Singapore · Work

Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass

Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass is issued by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). VisaAI tracks 23 official requirements for it, each traced to the government page that states it.

Last verified against the official source on .

VisaAI is not a government body and does not issue visas. It cannot decide, predict or guarantee the outcome of an application, and this page is not legal or immigration advice.

Requirements change. Confirm every item on Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)’s own page before you apply.

Each requirement below is written in plain English by VisaAI. The indented text beneath it is quoted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)’s own page, so you can check what we say against what they say. Where a quotation shows “ ... ”, text has been left out.

Conditions you must meet

  • You may apply yourself — or let an employer do itThe Employment Pass and S Pass must be lodged by an employer. Here MOM accepts either, which makes this the only Singapore work pass a person can pursue before they have a job offer in hand.
    Who can apply Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria can apply. ... Appointed employment agencies and employers can also apply on behalf of their candidate.
  • Only one work pass application per candidate at a timeYou cannot hedge between a ONE Pass and an Employment Pass. Choosing one closes the other until it is decided.
    Note: You may only submit 1 work pass application per candidate at a time. For example, you may only apply for either an Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass or Employment Pass for your candidate at any one time.
  • Route 1: S$30,000 a month for the 12 consecutive months before you applySGD 30,000Nine times the S Pass floor and more than five times the Employment Pass floor. Foreign currency is accepted at equivalence, and the twelve months must be consecutive and immediately before the application.
    Earned a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000, or its equivalent in foreign currency, for the 12 consecutive months leading up to the date of application.
  • Route 2: S$30,000 a month under a future Singapore employer, starting within six monthsSGD 30,000MOM will not take a prospective application further out than that. The start date, not the offer date, is what the six months runs to.
    Will earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 under an established company that is based in Singapore. ... When applying based on prospective employment in Singapore, submit your application only when your employment will start within 6 months.
  • The employer must be an established company: US$500m market cap or US$200m revenueUSD 200,000,000 annual revenue · USD 500,000,000 market capitalisationOne of the two, not both. Global office totals may be counted, case by case. Note the currency switch — the salary test is in Singapore dollars and the company test is in US dollars, on the same page.
    For a company to be considered established, it must have at least one of the following: ... Market capitalisation of at least US$500 million ... Annual revenue of at least US$200 million
  • The S$30,000 must come from ONE employer — MOM prints the arithmeticSGD 30,000S$20,000 plus S$10,000 is S$30,000 and does not qualify. S$30,000 plus S$5,000 does. Ireland's family route bars combining incomes between people; this bars combining them between jobs held by one person.
    If you drew salaries from more than one employer in the 12 consecutive months leading up to the date of application, your qualifying fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 should come from one employer only.
  • Route 3: outstanding achievements in sport, arts and culture, or academia and research — no salary testReviewed holistically by MOM with MCCY, MOE, NRF and A*STAR. A discretionary multi-agency assessment, not a checklist, and it is stored as one because rendering it as criteria would invent precision MOM does not claim.
    You may apply without meeting the salary criteria if you have outstanding achievements in at least one of the areas below: ... Sports ... Arts and culture ... Academia and research
  • If you already work in Singapore, you need a year here firstA short qualifier that closes the fastest route in: arriving on an Employment Pass and converting immediately.
    Existing pass holders need to have worked in Singapore for at least 1 year.
  • Exempt from COMPASS and from Fair Consideration Framework job advertisingThe two gates that shape every Employment Pass application do not apply here. The highest-paid pass carries the fewest conditions on the employer.
    Exemption from Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) and Fair Consideration Framework job advertising requirements
  • Work for several companies at once, and change jobs without reapplyingThe Employment Pass ties a person to one employer and makes a job change a new application. This pass does neither, subject to the holder's own employment contract.
    Flexibility to concurrently start, operate and work for multiple companies at any one time (subject to your employment contract terms, where relevant) ... No need to reapply for a pass if you change jobs
  • Your spouse can work on a Letter of ConsentThe Letter of Consent is not available to dependants of Employment Pass or S Pass holders, who need a work pass of their own. It survives for this pass. Same instrument, restricted to the top rung.
    Your spouse will be able to apply to work on a Letter of Consent.
  • No foreign worker levy and no quotaAs with the Employment Pass, and unlike the S Pass.
    Foreign worker levy or quota No foreign worker levy or quota required.
  • Five years first time, five years on renewalAgainst two years for a first Employment Pass or S Pass.
    First-time candidates: Up to 5 years
  • Renewal needs either a five-year salary average or five local employeesS$30,000 a month averaged over five years in Singapore, or a Singapore company you started that employs at least five locals each paid at least the prevailing Employment Pass minimum. Worth knowing before applying: the second route turns the pass into a founder's obligation.
    To be eligible for renewal, the pass holder must meet one of the following: ... Earned a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 on average over the past 5 years in Singapore. ... Started and is operating a Singapore-based company that employs at least 5 locals, each earning a gross monthly salary that is at least the prevailing EP minimum qualifying salary.

Documents you must provide

  • A passport page, including any amendmentsIf the passport name differs from other documents, an explanation letter and supporting documents such as a deed poll are needed as well.
    All Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass applications need to include a passport page, including any amendments.
  • Twelve consecutive months of payslipsMOM gives the worked example: an application in May 2024 needs May 2023 to April 2024. A gap in the run is a gap in the evidence.
    Monthly payslips for the 12 consecutive months leading up to the date of application
  • For Singapore employment: the most recent IRAS notice of assessmentOr the latest income tax return filed with IRAS — Form B1 — if the notice has not arrived yet.
    Most recent Notice of Assessment from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
  • For overseas employment: verification from a background screening companyMOM will not take the employer's own letter for this. It wants third-party verification.
    Employment verification proof from a background screening company
  • Employer financials obtained within the last three monthsMarket capitalisation or annual revenue, current. MOM names PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Crunchbase, Bloomberg, Google Finance and alternatives.pe as acceptable sources.
    Latest financial information of the candidate’s employer obtained within the last 3 months. This includes documents indicating the latest market capitalisation or annual company revenue.

Steps in the process

  • Four weeks for most casesAgainst ten business days for an Employment Pass and six weeks for an EntrePass.
    Processing time: 4 weeks for most cases
  • The approval letter is a single-entry visa valid six monthsThe same mechanism as every MOM pass registered here.
    Is a pre-approved single-entry visa for you to enter Singapore. It gives you 6 months to enter Singapore and get your pass issued.

Government fees

  • $105 application feeSGD 105The same $105 as every other MOM pass, on a route with a S$30,000 salary test.
    Pay the $105 application fee via Visa or Mastercard.
  • $225 to issue the pass, plus $30 for a multiple journey visaSGD 225 · SGD 30 multiple journey visa
    $225 for each pass ... $30 for each Multiple Journey Visa (if applicable)

Official sources

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