Which Singapore work pass actually fits a foreign founder?
If you are setting up or running a company in Singapore from abroad, you are not a job seeker waiting for an employer to sponsor you. You are, or are about to become, your own sponsor, and that changes which pass actually fits. This guide maps every Singapore work pass through the foreign founder lens, tells you what each one costs in time and money, and links to dedicated deep-dives for the two passes most founders end up choosing.
All thresholds below are drawn from MOM and EDB and are linked in the Sources section. Several rise on 1 January 2027, which we flag where it matters. One exception worth knowing: experienced tech professionals with skills in shortage may qualify for a longer five-year Employment Pass.
| Employment Pass (EP) | Your Singapore company | From S$5 |
| ONE Pass | None (personal pass) | S$30 |
| EntrePass | You |
| Tech.Pass (being replaced) | None (EDB-issued) | Around S$22 |
| ONE Pass (AI and Tech) | None |
| S Pass | Your Singapore company | From S$3 |
| Personalised EP (PEP) | None (high earners) | S$22 |
Thresholds verified against MOM and EDB as of 3 June 2026; figures may change at the 1 Jan 2027 review.
EP, S Pass and EntrePass salary thresholds rise on 1 January 2027. New applications from that date use the new floors; renewals follow when the existing pass expires from 1 Jan 2028.
For most foreign founders, the cleanest path is to incorporate a Singapore private limited company and have that company sponsor you on an Employment Pass. You become both the shareholder-director who sponsors and the professional who is sponsored. That dual role is legitimate and common.
To qualify in 2026, the role must pay at least S$5,600 a month (S$6,200 in financial services), and the threshold rises with your age. On top of salary, your application must score at least 40 points on the COMPASS framework, which weighs salary, qualifications, your company's workforce diversity, and local hiring. From 1 January 2027, the base salary floor rises to S$6,000 (S$6,600 in financial services) for new applications, and applies to renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
The catch for a brand-new, single-founder company is COMPASS: with no local headcount yet, the diversity and local-support criteria are harder to clear. There are ways to structure around this, and they are exactly what we cover in the dedicated guide.
Read the full founder walkthrough, including COMPASS strategy, salary benchmarking, costs, and the application checklist, in our Singapore Employment Pass for Your Own Company Complete Founder's Guide (2026).
The Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass is the one pass on this list that does not tie you to a single employer. You can work across several companies, sit on boards, and run your own venture, all on the same pass, which is why it suits serial founders and portfolio operators.
You qualify mainly by earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 for the 12 months before you apply (or a confirmed offer at that level from an established Singapore company). There is also an achievements track for outstanding records in sports, arts and culture, or academia and research, which has no salary threshold. Technology and AI founders are served separately by the ONE Pass AI and Tech track from 2027, covered in section 6. The pass runs for five years, is renewable, and is exempt from COMPASS.
For founders who do not hold a Singapore job yet, the achievements track is the underexplored route. Our Singapore ONE Pass for Foreign Founders deep-dive covers that track for founders without a Singapore employer and how the ONE Pass compares region by region.
The EntrePass is the only pass designed for the entrepreneur as entrepreneur, not as an employee. It is meant for innovative, venture-backed, or intellectual-property-led businesses, not for routine trading or services companies. You register a private limited company with ACRA, hold at least 30 percent of the shares, and apply on the strength of the business itself. There is no minimum salary and no fixed capital requirement on the innovation route, and like the ONE Pass it sits outside COMPASS.
What makes the EntrePass demanding is renewal, not entry. The first pass runs one year, the first renewal another year, and subsequent renewals two years each. At each renewal MOM and Enterprise Singapore look for real progress: business spending, local jobs created, and evidence the venture is genuinely operating. Holders with little revenue and no local hiring tend to be refused at renewal regardless of the original pitch.
If you are choosing between EntrePass and EP, the distinction is simple: EP suits a founder who employs themselves through an operating company, while EntrePass suits a founder whose case rests on the innovation of the business. We compare the entrepreneur routes across Singapore and Dubai in our Business Visa Singapore vs Dubai: Complete Entrepreneur Guide.
For a deeper walkthrough of the innovation criteria, the renewal milestones, and the EP-versus-EntrePass decision for a single-founder Pte Ltd, see our Singapore EntrePass Founder Guide.
If you are a technology founder or senior technical leader, the landscape is changing. The Tech.Pass, administered by the Economic Development Board, currently serves this group with a two-year validity (renewable for two more) and eligibility based on a last drawn salary around S$22,500 or a strong leadership track record at a major tech company.
From 1 January 2027, the Tech.Pass is replaced by a new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track, announced by MOM at the March 2026 Committee of Supply debate. The threshold is a single one, at least S$30,000 a month, which can be met by combining a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500 with vested non-cash components such as stock options (ESOP or ESOW), subject to assessment. It is not two separate routes. You also need at least five cumulative years of experience within the past ten years in a founder, C-suite, or technical role, and your current or most recent employment must be in a technology company, a technology division, or a technology venture capital firm. The employer must also clear a financial benchmark, for example a valuation of at least US$500 million, revenue of at least US$200 million, assets under management of at least US$500 million, or at least US$30 million raised. The track is expected to carry a five-year validity in line with the broader ONE Pass, with full guidelines due before launch.
