COMPASS — the Complementarity Assessment Framework — is MOM’s points-based test for every new Employment Pass application (since 1 September 2023) and for every EP renewal where the pass expires on or after 1 September 2024. The rules are public; the scoring math is public. What we add at scoping time is reading the points across the four firm-and-candidate variables, identifying the borderline cases, and giving the employer real options to clear 40 before MOM ever sees the file. This article is the working version of that conversation.

How COMPASS works, end to end

Every EP application is scored on six attributes. Four are foundational (you score on all four). Two are bonus (you score where the criteria are met, otherwise zero).

Total possible: 110 points. Pass mark: 40 points. The cleanest routes to 40: two foundational attributes at 20 each (e.g. strong C1 + C2 = 40), or all four foundational attributes at 10 each (4 × 10 = 40). Most real applications mix — one or two foundational attributes at 20, the rest at 10 — with the C5 or C6 bonus as a safety margin if firm-level attributes are weak.

C1 — Salary (the lever you can actually move)

Scored against the 65th-percentile fixed-monthly-salary benchmark for the employer’s sector (MOM publishes these tables).

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

The 65th-percentile benchmark is the median-plus of PMET salaries actually paid in the candidate’s sector — it’s computed from MOM’s sector data and refreshed periodically. In expensive sectors (financial services, tech, professional services) the benchmark sits meaningfully above the EP minimum salary floor: a candidate at exactly the legal minimum is below the 65th-percentile benchmark and scores 0 on C1. In lower-salary sectors the benchmark and the EP floor are closer, but in either case, paying at-or-near the EP minimum is rarely a 10-point salary in COMPASS scoring.

The practical play: where the candidate’s salary is borderline, lift it 5–15% before filing to clear the 65th-percentile threshold and pick up 10 points. The cost is real but predictable; the alternative is rejection and re-recruit.

C2 — Qualifications (the candidate-driven attribute)

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

Three operational notes:

• 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 — never assume yesterday’s 20-point degree is still 20 today.
• To earn C2 points the qualification must be authenticated by a MOM-recognised third-party verification agency. Common examples include Avvanz and Verity Intelligence. The candidate (or employer) pays for verification; budget roughly S$150 per credential plus the candidate’s time to provide certificates and transcripts.
• A candidate without any degree-equivalent qualification simply scores 0 on C2; the rest of COMPASS still scores. EP is still on the table provided baseline experience requirements are met and the other attributes carry the application past 40 points.

C3 — Diversity (the firm attribute that hits hardest)

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

• 20 points: 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. This default catches most early-stage firms positively, but read it carefully: as the headcount crosses 25, the diversity attribute starts scoring on real ratios, and a firm that had been hiring heavily from one nationality during the small-team phase will discover the issue at the first post-25-PMET filing.

Worked example: a 40-PMET firm where 18 PMETs are Indian nationals (45%). An Indian-national candidate scores 0 on C3. A candidate of any other nationality (assuming under 25% share for theirs) scores 10 or 20.

The practical play: diversity is a hiring-strategy attribute, not a filing-time attribute. By the time you’re scoring an EP application, your nationality mix is set. If the firm is structurally above the 25% threshold for a given nationality, plan a few next hires from other nationalities — or accept that C3 will score 0 on the at-risk filings and build the rest of COMPASS to compensate.

C4 — Support for local employment

Scored against the firm’s share of Singapore Citizen and PR PMETs relative to the 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 firm-size default as C3: fewer than 25 PMETs gets 10 points by default.

C4 is the attribute most affected by hiring strategy at scale. A firm hiring at a roughly balanced ratio of locals to foreigners typically scores 20. A firm that has hired foreigners disproportionately for several years can score 0 even where every individual application is independently strong — the cumulative impact shows up on each subsequent EP filing.

The practical play: same as C3, this is a multi-quarter hiring decision, not a filing-time fix. If C4 is currently scoring 0, plan the foreign-hire pipeline alongside locals. Two or three balanced quarters of hiring will typically lift C4 from 0 to 10.

C5 — Skills bonus (Shortage Occupation List)

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

• 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 by MOM to reflect occupations where Singapore has a known supply gap (selected tech roles, healthcare roles, certain skilled trades, niche professional services). Check against the candidate’s SSOC (Singapore Standard Occupational Classification) code at scoping — SOL coverage is by exact code, not by job title.

The C5 nationality sub-test interacts with C3 in a way worth tracking: if your firm has a heavy single-nationality concentration that’s killing C3, an SOL role can still earn 10 points on C5 even at the same concentration — partial offset.

