Verified 11 September 2026
Singapore ONE Pass vs Taiwan Gold Card: fees and rules
Two routes, side by side. Each name below links to its full requirements page.
- Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (Singapore ONE Pass)
- The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass is Singapore's top-tier work pass: it requires a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 from one employer for the 12 consecutive months before you apply, or a prospective role at that salary with an established Singapore company, and it runs up to 5 years and is renewable for 5 years each time. Fees are S$105 to apply and S$225 on issuance, with most cases decided within 4 weeks. The ordinary Employment Pass alternative is far cheaper on salary - S$5,600 a month for general sectors and S$6,200 for financial services through 2026, rising to S$6,000 and S$6,600 for new applications from 1 January 2027 - but it is employer-tied and requires 40 points under COMPASS unless the candidate earns at least S$22,500 a month.
- Employment Gold Card (Foreign Special Professional) (Taiwan Gold Card)
- The Taiwan Employment Gold Card bundles a resident visa, open work permit, ARC and re-entry permit into one card valid for 1, 2 or 3 years, with no employer sponsorship and no job offer needed. The best-known route is salary: several fields accept applicants who have held a position with "a most recent monthly salary of at least NT$160,000" — a figure fixed in NT dollars, so the US-dollar equivalent quoted in guides drifts with the exchange rate. Government fees run NT$3,700 / NT$4,700 / NT$5,700 for one, two and three years on a non-US foreign passport, and holders who then earn over NT$3,000,000 in salary and stay 183 days get half the excess above NT$3,000,000 excluded from income tax for five years.
| ONE Pass | Taiwan Gold Card | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | singapore | taiwan |
| Stay per entry | Unlimited entries and exits for the life of the card (1-3 years); it is a residence card, not an entry-limited visa. | |
| Total validity | Up to 5 years for first-time candidates and up to 5 years on each subsequent renewal, renewable indefinitely while the renewal criteria are met. | 1, 2 or 3 years, chosen by the applicant at the time of application |
| Government fee | S$105 — S$105 application fee for each pass, plus S$225 issuance fee for each pass when the pass is granted. The Employment Pass carries the identical S$105 / S$225 fee pair. | NT$5,700 — three-year validity, foreign passport other than U.S.; NT$3,700 for one year and NT$4,700 for two years. U.S. passport holders applying from abroad pay substantially more, and Hong Kong/Macau residents pay a flat NT$3,100. Non-refundable regardless of outcome. |
| Income required | S$30,000 — Fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 (or foreign-currency equivalent) from a single employer for the 12 consecutive months immediately before the application, or a prospective role at that salary with an established Singapore-based company. Applicants with outstanding achievements in sports, arts and culture, or academia and research may apply without meeting the salary criterion. For comparison, the Employment Pass floor is S$5,600 per month (S$6,200 financial services) for 2026. | NT$160,000 — per month, gross (before tax), from a position held in a foreign state or in the R.O.C. Only some qualification fields offer this salary route. The Workforce Development Agency divides your annual tax form by 12 to check the average. |
| Savings required | None | None |
| Deposit required | None | None |
| Minimum age | None | None |
| Health insurance | Not required | Not required |
| Processing time | Within 4 weeks for most cases. The Employment Pass is faster for a Singapore-registered employer (processed or given an update within 10 business days) but takes up to 6 weeks where the filing company has no Singapore registration. | Officially "over 60 business days" for the full process; a clean application is often quoted at about 30 days, longer if supplementary documents are requested. |
| Apply from | Outside Singapore or from within Singapore; the ONE Pass is self-sponsored and applied for online via MOM's myMOM Portal (an employer is not required to file it). The Employment Pass, by contrast, must be filed by a Singapore-registered employer or an appointed employment agent. | Online, from inside Taiwan or from abroad, via the National Immigration Agency's Gold Card portal. |
Choose the ONE Pass if
- Not tied to one employer - you can concurrently start, operate and work for multiple companies at any one time, and you do not reapply for a pass when you change jobs.
- Self-sponsored. You can apply without a Singapore employer if your past 12 months of salary meet the bar, which no Employment Pass route allows.
- Five-year term from the first grant, against the shorter terms typical of a first Employment Pass.
- Your spouse can apply to work on a Letter of Consent rather than needing their own work pass sponsor.
- Passes are available for eligible family members.
- There is a non-salary route: outstanding achievements in sports, arts and culture, or academia and research can substitute for the S$30,000 test.
- No COMPASS points exercise at all - the ONE Pass sits outside the EP framework entirely.
Choose the Taiwan Gold Card if
- No employer sponsorship and no job offer required — the work permit is open, so you can freelance, be employed, or start a company
- One card replaces four documents: resident visa, work permit, Alien Resident Certificate and re-entry permit
- Salary income above NT$3,000,000 gets half the excess excluded from income tax for five years, if you stay 183 days and had no prior Taiwan household registration
- Counts toward APRC residence, and from 1 January 2026 holders earning at least NT$6 million a year can apply for permanent residency after one year
- You can apply from inside Taiwan or from abroad, entirely online
Quick answers
- What does each cost, the Singapore ONE Pass or the Taiwan Gold Card?
- The Singapore ONE Pass fee on record is S$105. The Taiwan Gold Card fee on record is NT$5,700. Fees are in each country's own currency or the amount the post quotes, so compare them with that in mind.
- How much money does the Singapore ONE Pass need compared with the Taiwan Gold Card?
- Singapore ONE Pass: income S$30,000. Taiwan Gold Card: income NT$160,000.
- Which of the Singapore ONE Pass and the Taiwan Gold Card requires health insurance?
- Singapore ONE Pass: not required. Taiwan Gold Card: not required.
- How long can I stay on the Singapore ONE Pass and on the Taiwan Gold Card?
- Singapore ONE Pass: stay per entry , total validity Up to 5 years for first-time candidates and up to 5 years on each subsequent renewal, ren…. Taiwan Gold Card: stay per entry Unlimited entries and exits for the life of the card, total validity 1, 2 or 3 years, chosen by the applicant at the time of application.
Keep reading
ONE Pass last checked 11 September 2026; Taiwan Gold Card last checked 11 September 2026. Sources are listed on each visa page.