If you’re hiring — or being hired as — a foreign professional, manager, or executive in Singapore, the Employment Pass is the work pass you’ll be dealing with. It’s also one of the more misunderstood: many employers still think of it as a single salary number to clear, when in reality it’s a two-stage test that changed fundamentally in 2023 and keeps shifting every year since.
This guide walks through exactly how the Singapore employment pass works in 2026 — the salary thresholds, the COMPASS points system, the application process, and what’s changing again in 2027.
Key Takeaways
The employment pass in Singapore requires passing two stages: a minimum qualifying salary, then a points-based framework called COMPASS.
In 2026, the minimum qualifying salary is S$5,600/month for most sectors and S$6,200/month for financial services — both rising progressively with age.
EP Singapore 2026 applicants need at least 40 points under COMPASS across six criteria, unless they earn S$22,500+ per month (which exempts them).
From 1 January 2027, the salary floor rises to S$6,000 (S$6,600 for financial services), affecting new applications immediately and renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
Most online applications are processed within 10 business days; the application fee is S$105, plus S$225 for issuance.
EP holders earning at least S$6,000/month can bring a spouse and children to Singapore on a Dependant’s Pass.
The Employment Pass (EP) is Singapore’s primary work pass for foreign professionals, managers, and executives, issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). It’s tied to a specific employer — if the pass holder changes jobs, the new employer must file a fresh application; there’s no transfer mechanism. An EP is typically valid for up to 2 years for a first-time application, and up to 3 years for renewals, with a small number of experienced tech professionals in shortage roles potentially qualifying for a 5-year pass.
To qualify, a candidate must have a genuine job offer from a Singapore-registered company in a managerial, executive, or specialist role, and pass a two-stage eligibility framework introduced in September 2023.
Every EP candidate must first clear a minimum fixed monthly salary, benchmarked to the top one-third of local PMET (Professional, Manager, Executive, Technician) salaries by age. This isn’t a flat number — it rises progressively as the candidate gets older, on the logic that a more experienced hire should be paid accordingly rather than brought in cheaply.
|
Age |
Current minimum — all sectors (except financial services) |
Current minimum — financial services |
From 1 Jan 2027 — all sectors |
From 1 Jan 2027 — financial services |
|
23 or below |
S$5,600 |
S$6,200 |
S$6,000 |
S$6,600 |
|
25 |
S$6,064 |
S$6,709 |
S$6,500 |
S$7,155 |
|
30 |
S$7,223 |
S$7,982 |
S$7,750 |
S$8,541 |
|
35 |
S$8,382 |
S$9,255 |
S$9,000 |
S$9,927 |
|
40 |
S$9,541 |
S$10,527 |
S$10,250 |
S$11,314 |
|
45 or above |
S$10,700 |
S$11,800 |
S$11,500 |
S$12,700 |
Candidates who don’t clear Stage 1 aren’t eligible for an EP at all, regardless of how well they might score on Stage 2. This is worth repeating because it trips up a lot of hiring plans: a brilliant COMPASS profile cannot rescue an application if the salary falls short of the age-based floor.
Once a candidate clears Stage 1, they need to score at least 40 points under COMPASS — a transparent points system introduced in September 2023 to give employers clarity on how EP applications are actually assessed. COMPASS scores across four foundational criteria and two bonus criteria, each worth 0, 10, or 20 points.
|
Criterion |
What It Measures |
Points |
|
C1 — Salary |
Candidate’s salary vs. local PMET salaries in the sector |
20 (90th percentile+), 10 (65th–89th), 0 (below 65th) |
|
C2 — Qualifications |
Degree-equivalent qualifications and institution tier |
20 (top-tier institutions), 10 (other degree-equivalent), 0 (none) |
|
C3 — Diversity |
Candidate’s nationality share among the firm’s PMETs |
20 (<5%), 10 (5%–24%), 0 (25%+) |
|
C4 — Support for local employment |
Firm’s local PMET share relative to its sector |
20 (50th percentile+), 10 (20th–49th), 0 (below 20th) |
|
C5 — Skills bonus (bonus) |
Role is on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) |
20 or 10, depending on nationality concentration |
|
C6 — Strategic Economic Priorities (bonus) |
Firm participates in an endorsed economic priority programme |
10 |
Firms with fewer than 25 PMET employees automatically score 10 points by default on both C3 and C4 — a deliberate design choice so smaller companies aren’t penalised for not yet having a large enough workforce to measure diversity meaningfully.
A practical example: a candidate might score 0 on salary (below the 65th percentile for their sector) but still pass comfortably if their nationality significantly improves the firm’s diversity mix and the firm has a strong local employment record — MOM’s own published case studies show exactly this kind of trade-off working out to a 40-point pass.
