ONE Pass vs Non-B visa
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. The Thailand Non-Immigrant B is the visa you enter on to take a salaried job or run a business, and it costs 2,000 Baht for a single entry valid three months or 5,000 Baht for a one-year multiple-entry; a three-year version costs 10,000 Baht. It is not a residence permit and not work authorisation: each entry gives you a maximum of 90 days, and you must be granted a work permit before you start work. The company sponsoring you carries the real burden — to get your stay extended to a year, Immigration requires the employer to hold paid-up registered capital of no less than 2 million Baht and a ratio of one foreign employee per four permanent Thai employees, and you must earn at least the figure set for your nationality (50,000 Baht a month for nationals of European countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States).
| ONE Pass | Non-B visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | singapore | thailand |
| Stay per entry | 90 days | |
| 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. | 3 months (single entry) or 1 year (multiple entry); a 3-year multiple-entry version is issued for 10,000 Baht |
| 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. | ฿2,000 — single-entry Non-B with three-month validity; 5,000 Baht for one-year multiple entry; 10,000 Baht for the three-year Non-B. Work permit fees, extension-of-stay and re-entry permits are all separate and additional. |
| 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. | ฿50,000 — minimum gross monthly salary for nationals of countries in Europe (except Russia) plus Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, applied at the one-year extension of stay, not at the embassy. Lower bands apply to other nationalities; we have not yet sourced those figures |
| Savings required | None | ฿20,000 — evidence of adequate finance shown at visa application: 20,000 Baht per person, 40,000 Baht per family |
| Deposit required | None | ฿2,000,000 — paid-up registered capital the employing company must hold — a requirement on the employer, not on you, tested when Immigration considers your one-year extension of stay. Representative offices, regional offices and overseas branch offices are exempted from this test. |
| 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. | Not published |
| 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. |
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 Non-B visa if
- Leads to indefinite renewal — the one-year extension can be repeated annually for as long as the job and the employer keep qualifying, and years on a Non-B count toward the permanent residence application
- Your spouse and children under 20 can hold dependent Non-O visas tied to your extension rather than needing their own qualifying job
- A three-year multiple-entry version exists at 10,000 Baht for people who mainly travel in and out for business rather than living in Thailand
- The employer-side tests are relaxed for representative offices, regional offices and overseas branch offices, which are exempted from the capital and financial-statement requirements and only need one Thai employee per foreigner
- BOI-promoted employers route through a separate channel that sidesteps the standard capital and ratio tests entirely
ONE Pass last checked 11 September 2026; Non-B visa last checked 11 September 2026. Sources are listed on each visa page.