SINGAPORE: In the first six months since the relaxation of hiring rules, about 170 Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or LTVP+ holders have been employed as stall assistants across more than 120 hawker centres in Singapore.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu disclosed the figure in a written reply to a Parliamentary question on 22 September 2025.
The question was filed by Ang Mo Kio GRC Member of Parliament Victor Lye.
Lye asked how many hawkers had tapped the scheme since its commencement on 1 January 2025, and whether the uptake suggested a limited pool of eligible workers or low demand for such assistants.
Fu explained that under the revised policy, hawker stallholders at centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or its appointed operators may employ LTVP and LTVP+ holders with Letters of Consent (LOC) or Pre-approved LOCs, even without familial ties to the stallholder.
The policy, which took effect on 1 January 2025, is still in its early stages, Fu noted.
She said the NEA will continue monitoring the number of LTVP and LTVP+ holders employed in hawker centres.
The rule change was first announced in Parliament on 14 October 2024 by then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Koh Poh Koon.
It was introduced to address manpower shortages in the hawker trade.
Previously, only Singapore citizens and permanent residents could be employed as stall assistants in NEA-managed hawker centres.
Fu emphasised that the relaxation allows LTVP holders with approved work rights, particularly those with family connections to hawkers, to contribute to sustaining the trade.
In a related query, Lye asked for updates on hawker stall subletting and the Hawkers Succession Scheme (HSS), which began on 1 January 2022.
Fu reiterated that NEA takes a firm stance against subletting, with regular inspections ensuring that stallholders operate their stalls personally.
Between 2012 and 2024, around 230 stallholders received termination notices after earlier warnings for failing to personally manage their stalls.
In 2024 alone, more than 230 stallholders were issued Letters of Warning for non-compliance, and over 30 had their stall tenancies terminated.
Regarding succession, Fu said the HSS is designed to preserve hawker culture by enabling veteran hawkers to pass on their skills, recipes, and stalls either to family or to aspiring successors through structured apprenticeship and transfer.
To date, six veteran hawkers have successfully completed transfers under the scheme, while four more are in progress. NEA is currently working with two additional veteran hawkers to identify suitable successors.
The HSS is positioned as a means of sustaining Singapore’s hawker heritage rather than a tool to tackle subletting.
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