Overseas Networks & Expertise 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.
This record has not been fully source-checked yet. The headline figures come from secondary sources and some fields are incomplete. Treat it as a starting point and confirm with the embassy before acting.
Requirements at a glance
| Stay per entry | |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Extendable | Yes. The ONE Pass is renewable for 5 years each time, but renewal is conditional: you must have earned a fixed monthly salary averaging at least S$30,000 over the past 5 years in Singapore, or be running a Singapore-based company employing at least 5 locals each paid at or above the prevailing EP minimum qualifying salary. |
| Entries | Multiple |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Savings required | None |
| Deposit required | None |
| Minimum age | None |
| Health insurance | 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. |
| 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. |
What most guides get wrong about the ONE Pass
Each of these is a rule that changed, or a detail that is widely repeated incorrectly. Checked 11 September 2026.
If I earn S$30,000 a month I qualify for the ONE Pass.
The S$30,000 has to be fixed monthly salary from one single employer across 12 consecutive months immediately before you apply. MOM's own FAQ allows a change of employer during that window, but the qualifying S$30,000 must still come from one of them, not from two salaries added together. Variable pay, bonuses and allowances do not count toward fixed monthly salary.
A job offer from any Singapore company at S$30,000 a month gets me the ONE Pass.
If you are applying on the strength of a prospective Singapore role rather than past salary, MOM requires the employer to be an established company, and publishes a size test for it: market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or annual revenue of at least US$200 million. A well-funded Singapore startup offering S$30,000 does not clear that bar. Most guides quote the salary figure and omit the company test entirely.
The Employment Pass minimum salary goes up in 2026.
It does not. The floor stays at S$5,600 for general sectors and S$6,200 for financial services through 2026, rising with age to S$10,700 and S$11,800 at 45 and above. The increase to S$6,000 / S$6,600 (up to S$11,500 / S$12,700 at 45+) applies to new applications from 1 Jan 2027 and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028. Budget on 2026 figures for a 2026 hire, and on the higher numbers for anyone starting in 2027.
Nothing about the EP changed in 2026, so a COMPASS score calculated last year still holds.
The salary floor is unchanged but COMPASS itself was recalibrated. Revised sector-specific salary benchmarks for the C1 criterion apply to new EP applications filed from 1 January 2026 through 31 December 2026, and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 July 2026. The same round updated the recognised-qualification lists and the Shortage Occupation List. A candidate who scored 10 or 20 C1 points on last year's benchmark can score fewer points on the same salary this year.
Every Employment Pass applicant has to score 40 points on COMPASS.
Forty points is the pass mark, but MOM exempts several categories outright. A candidate with a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500 is exempt, as is an overseas intra-corporate transferee and anyone filling a role for 1 month or less. That S$22,500 exemption is the practical middle rung between an ordinary EP and the S$30,000 ONE Pass, and it is left out of most COMPASS explainers.
The ONE Pass renews automatically every 5 years.
Renewal is tested again. You must show a fixed monthly salary averaging at least S$30,000 over the past 5 years in Singapore, or have started and be operating a Singapore-based company employing at least 5 locals, each on a gross monthly salary at or above the prevailing EP minimum qualifying salary. The second route is indexed to a number that moves - it rises to S$6,000 for general sectors for applications from 1 Jan 2027 - so the payroll cost of the entrepreneur route increases over time.
Where it wins
- 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.
Where it doesn’t
- The S$30,000 bar is roughly five times the general-sector EP qualifying salary of S$5,600, so almost nobody qualifies on salary alone without a senior regional or global role.
- The 12 months must be consecutive and the qualifying salary must come from one employer - splitting income across two jobs disqualifies you even if the total clears S$30,000.
- Going through a prospective Singapore employer only works if that employer is 'established' by MOM's yardstick (US$500 million market cap or US$200 million annual revenue), which rules out most startups and mid-size firms.
- Renewal is not a formality. After 5 years you must show a S$30,000 average fixed monthly salary over the past 5 years in Singapore, or be running a Singapore company employing at least 5 locals at or above the prevailing EP qualifying salary.
