Singapore’s Employment Pass is the standard work pass for foreign professionals, managers and executives. It is also the pass with the most moving parts — a sector-dependent minimum salary that scales with age, a points-based suitability test (COMPASS) that adds qualifications, diversity and local-employment dimensions, plus a job-advertising requirement that catches firms out every quarter. This guide is the working version of what we tell clients during initial scoping, current as of May 2026.

Who can apply for an Employment Pass

The EP is for foreign nationals offered a professional, managerial or executive role at a Singapore-registered employer. Three baseline conditions must all be met before MOM will accept an application:

• The candidate must hold acceptable academic credentials, normally a degree-equivalent qualification from a recognised institution.
• The fixed monthly salary offered must meet or exceed the minimum qualifying salary for the candidate’s age and the employer’s sector (covered below).
• The application must score at least 40 points across the COMPASS framework (covered below).

The EP is one of three main foreign-worker passes; the others are the S Pass for mid-skilled staff and the Work Permit for semi-skilled workers in selected sectors. EP holders do not count against a firm’s sectoral Dependency Ratio Ceiling or carry monthly levy obligations — both significant differences from the S Pass and Work Permit. For a side-by-side comparison see our work pass overview.

The 2026 salary thresholds, by age and sector

The headline number most employers quote — S$5,600/month — is the floor for the youngest qualifying candidates in most sectors. The actual minimum that applies to your hire depends on two variables.

Sector: most sectors versus financial services

MOM operates two parallel salary tiers. The financial services tier is higher, reflecting that prevailing PMET salaries in banking, asset management, insurance and capital markets sit above the cross-sector median. Most other sectors — technology, professional services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, hospitality, logistics — use the default tier.

Age: progressive scaling from 23 to 45

From age 23 upwards the minimum salary increases progressively. The escalation is designed so the pass remains a credible signal of the candidate’s seniority — the same role should not pay an under-23 candidate the same as it would a 45-year-old. At the top of the band (45 and above) the floor lands at S$10,700 in most sectors and S$11,800 in financial services.

The figures are the minimum that MOM will accept — salary at the floor does not guarantee approval, because it earns no points on the COMPASS salary attribute. We routinely advise clients to budget a meaningful margin above the floor where the budget allows, both to reduce COMPASS risk and to leave headroom for the next regulatory step-up.

1 January 2027 step-up

The next salary increase has been confirmed by MOM: from 1 January 2027 the minimum for new applications rises to S$6,000 (most sectors) and S$6,600 (financial services) for applicants under 23, with proportional increases across the age band. Pass holders whose current EP expires on or after 1 January 2028 will have their renewal assessed against the new thresholds. If you are hiring in late 2026 with the expectation that the EP will run for years, plan against the 2027 numbers, not the 2026 ones.

COMPASS framework breakdown

COMPASS — the Complementarity Assessment Framework — has applied to all new EP applications from 1 September 2023 and to EP renewals for passes expiring on or after 1 September 2024. It scores each application across six attributes; the pass mark is 40 points.

There are four foundational attributes (C1–C4), each scoring 0, 10 or 20 points, plus two bonus attributes (C5–C6) that add further points where the conditions are met. Earning 40 points is achievable through a balance of foundational scores alone, but most borderline applications need either strong qualifications and salary or a bonus-attribute lift.

C1 — Salary (foundational)

Scored against the 65th-percentile fixed-monthly-salary benchmark for the employer’s sector, published by MOM:

• 20 points — salary at the 90th percentile of the sector benchmark or higher.
• 10 points — salary in the 65th-to-90th-percentile band.
• 0 points — salary below the 65th percentile.

The 65th-percentile benchmark is sector-specific and updated periodically. We pull the current figures for the candidate’s sector before every filing.

C2 — Qualifications (foundational)

Scored against the candidate’s academic credentials:

• 20 points — degree from a top-tier institution: top-100 universities on the QS World University Rankings, or one of Singapore’s autonomous universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUSS, SUTD, SIT).
• 10 points — other recognised degree-equivalent qualifications.
• 0 points — no degree-equivalent qualifications.

Critical: the MOM C2 list was refreshed on 1 January 2026. Qualifications that scored 20 points in 2025 may score 10 in 2026 if the institution has dropped out of the QS top 100. We re-verify before every filing.

To earn C2 points the qualification must be authenticated by a MOM-recognised verification agency — common examples include Avvanz and Verity Intelligence. Plan for a S$150-per-credential coordination fee.

C3 — Diversity (foundational)

Scored against the candidate’s nationality share among the employer’s existing PMETs:

• 20 points — the candidate’s nationality is less than 5% of the firm’s PMET workforce.
• 10 points — nationality is 5% to less than 25%.
• 0 points — nationality is 25% or more.

Firms with fewer than 25 PMETs receive a default 10 points on C3. The diversity attribute is the one most often misread — the threshold is 25% (a quarter of the workforce), not a higher share.