C6 — Strategic Economic Priorities (the underweighted attribute)

An add-on of 10 points if the firm participates in an eligible programme endorsed by a Singapore government agency — EDB, MAS, Enterprise Singapore, ESG, and others run sector- or capability-specific programmes that confer C6 eligibility.

Two common misreads:

• C6 is worth 10 points, not 20. The other foundational and bonus attributes max at 20; C6 maxes at 10. If you’re building a route to 40 that depends on C6, you need another attribute working.
• Strategic alignment isn’t enough. The firm needs documentary endorsement from the relevant agency (programme participation letter, EDB pioneer-status confirmation, etc.). Working on a “strategic sector” without formal programme participation scores 0 on C6.

The S$22,500 COMPASS exemption

Candidates earning a fixed monthly salary of S$22,500 or more are exempted from COMPASS entirely. The application still has to meet baseline EP eligibility (qualifications, sector, etc.) but no points test is applied.

The S$22,500 threshold also exempts the role from the MyCareersFuture 14-day advertising requirement under the Fair Consideration Framework — one of the few cases where high salary cleanly bypasses both COMPASS and FCF.

For senior hires above that threshold, COMPASS strategy simplifies considerably: clear the salary, prove the credentials, file.

Three worked scoring scenarios

Scenario 1: PMET hire at a healthy firm

Tech role at S$8,000/month (90th-percentile sector benchmark = ~S$7,500). Candidate has a top-100 QS degree. Firm has 40 PMETs, 18% Indian (candidate’s nationality), local PMET share at the 60th percentile.

• C1 Salary (90th percentile+): 20
• C2 Qualifications (top-100 QS): 20
• C3 Diversity (18% Indian, in 5–25% band): 10
• C4 Local employment (60th percentile, above 50th): 20
• Bonuses: not applicable
• Total: 70 — clear pass.

Scenario 2: Senior associate at a single-nationality firm

Financial-services analyst role at S$6,500/month (65th-percentile sector benchmark = ~S$6,300). Candidate has a non-top-100 degree. Firm has 35 PMETs, 35% Indian (candidate’s nationality), local PMET share at the 18th percentile.

• C1 Salary (above 65th but below 90th): 10
• C2 Qualifications (any degree): 10
• C3 Diversity (35% Indian, ≥ 25%): 0
• C4 Local employment (18th percentile, below 20th): 0
• Bonuses: not applicable
• Total: 20 — fail by 20 points.

What to do? The quick fixes are gone (firm-level attributes don’t move at filing time). The realistic path: file as S Pass instead (S Pass doesn’t go through COMPASS), or hold the role open while the firm rebalances over 2–3 quarters.

Scenario 3: SOL-listed specialist at a borderline firm

Cybersecurity engineer role at S$7,500/month (above 90th percentile for the sector). Candidate has a non-top-100 degree. Firm has 30 PMETs, 22% same-nationality, local PMET share at the 35th percentile. Role is on the SOL (cybersecurity is a long-standing shortage occupation).

• C1 Salary (above 90th percentile): 20
• C2 Qualifications (any degree): 10
• C3 Diversity (22%, in 5–25%): 10
• C4 Local employment (35th percentile, in 20–50%): 10
• C5 Skills bonus (SOL + 22% nationality < 1/3): 20
• Total: 70 — pass with margin.

Same firm hiring a non-SOL role at the same salary would score 50 — still a pass, but tighter.

Pre-scoring strategy: the right moment is requisition, not submission

Every COMPASS lever moves at a different pace:

• C1 Salary: moves at offer-letter signing. Quickest lever, but you can’t adjust after the candidate signs.
• C2 Qualifications: fixed at hire (the candidate is who they are). Verification choice is the only lever, and it’s about timing not value.
• C3 / C4: firm-level. Move over quarters via the hiring mix.
• C5: fixed by the role’s SSOC code — either on the SOL or not.
• C6: fixed by the firm’s programme participation, which itself takes months to apply for and secure.

The implication: pre-score at the requisition stage, before the offer letter is drafted. Once the offer is signed, only C1 and C2 are still flexible, and even those are constrained by the candidate’s acceptance terms. We run a pre-score for every brief at intake; clients on the work pass retainer get pre-scoring as part of the package, with a quarterly C3/C4 health check to flag firms drifting toward 0-point thresholds.

Sources and further reading

• MOM — EP eligibility (COMPASS overview)
• MOM — COMPASS C1 salary benchmarks by sector
• Asprin — The 2026 Singapore Employment Pass complete guide
• Asprin — EP vs S Pass vs Work Permit: which to apply for in 2026
• Asprin — Work pass services and packages — including the pre-scoring methodology used at intake