A candidate skips COMPASS entirely — and only needs to clear Stage 1 — if they meet any of the following:
COMPASS salary benchmarks aren’t static. MOM resets the C1 percentile tables annually based on updated local PMET salary data, and the January 2026 reset raised most sector benchmarks by roughly 5%, with fund management and technology sectors seeing the sharpest increases. This matters more than it sounds: an EP holder whose salary comfortably cleared the 65th percentile benchmark in 2023 or 2024 may, under the refreshed 2026 tables, now sit below it — quietly losing 10 or 20 C1 points without their salary having changed at all.
For companies with EP holders renewing between mid-2026 and the end of the year, this is worth checking now rather than at the renewal deadline, since a shortfall discovered late leaves far fewer options than one caught early.
The employer or an appointed employment agent — never the candidate directly — submits the application through the myMOM Portal. Typical documents include:
On verification proof: MOM only accepts qualification verification from MOM-approved background screening companies, publicly accessible institutional verification portals, or professional body letters (for regulated occupations like healthcare and law). Notarised copies and school letters alone are not accepted. Once a qualification has been verified and accepted, it doesn’t need re-verification at renewal or for a new employer’s application.
Most online applications are processed within 10 business days; overseas companies without a Singapore office, applying through a local sponsor, should expect closer to 6–8 weeks.
An EP can be renewed up to 6 months before expiry, for a further period of up to 3 years. Renewal is never automatic — the holder must still meet the qualifying salary for their current age and pass COMPASS at the point of renewal, which has been required since September 2024.
This catches out more renewals than people expect: a candidate who cleared the salary floor comfortably at 28 may be much closer to the threshold by 35, since the age-based minimum keeps climbing even if their pay hasn’t kept pace. If the pass lapses before a renewal is approved, there’s no grace period — the holder must leave Singapore and a fresh application is required.
Employers have a legal obligation to cancel an EP within one week of the pass holder’s last day of employment, regardless of the reason for departure. If the individual remains in Singapore briefly to settle affairs, employers can request a Short-Term Visit Pass, typically valid for up to 90 days. Failing to cancel a pass on time exposes the employer to penalties.
|
Feature |
Employment Pass |
S Pass |
EntrePass |
|
Target profile |
Professionals, managers, executives |
Mid-skilled workers |
Foreign entrepreneurs |
|
Min. monthly salary (2026) |
S$5,600+ |
S$3,600+ (from 1 July 2026) |
No fixed minimum |
|
Quota |
None |
Yes, sector-dependent |
None |
|
Levy |
None |
Yes |
None |
|
COMPASS requirement |
Yes, unless exempt |
No |
No |
|
Validity |
Up to 2 yrs (first); up to 3 yrs (renewal) |
Up to 2 years |
1 year, renewable |
Notably, the EP carries no numerical quota, unlike the S Pass — though a firm with a weak local employment record can still find individual EP applications harder to clear on COMPASS, which functions as a practical, if not numerical, constraint.
EP holders earning at least S$6,000 per month can apply for a Dependant’s Pass for a legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21. The same salary threshold also opens up a Long-Term Visit Pass for common-law partners, step-children, and handicapped children of any age. Both pass types are employer-endorsed and remain tied to the validity of the underlying EP.
The Employment Pass sits at the intersection of hiring, compliance, and payroll — a candidate’s salary structure affects both COMPASS eligibility and how the role is set up on payroll from day one. For companies managing a mix of local and foreign hires, or planning first-time expatriate hires ahead of the 2027 salary changes, it’s worth reviewing your payroll and HR advisory setup alongside your EP planning so salary structuring, CPF contributions, and renewal timing stay aligned.
If you’re also managing mid-skilled foreign hires, our guide to Singapore’s S Pass and other work passes covers the parallel framework for that tier.
If you’re planning an Employment Pass application, a renewal that may be affected by the 2026 COMPASS benchmark reset, or setting up a new Singapore entity to sponsor foreign hires, get in touch with our team for a review of your specific situation.
S$5,600 per month for most sectors and S$6,200 for financial services, both increasing progressively with age up to S$10,700 and S$11,800 respectively at age 45 and above.
COMPASS (the Complementarity Assessment Framework) is the points-based system every EP application must pass — unless exempt — in addition to the salary floor. It scores across salary, qualifications, workforce diversity, local employment support, and two bonus criteria, with 40 points required to pass.
No numerical quota exists for the EP, unlike the S Pass. However, a company with a weak local PMET employment record may find its COMPASS scores lower, making individual applications harder to clear in practice.
Most online applications are processed within 10 business days. Applications routed through a local sponsor for an overseas company typically take longer — around 6 to 8 weeks.
Yes, if they earn at least S$6,000 per month — they can sponsor a spouse and children under 21 on a Dependant’s Pass.
Renewals are scored under the COMPASS benchmarks current at the time of renewal, not the benchmarks that applied when the pass was first granted. Since MOM refreshes salary percentile tables annually, a pass that comfortably passed a year or two ago can score lower at renewal even without any change in the holder’s actual pay.
The minimum qualifying salary rises to S$6,000 for most sectors and S$6,600 for financial services, with the same age-progressive scaling applied. New applications are affected immediately from that date; renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028 onward will also need to meet the new thresholds.
