles the entire MCF job posting workflow on your behalf.
The bottom line: MCF is not paperwork you can leave to the last minute. It sits on the critical path of your EP timeline. Get it wrong and your whole application slips by weeks.
What Is the MCF / Fair Consideration Framework Requirement?
Under the FCF, Singapore employers are expected to consider local candidates fairly before hiring a foreign professional on an Employment Pass. The mechanism is a mandatory job advertisement on MyCareersFuture.
Three rules matter most:
- The role must be advertised for at least 14 consecutive days on MyCareersFuture before you submit the EP application.
- The advertisement must genuinely reflect the job — the title, salary range, and requirements should match the EP application.
- No job offer should be extended during the advertising period. The point of the window is fair consideration of local applicants.
Only once the 14-day window has run, and you have fairly considered local applicants, can the EP application be lodged with MOM.
Do You Even Need to Post on MyCareersFuture?
Not every hire triggers the MCF requirement. Your company may be exempt from advertising for a particular role. The two most relevant exemptions are based on company size and salary:
| Situation | MCF advertising required? |
|---|---|
| Company has fewer than 10 employees | Exempt — no posting needed |
| Proposed monthly salary is S$22,500 or more | Exempt — no posting needed |
| Company has 10 or more employees and salary is below S$22,500 | Yes — you must post on MyCareersFuture |
In short: if your company has fewer than 10 employees or the role pays S$22,500 a month or more, the role is generally exempt from the MyCareersFuture advertising requirement. The companies that do need to post are typically larger employers (10 or more staff) hiring at more common salary levels — below the S$22,500 threshold.
Pro-Tip: Exemptions are assessed per application, not once per company. A growing SME can be exempt on one senior hire and required to advertise on the next. VisaOne checks this for you at the point of order creation, so you never have to second-guess the rule.
How MCF Connects to COMPASS and EP Eligibility
The MCF advertisement is a gateway requirement — clearing it doesn't approve your EP, it simply lets you apply. The actual approval decision runs through the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS), MOM's points-based system.
The two are deeply linked. The salary you advertise on MyCareersFuture should be consistent with the salary on your EP application — and salary is the single most important COMPASS criterion (C1), alongside qualifications (C2). An advertisement that understates the role, or a salary that fails the COMPASS benchmark, undermines both your fair-consideration obligation and your points score at once.
If you want to understand how to maximise your approval odds once the advertising requirement is met, read our companion guide: How to Maximize Your COMPASS Score for Singapore EP Applications.
How MCF Job Posting Works Inside VisaOne
This is where VisaOne removes the manual burden. The MCF requirement is handled as part of your normal EP order — you don't manage a separate process or track deadlines in a spreadsheet.
Step 1 — Declare or delegate at order creation
When you create an EP order in VisaOne, the platform already knows your company size and the proposed salary, so it determines whether the MCF requirement applies. From there you have two paths:
- Let VisaOne handle the posting for you. Add the MyCareersFuture service to your order, and VOS will collect the job details and manage the advertisement.
- Declare your own status. If you're managing the posting yourself, you simply tell VisaOne whether you already have an MCF job posting ID (you enter it) or you'll provide the ID later. Your choice is recorded against the application so nothing is lost.
If your company is exempt, VisaOne recognises it and doesn't ask the question at all.
Step 2 — The guided MCF form
When VisaOne manages the posting, it sends the employer sponsor a secure, one-time link by email. The sponsor opens a guided form — no need to know MOM's formatting rules — and fills in the details that make up a compliant advertisement:
- Job title, company, and industry
- Job description and required skills
- Salary range, employment type, and seniority level
- Education and experience requirements
- Optional screening questions for applicants
The form is built to keep you compliant — for example, it validates that the salary range is sensible — so the advertisement that goes live is correct the first time.
Step 3 — Tracking and oversight
Behind the scenes, your VisaOne consultant can see the status of the MCF form at a glance: whether the link was sent, viewed by the sponsor, or submitted. If a sponsor misses the email, the consultant can resend the link in one click. And when VisaOne is managing the posting for you, the order's finalisation checklist flags the MCF job posting as outstanding until the form is submitted, so the requirement can't quietly fall through the cracks.
Step 4 — The end-to-end timeline
Here's how it all fits together on your EP timeline:
- Order created in VisaOne — MCF requirement determined automatically.
- MCF email sent to the employer sponsor with a secure form link.
- Job details submitted and the advertisement runs on MyCareersFuture.
- 14-day advertising window elapses with fair consideration of local applicants.
- Order finalised once the MCF posting is confirmed.
- EP application lodged with MOM, then processed under COMPASS.
Why Let VisaOne Handle MCF for You
The MyCareersFuture requirement is easy to underestimate and expensive to get wrong. VisaOne turns it into a managed, trackable step rather than a compliance risk:
- No missed deadlines. The 14-day window is part of your visible timeline, not a date you have to remember.
- Correct the first time. The guided form keeps the advertisement compliant and consistent with your EP application.
- Built-in oversight. Your consultant sees the live status and can resend the form link if a sponsor is slow.
- A clean audit trail. Every step — declared status, submitted details, completion — is recorded against the application.
Conclusion & Next Steps
MyCareersFuture is the first real gate on the road to an Employment Pass. Treat it as an afterthought and you risk weeks of delay; treat it as a managed step and it becomes a non-event. VisaOne is built to do exactly that — determine whether the requirement applies, collect the job details through a simple guided form, and carry the status all the way to EP lodgement.
Ready to take the guesswork out of your next EP hire? Create your account and start an order or log in to your VisaOne dashboard to get started.