- It is a work pass, not residency. It confers no permanent residence or citizenship track by itself, and lapses if you stop meeting the conditions.
- The non-salary route (sports, arts and culture, academia and research) is discretionary and undefined by any published numeric threshold, so it is hard to assess your odds in advance.
Who cannot use this visa
- Salary spread across two or more employers - the qualifying S$30,000 must come from one employer alone across the 12 consecutive months
- A S$30,000 package that is mostly bonus, commission, housing or allowances; only fixed monthly salary counts
- A prospective Singapore employer that does not meet MOM's establishment test (market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or annual revenue of at least US$200 million)
- A salary history gap - the 12 months must be consecutive and immediately precede the application date
- For the Employment Pass instead: scoring under 40 COMPASS points, unless exempt via the S$22,500 fixed monthly salary carve-out, intra-corporate transfer, or a role of 1 month or less
Recent rule changes
- It does not.
- The salary floor is unchanged but COMPASS itself was recalibrated.
Where these figures come from
Every number above is transcribed from one of the sentences below. We publish the sentence rather than only the link, so you can check it in one click — and so a figure nobody transcribed from anywhere cannot reach this page.
“Earned a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000, or its equivalent in foreign currency”
Backs: incomeRequirement.amount, incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Yes, you are still eligible if you change employers. You will also need to earn a fixed monthly salary of S$30,000, from any one employer, for the last 12 consecutive months leading up to the date of application.”
Backs: incomeRequirement.amount, incomeRequirement.qualifier
“The duration of the pass is as follows: First-time candidates: Up to 5 years. Subsequent renewals: Up to 5 years”
Backs: totalValidity
“The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass is renewable for 5 years each time.”
Backs: totalValidity
“$105 for each pass”
Backs: governmentFee.amount, governmentFee.qualifier
“$225 for each pass”
Backs: governmentFee.qualifier
“Within 4 weeks for most cases.”
Backs: processingTime
“$5,600 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $10,700 at age 45 and above)”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“$6,200 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $11,800 at age 45 and above)”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Minimum qualifying salary for new applications from 1 Jan 2027, and for renewal of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“$6,000 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $11,500 at age 45 and above)”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“$6,600 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $12,700 at age 45 and above)”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Your application needs to earn 40 points to pass COMPASS.”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Have a fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Started and is operating a Singapore-based company that employs at least 5 locals, each earning a gross monthly salary that is at least the prevailing EP minimum qualifying salary.”
Backs: totalValidity
“Earned a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 on average over the past 5 years in Singapore.”
Backs: totalValidity
“Market capitalisation of at least US$500 million”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“Flexibility to concurrently start, operate and work for multiple companies at any one time (subject to your employment contract terms, where relevant)”
Backs: totalValidity
“Your spouse will be able to apply to work on a Letter of Consent.”
Backs: totalValidity
“Effective for new EPs from 1 January 2026 and renewals from 1 July 2026, applications must meet revised sector-specific salary benchmarks to obtain points under C1 salary criterion.”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
“New EP applications from 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2026”
Backs: incomeRequirement.qualifier
Sources for this page
- Ministry of Manpower - Eligibility for Overseas Networks & Expertise Passofficial
- Ministry of Manpower - ONE Pass key factsofficial
- Ministry of Manpower - Apply for an Overseas Networks & Expertise Passofficial
- Ministry of Manpower FAQ - ONE Pass and change of employersofficial
- Ministry of Manpower - Eligibility for Employment Passofficial
- Ministry of Manpower - Upcoming changes to Employment Pass eligibilityofficial
- Ministry of Manpower - Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS)official
- Ministry of Manpower - COMPASS C1 salary benchmarks (upcoming)official
- Ministry of Manpower - Apply for an Employment Passofficial
- KPMG GMS Flash Alert 2025-282 - Singapore COMPASS and work pass updates
Last checked 11 September 2026. Requirements are applied at the discretion of individual embassies and can change without notice. Confirm before you book anything.