Singapore · Business & founder
EntrePass
Open. Jointly administered by MOM and Enterprise Singapore. It is narrower than most advisers let on. This is an innovation-and-VC pass, not a general founder visa.
EntrePass is frequently mis-sold as a cheap way into Singapore. It is not a lifestyle route. MOM expects venture-backed, innovation-led, job-creating companies. Renewal is conditional on hitting escalating spend and local-hire targets. A consultancy or trading company will not qualify.
Qualifying routes
Raised at least SGD 100,000 from a government-recognised VC or angel investor, or is an incubatee at a recognised incubator or accelerator
Holds intellectual property, or has a research collaboration with an A*STAR or Singapore IHL, or holds recognised expertise in the field
Track record of investing in businesses and intent to grow new or existing Singapore businesses
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 100k SGD
- Total landed cost
- SGD 105 application fee plus SGD 225 issuance fee. The real cost is the qualifying funding or IP, and the annual renewal hurdles that follow.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 2–4 months (MOM plus Enterprise Singapore assessment)
- Physical presence
- You must actively run the business in Singapore
- Family
- Spouse and children under 21 can join you, but only once the business hits its spending and hiring thresholds at renewal
- Permanent residency
- There is no automatic route. You apply for PR through the ordinary channel.
- Citizenship
- Available only via PR, and it is discretionary.
- Language test
- None
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- At least 30% shareholding in a Singapore private limited company.The company must be venture-backed or own innovative technology. Alternatively, the applicant must qualify as an investor or innovator.The business must not fall in the excluded categories.
- Certain business types are explicitly excluded. These include coffee shops, food courts, bars, nightclubs, massage parlours, karaoke lounges, foot reflexology, TCM, employment agencies and geomancy, among others.
- Renewal requires escalating total business spending and local hires. Fail them, and the pass ends, along with your family's dependant passes.
- You must hold at least 30% of a Singapore private limited company registered with ACRA, or register one within 6 months of approval.
- For most UHNW families, the ONE Pass or an Employment Pass through their own company is a cleaner instrument.