The practical takeaway for tech founders: while it remains open, the Tech.Pass is the available route, but it is being replaced from 1 January 2027. If your case leans on vested equity rather than cash salary, the new track may suit you better, so time your application around the transition.
For the full eligibility tracks A/B/C, the renewal mechanics, and how to time the 2027 transition, see our Singapore Tech.Pass Founder Guide.
This section is for you as an employer, not as an applicant. When you need to bring in a mid-skilled team member whose salary or profile does not clear the EP bar, the S Pass is the relevant route. In 2026 it requires a salary of at least S$3,300 a month (S$3,800 in financial services), rising to S$3,600 (S$4,000 in financial services) from 1 January 2027.
The S Pass comes with constraints that the founder passes do not: your company is subject to a quota (a cap on the share of your workforce that can be on S Passes and Work Permits) and a monthly levy per holder. Plan for both before you make the offer, because the quota in particular can block a hire at a small company with few local staff.
The PEP is a sponsor-free pass for high earners, requiring a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500. It is valid for three years, is not renewable, and the holder cannot be unemployed in Singapore for more than six continuous months. It suits a founder who wants the freedom to move between roles or companies without re-applying.
Once your own pass is approved, your family follows through separate passes. Your spouse and children under 21 can apply for a Dependant's Pass. A common-law spouse or stepchildren can apply for a Long-Term Visit Pass. Parents can also be sponsored on a Long-Term Visit Pass, but the bar differs by pass: Employment Pass and S Pass holders generally need to earn more than S$12,000 a month to sponsor parents, while ONE Pass holders can do so without that salary threshold. For the EntrePass, sponsoring dependants is tied to your business meeting its spending and local-hiring conditions.
One detail that matters for founders: a ONE Pass holder's spouse can apply for a Letter of Consent to work in Singapore, which is more generous than the equivalent for most other passes. If a working spouse is part of your plan, factor that into your choice of pass.
For the full Dependant Pass and LTVP eligibility, including the Letter of Consent for a working spouse and the parent-sponsorship nuances by pass, see our Singapore Dependant Pass and Family Pathway guide.
Every founder pass on this list can lead to permanent residency, applied for through the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. The main route for pass holders is to apply through ICA as the holder of an Employment Pass or S Pass. There is also the Global Investor Programme for substantial investors, which sits with EDB and runs on much larger thresholds. PR is never guaranteed, but holding a founder pass for two or more years while genuinely contributing to the economy builds the strongest case.
For the detailed PR application playbook (routes, timing, factors that strengthen a case) see our Singapore PR Application Founder Guide. For the investor track, see our Singapore Global Investor Programme (GIP) deep-dive.
When founders budget for a Singapore pass, they usually price only the government pass fee and forget that the pass is one line in a larger setup. A realistic first-year budget combines:
For the incorporation side of this budget, see our breakdown in Singapore company formation costs. The point is to plan the pass and the company as a single project, because the timelines overlap and the costs compound.
Holding a Singapore work pass can make you a Singapore tax resident. In practice, a work pass valid for at least a year means you are generally treated as a tax resident from the start, and separately, spending 183 days or more in the country in a year also makes you one. So most founders become Singapore tax residents earlier than the 183-day test alone would suggest. That is usually favourable inside Singapore, but it can interact with your home country's rules. Many home countries tax founders on the profits of a foreign company they control, through controlled-foreign-company and similar rules, and the United States, United Kingdom, and several EU states are common examples. None of this should stop you, but it should be planned with an adviser before you move. For the operating side, see our Singapore accounting and bookkeeping overview.
Before you commit to a Singapore pass, it is worth sanity-checking the jurisdiction itself. Founders weighing Asia and the Gulf usually compare three options, and the right answer depends on your income profile, your timeline, and your tax situation more than on any single headline.
| Top founder pass | ONE Pass or EP | Golden Visa | QMAS or investment visa |
| Financial bar | S$30 |
| Headline tax angle | 17% corporate income tax | 0% personal income | Territorial |
High-level comparison only; consult each jurisdiction guide for the actual eligibility, costs, and tax interactions before committing.
The right answer is rarely the headline tax rate, it is the combination of pass eligibility, your home-country tax interaction, and where your customers and team will sit.
For the full comparisons, see our UAE Golden Visa cost breakdown, our Hong Kong QMAS for entrepreneurs guide, and our head-to-head on Singapore vs Hong Kong for business.
Eight quick answers on pass choice, sponsorship, processing, family, appeals, tax residency, the route to PR, and end-to-end cost.
Figures verified against official sources as of June 2026. Pass thresholds and fees change; confirm current numbers on the MOM, EDB, and ICA pages above before applying.
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