Singapore blocks visas for Indian IT professionals

NEW DELHI: While the focus has been on the US, visas for IT professionals to work in Singapore have dropped “to a trickle”, prompting the government to put on hold the review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) citing violation of the trade pact.With Indian companies being advised to hire local talent, they are looking at relocating some of their operations to other countries in the region. From HCL and TCS, which were the early movers to Singapore, the list has expanded to include Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant and L&T Infotech.“This ( visa problem) has been lingering for a while but since early-2016, visas are down to a trickle. All Indian companies have received communication on fair consideration, which basically means hiring local people,” Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar told TOI. For all practical purposes, visas have stopped for our people, added another industry executive. Prompted by problems for IT and the banking sector — where there is lack of transparency on the capital requirement, the Indian government has now decided against expanding the scope of goods where import duties would be cut unless the concerns of domestic industry are addressed.Sources told TOI that Singapore authorities were insisting on what is called “economic needs test” (ENT), which requires compliance with certain economic criteria, to deny access to Indian professionals. “They are doing it despite the CECA clearly stating that there will be no ENT or quotas on agreed services. This is a violation of the agreement,” said an Indian officer, who did not wish to be identified due to the ongoing negotiations.The view in the government is that it is necessary to assess the benefits that Indian industry derives from the agreement before going ahead with agreeing to expand its scope.Services trade globally faces such barriers for professionals with countries insisting on fulfilling various conditions, including ensuring that a local professional is given the first chance if he or she possesses the same or similar talent.In recent years, Singapore has emerged as a key opponent of allowing foreign professionals into the island nation.