Singapore · Employment
Employment Pass (COMPASS framework)
Open. Qualifying salaries confirmed by MOM. Current bands apply to 31 December 2027, with an announced increase effective 1 January 2027 for new applications.
For a UHNW principal, the practical route into Singapore is often an EP issued by their own Singapore holding or family-office entity. It is cheaper and faster than GIP, and it starts the PR clock running. But COMPASS made the self-sponsored EP substantially harder. A one-person company tends to score badly on diversity and local employment support.
Qualifying routes
Minimum fixed monthly salary from age 23 or below, rising with age to SGD 10,700 at age 45+. It rises to SGD 6,000 / SGD 11,500 from 1 January 2027.
Minimum SGD 6,200, rising to SGD 11,800 at age 45+. It rises to SGD 6,600 / SGD 12,700 from 1 January 2027.
The facts
- Minimum
- 5.6k SGD
- Total landed cost
- SGD 105 application fee plus SGD 225 issuance fee, both paid by the employer
- Route type
- By employment
- Timeline
- 1–2 months (Typically within 3 weeks for straightforward cases)
- Physical presence
- This is an employment-based pass. You are expected to actually work in Singapore
- Family
- Spouse and children under 21 can join via a Dependant's Pass, provided the salary is at least SGD 6,000Parents can join via a Long Term Visit Pass, provided the salary is at least SGD 12,000
- Permanent residency
- There is no fixed rule. PR applications are commonly made after around 2 years of EP employment, and approval is discretionary
- Citizenship
- Only through PR, and it remains discretionary
- Language test
- None
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- A job offer from a Singapore-registered employerMeeting the age-adjusted qualifying salary for the sectorYou need at least 40 COMPASS points. Some exemptions apply, including for salaries at or above the COMPASS exemption threshold.A qualification from a recognised institution that meets the required standard
- COMPASS requires at least 40 points across salary, qualifications, firm-level nationality diversity and local employment support. Small foreign-owned entities with no local staff routinely fail the two firm-level criteria, no matter how high the principal's salary is.
- Meeting the qualifying salary is necessary, but it is not enough on its own. COMPASS is a second, independent gate.
- Salary thresholds have ratcheted upward repeatedly, and another rise is already legislated for 1 January 2027. Model the 2027 numbers, not today's.
- Renewals from 1 January 2027 are assessed against the new thresholds on a lagged basis. Check MOM's transition table before assuming an existing pass is safe.