ONE Pass vs TRC
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. Vietnam's Temporary Residence Card is not a visa you apply for from abroad — it is an upgrade granted after you are already in Vietnam on a qualifying visa, and only a sponsoring company, investment or family member can file it for you. Validity is capped by the card's symbol: ĐT1 investor cards run up to 10 years, NG3/LV1/LV2/LS/ĐT2/DH up to 5 years, NN1/NN2/ĐT3/TT up to 3 years, and the LĐ1/LĐ2 employment cards most foreign workers actually hold up to 2 years, always at least 30 days shorter than your passport. The state fee is USD 145 per card up to 2 years, USD 155 for over 2 to 5 years and USD 165 for over 5 to 10 years, with a 5-working-day statutory decision window.
| ONE Pass | TRC | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | singapore | vietnam |
| Stay per entry | Continuous residence for the whole validity of the card. You do not accrue a per-entry stay limit and there are no border runs; the card replaces the visa for the period it covers. | |
| 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. | Depends entirely on the card symbol: ĐT1 up to 10 years; NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT2 and DH up to 5 years; NN1, NN2, ĐT3 and TT up to 3 years; LĐ1, LĐ2 and PV1 up to 2 years. Since 1 July 2026 the new UĐ1 and UĐ2 cards also run up to 10 years. Every card must be at least 30 days shorter than the remaining validity of your passport, so a passport with 18 months left caps even a 10-year entitlement at about 17 months. |
| 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. | $145 — Per card, for a TRC valid no more than 2 years — the tier that covers the LĐ1/LĐ2 employment cards most foreign workers get. USD 155 for over 2 to 5 years, USD 165 for over 5 to 10 years. Set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, in force 1 April 2026. Excludes the work permit, the sponsor's paperwork and any agent fee. |
| 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. | None |
| Savings required | None | None |
| Deposit required | None | ₫100,000,000,000 — Not a refundable deposit — this is the capital contribution that buys the longest card. VND 100 billion or more (or investment in an incentivised business line or locality) gets you an ĐT1 visa and so the 10-year ĐT1 TRC. VND 50bn–under 100bn is ĐT2 (5-year card), VND 3bn–under 50bn is ĐT3 (3-year card), and under VND 3bn is ĐT4, which gets no TRC at all. |
| 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. | 5 working days from receipt of a complete dossier, by statute. In practice provincial immigration offices commonly take 5 to 10 working days, and the clock only starts once the file is accepted as complete — an incomplete dossier is handed back rather than queued. |
| 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 TRC if
- Acts as a multiple-entry residence permit — you leave and re-enter Vietnam freely for the life of the card with no visa run, no extension stamps and no per-entry day count
- Genuinely long: an ĐT1 investor card runs up to 10 years, longer than almost any comparable Southeast Asian residence permit
- Cheap by regional standards — USD 145 to USD 165 in state fees for the whole multi-year term, not per year
- A holder can sponsor a TT card for a spouse and children under 18, keeping the family on one legal footing
- Statutory 5-working-day decision window, and applications are filed at the provincial immigration office where your sponsor is based rather than requiring a trip to Hanoi
ONE Pass last checked 11 September 2026; TRC last checked 11 September 2026. Sources are listed on each visa page.