Singapore Employment Pass Eligibility Criteria in 2026
With effect from 1 September 2023, all employers intending to hire new foreign applicants on Employment Pass in Singapore are required to meet the new qualification known as Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) to assess the Singapore employment pass eligibility of foreigners for Employment Pass applications. This framework centers around Singapore employment pass eligibility and has been tighten over time since 2023 to ensure compliance and higher quality of foreign talent approved to work in Singapore. The COMPASS framework was applied to renewal cases since 1 September 2024.
The key purpose of the Singapore employment pass eligibility criteria assessment framework is to enable employers to select and hire high-quality foreign professionals to work in Singapore while improving the workforce diversity and maintaining a strong Singaporean core employees.
Under the new eligibility framework for employment pass in Singapore, all Employment Pass applications will be assessed on four foundational criteria, namely Salary, Qualifications, Diversity and Support for Local Employment. Further to the four foundational criteria, there are two bonus criteria that recognize applications bringing in skills that are not readily available in Singapore and support strategic economic priorities, which create jobs for Singaporeans.
To qualify for EP, the candidate must score 40 points from the four foundational criteria, or by scoring points under the bonus criteria. There are concessions for start-ups and small firms with less than 25 employees to meet the 40 points requirements. Small firms with less than 25 employees can obtain 10 points by default in the category of diversity and support for local employment. This scoring system highlights Singapore eligibility for employment pass criteria in a structured manner, emphasizing Singapore employment pass eligibility.
Renewal applications are exempted from COMPASS for 1 year from 1 September 2023 but will be subjected to the same assessment framework from 1 September 2024.
The following are a summary of the key criteria/ factors that will affect the scoring under COMPASS.
Salary:
All applicants must meet the EP qualifying salary. For a similar job role and age, the salary differences may vary according to industries. For example, the salary requirements for jobs in the banking and finance sector are higher compared to other business sectors. To gain points under the salary criteria, candidates will be benchmarked against salaries for local PMET salary in the same industries taking into account the age factor, which forms part of Singapore employment pass eligibility.
Qualifications:
MOM has also provided a list of renowned universities and foreign institutions which would automatically gain between 10 to 20 points under this category. Considering the Singapore employment pass eligibility, candidates with qualifications outside the provided list must ensure their credentials are validated through approved channels, fulfilling the employment pass eligibility.
Applicants without degree-equivalent qualification can qualify for EP by gaining points through our criteria. The assessment framework recognizes that not all successful entrepreneurs and talent must have gone through formal tertiary education.
Diversity:
The COMPASS framework encourages firms to have a diverse mix of nationalities within their employee profile so it enriches firms with new ideas and networks, contributing to a more inclusive and resilient workforce. Notably, this focus enhances Singapore employment pass eligibility, promoting a diverse environment.
Points are awarded to applications where the candidate’s nationality forms a small share of the company’s local Professional, Managers, Executives, Technical (PMET) employees.
As it’s not easy for firms with a small number of headcount in Singapore to comply, a default score of 10 points will be awarded for firms with less than 25 employees.
Support for Local Employment:
COMPASS recognizes firms that make efforts to create opportunities for the local workforce and build complementary teams comprising both local and foreign professionals.
Points are awarded to firms with a high share of locals, among PMETs, compared to other firms within the same business sector. If a firm’s local PMET share is at least 70% (pegged to the 20th percentile of firms economy-wide), the application will earn at least 10 points. This is regardless of where the firm stands within its subsector. In this way, the MOM does not penalize firms in subsectors which have a relatively high share of local PMET employees. PMET is defined as local employees earning at least SGD3,300.00 per month, which plays a role in Singapore employment pass eligibility.
Skills Bonus (Shortage Occupation List):
The COMPASS framework recognizes that there are a number of occupations and specialized skills that are short in Singapore. Information technology with niche expertise such as cybersecurity and health care professionals such as para-medical skills are well-known examples of such occupations. Others include professionals in agritech, fintech, green economy etc.
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) has been developed and published to guide employers on what occupation list can qualify for additional bonus points, which influences Singapore employment pass eligibility as well.
Strategic Economic Priorities Bonus:
Companies undertaking strategic economic projects involving ambitious innovations or internationalization activities in partnership with the government economic agencies are provided additional bonus points. This participation enhances their eligibility for the Singapore employment pass by aligning with national priorities while assessing strategic projects.
In order to qualify for these additional bonus points, companies must engage, participate and meet assessment criteria in selected programs run by various economic agencies. Typically, these programs and support would require companies to show commitment to developing the local workforce or ecosystem.
Exemption from COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework)
A candidate’s Employment Pass (EP) application is exempted from COMPASS if they fulfill any of these conditions:
• Earning at least SGD22,500 fixed monthly salary (similar to the prevailing Fair Consideration Framework job advertising exemption).
• Applying as an overseas intra-corporate transferee under the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services or an applicable Free Trade Agreement that Singapore is party to.
OR
• Filling a role on a short-term basis, i.e. one month or less.