Immigration
Employment Pass gated by a salary floor and the COMPASS points test
The Employment Act and Immigration Act frame entry. Since September 2023 Employment Pass applications must clear both a minimum qualifying salary and COMPASS, a points framework scoring salary, qualifications, diversity and local hiring.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Ministry of Manpower issues work passes; ICA handles entry, residence and citizenship. Dependant privileges attach to pass type and salary.
Governing law
- Immigration Act 1959
- Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990
- Immigration Regulations
In practice
The Employment Pass targets professionals, with a qualifying salary that rises by age and sector and is higher for financial services. COMPASS awards points across six criteria, and an applicant needs 40 of 120 to pass, which means a firm with few local employees can fail on the diversity and local-workforce axes even with a well-paid candidate. The S Pass covers mid-skilled staff under quota and levy, and work permits cover lower-wage sectors with tighter dependency ratios. Permanent residence is discretionary with no published points formula; naturalisation normally follows two years of PR.