Singapore · Work

Employment Pass

Employment Pass is issued by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). VisaAI tracks 21 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

  • The employer applies, not youThe Employment Pass is applied for by the hiring company or its appointed employment agent. A candidate cannot lodge this application personally, which is why so much of the checklist below is the firm's to satisfy.
    An employer or appointed employment agent needs to apply on behalf of the candidate.
  • An employer with no Singapore-registered office must apply through a local sponsorMOM will not take the application directly from a company that is not registered in Singapore. A local sponsor submits it, and MOM states a materially longer processing time for that route.
    For an overseas company without a Singapore-registered office, you need to apply through a local sponsor.
  • Two stages, both of which must be passedStage 1 is the EP Qualifying Salary. Stage 2 is COMPASS, a 40-point framework. Passing one is not passing the pass.
    To qualify for EP applications, candidates will need to pass a 2-stage eligibility framework:
  • Stage 1: at least $5,600 a month, rising with age to $10,700 at 45 and aboveSGD 5,600 min all sectors · SGD 10,700 max all sectors age 45 plusThe EP Qualifying Salary is benchmarked to the top third of local PMET salaries and indexed to the candidate's age. $5,600 is the floor for age 23 or below; it climbs every year to $10,700 at 45 and above. Financial services runs higher throughout — see the next row. Read your own age off MOM's table.
    $5,600 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $10,700 at age 45 and above)
  • Financial services candidates face a higher floor: $6,200 rising to $11,800SGD 6,200 min financial services · SGD 11,800 max financial services age 45 plusThe same age indexation, a different curve. The sector is the employer's, not the candidate's job title, and it moves the whole schedule.
    Financial services $6,200 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $11,800 at age 45 and above)
  • A higher schedule already binds: $6,000–$11,500 for new applications from 1 January 2027SGD 6,000 min all sectors · SGD 11,500 max all sectors age 45 plusMOM publishes the successor schedule alongside the current one. It applies to new applications from 1 Jan 2027 and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028. A candidate applying in late 2026 for a role that will need renewing is deciding against this column, not the current one.
    The following EP qualifying salary requirements apply to new applications and renewals: Sector Current minimum qualifying salary Minimum qualifying salary for new applications from 1 Jan 2027, and for renewal of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028 ... $6,000 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $11,500 at age 45 and above)
  • Missing the salary floor ends the application, however high the COMPASS scoreMOM says this twice, in two different sections, because it is the most common misreading of a points system. There is no points total that compensates for a salary below the floor.
    Note: Candidates who do not meet stage 1 will not be eligible for an EP, regardless of the points they would have scored under COMPASS.
  • Stage 2: the application must earn 40 COMPASS pointsCOMPASS scores six criteria. Four of them — diversity, support for local employment, and both bonuses — are measured on the EMPLOYER's workforce profile, not on the candidate. The candidate contributes salary percentile and qualifications; the rest is the firm's to move.
    Your application needs to earn 40 points to pass COMPASS.
  • Three ways to be exempt from COMPASS entirelySGD 22,500 exempt salary thresholdA fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500, an overseas intra-corporate transfer, or a role of one month or less. Each removes stage 2 only — the qualifying salary still applies, and at $22,500 it is met several times over.
    Candidates are exempted from COMPASS if they meet any of these conditions: Have a fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500 (similar to the prevailing Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertising exemption from 1 September 2023) ... Are applying as an overseas intra-corporate transferee ... Are filling the role for 1 month or less
  • A first Employment Pass runs up to 2 yearsRenewals run up to 3 years, and experienced tech professionals in shortage occupations may get 5. The first pass is the short one.
    First-time candidates: Up to 2 years
  • The candidate needs a Singapore residential address that meets the housing requirementsRequired at issuance, not at application — and the candidate must be in Singapore for that step. MOM checks the address against its housing rules rather than merely recording it.
    Candidate's Singapore residential address, which must meet the housing requirements

Documents you must provide

  • Personal particulars page of the candidate's passportThe one document that is unambiguously the candidate's to supply.
    Personal particulars page of candidate’s passport. Learn more about the upload requirements.
  • The company's latest ACRA business profileThe hiring firm's registration record from Singapore's company registrar. An overseas employer without one is on the local-sponsor route above.
    Company’s latest business profile or instant information registered with ACRA.
  • Verification proof for the candidate's qualifications, if points are claimed for themOnly needed if the application claims COMPASS C2 points for qualifications. MOM accepts proof from selected background screening companies or from a government or awarding institution's own online verification portal, and verification is once per candidate rather than once per application.
    Verification proof for candidate's qualifications (if applicable)
  • Non-English documents must be uploaded with an English translation as one fileOne file, not two. MOM accepts a commercial translation service.
    For non-English documents, you must upload the original document together with an English translation as 1 file. The translation can be done by a translation service provider.
  • A completed medical examination form or medical declaration form at issuanceWhich of the two applies is stated on the candidate's own approval letter. MOM will extend a short-term visit pass while medical results are pending, but the request must be filed 7 to 14 days before that pass expires.
    Completed medical examination form or medical declaration form

Steps in the process

  • The employer must advertise the job on MyCareersFuture before applyingThe Fair Consideration Framework advertising duty is a precondition on the employer, checked before the application is accepted. It cannot be done retrospectively.
    Employers must continue to meet the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertising requirement before submitting new EP applications.
  • Advertise first, apply secondMOM repeats the ordering on the application page, in the imperative, because an application filed before the advertisement is not curable by advertising afterwards.
    You are required to advertise your job opening on MyCareersFuture to consider all applicants fairly, before you can apply for an Employment Pass.
  • The approval letter is itself a single-entry visa, valid six monthsThe in-principle approval doubles as the permission to travel. Six months to enter and have the pass issued — after which the approval is spent.
    Is a pre-approved single-entry visa for the candidate to enter Singapore. It gives the candidate 6 months to enter Singapore and get their pass issued.

Government fees

  • $105 application feeSGD 105Paid by the employer at submission. Payable again for each family pass applied for, and MOM warns those fees are lost if the Employment Pass itself is rejected.
    Pay the $105 fee by GIRO, Visa, Mastercard or Amex.
  • $225 to issue the pass, plus $30 for a multiple journey visaSGD 225 · SGD 30 multiple journey visaA second, larger fee falls due only after approval, when the pass is issued. The $30 multiple journey visa is conditional.
    $225 for each pass ... (If applicable) $30 for each Multiple Journey Visa

Official sources

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