C4 — Support for local employment (foundational)

Scored against the firm’s share of Singapore Citizen and PR PMETs relative to its sector benchmark:

• 20 points — firm’s local PMET share at the 50th percentile of the sector or higher.
• 10 points — share at the 20th to less than 50th percentile.
• 0 points — share below the 20th percentile.

Same default as C3: firms with fewer than 25 PMETs are credited 10 points on C4. C4 is the attribute most affected by hiring strategy — firms that maintain or grow their local PMET base reliably score 20 points; firms whose local share has been eroded by repeated foreign hires can score 0, with downstream implications for every EP filing.

C5 — Skills bonus, Shortage Occupation List (bonus)

An add-on of up to 20 points if the role is on MOM’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL). The structure is:

• 20 points — job is on the SOL and the candidate’s nationality is less than one-third of the firm’s PMETs.
• 10 points — job is on the SOL and the candidate’s nationality is one-third or more of the firm’s PMETs.
• 0 points otherwise.

The SOL is updated periodically; we check it against the candidate’s occupation code at scoping.

C6 — Strategic economic priorities (bonus)

An add-on of 10 points if the firm participates in an eligible programme endorsed by a government agency (EDB, MAS, ESG and others). Documentary evidence of participation is required; informal alignment is not enough.

What the COMPASS exemption looks like

One important carve-out: candidates earning a fixed monthly salary of S$22,500 or more are exempted from COMPASS entirely. The application still has to meet the baseline EP salary and qualification requirements, but no points test is applied. The S$22,500 threshold also exempts the role from the MyCareersFuture advertising requirement (covered below).

Fair Consideration Framework: the 14-day rule

Before an EP is filed, most employers are required to post the role on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days under the Fair Consideration Framework. The job ad must reflect the actual role offered — the same title, salary range and minimum qualifications used in the EP submission.

Two notable exemptions:

• Firms with fewer than 10 employees.
• Roles with a fixed monthly salary of S$22,500 or higher.

Firms with a weak record of local employment can be placed on the FCF watchlist, which slows or blocks future EP approvals regardless of the individual application’s strengths. We maintain the FCF audit trail for every EP we file, including the MyCareersFuture posting evidence.

The application process, end to end

1. Job ad posted on MyCareersFuture (unless exempted) for at least 14 consecutive days.
2. Pre-score the application against COMPASS using current sector benchmarks. Borderline cases are flagged before submission.
3. Employer files the EP application via EPOnline, with supporting documents: candidate’s passport, education certificates with verification report, recent employment letters, and the MyCareersFuture post evidence where applicable.
4. MOM processes the application, typically 3 to 5 weeks for straightforward filings, longer where qualification verification is in progress or the case is borderline.
5. If approved, an In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter is issued. The candidate can enter Singapore on the IPA.
6. Pass issuance — MOM issues the physical EP card after the candidate has arrived and completed in-country formalities.
7. Card collection at the Employment Pass Services Centre at 20 Lengkok Bahru, where the candidate registers fingerprints and collects the card in person.

The five most common application pitfalls

• Salary parked at the minimum. Earns zero on C1 and gives the application no buffer. Where the budget allows, push above the 65th-percentile sector benchmark to clear 10 points on C1.
• Unverified qualifications. Without authentication from a MOM-recognised verification agency, C2 cannot score. Budget for verification before filing — it can be the gap between approval and rejection.
• Single-nationality firms hiring same-nationality candidates. Scores 0 on C3 with no foundational recovery path. We tell clients in this position to anchor the case on a strong C2 plus a C5 or C6 bonus.
• Local-employment record below the sector median. Scores 0 on C4 and can trigger FCF watchlist scrutiny. Plan the foreign-hire pipeline alongside local hires; not after.
• Claiming a strategic-priorities bonus without evidence. C6 needs documentary endorsement from the relevant agency. Informal alignment with strategic sectors does not score.

Planning ahead for 1 January 2027

Two practical implications of the 2027 step-up:

• New EP applications filed from 1 January 2027 must meet S$6,000 (most sectors) or S$6,600 (financial services) for the youngest qualifying candidates, scaling up with age.
• Renewals for passes expiring on or after 1 January 2028 will be reassessed against the 2027 thresholds. A holder currently earning S$5,800 will need a salary increase before renewal, or risk a non-renewal outcome.

If you are hiring an EP holder in 2026 with a multi-year horizon, build the 2027 thresholds into the offer letter or the next-year salary plan.

Sources and further reading

• MOM — Employment Pass eligibility (current as of May 2026)
• MOM — COMPASS C1 salary benchmarks by sector
• MOM — Fair Consideration Framework
• Asprin — Work pass services and packages for the full filing brief and our flat-fee schedule.
• Asprin — What Singapore’s 2026 EP salary thresholds mean for your hiring plan — the narrower companion piece on the salary change itself.