Singapore is raising the qualifying salary thresholds for its Employment Pass (EP) from January 2025, impacting foreign professionals seeking work in the country. 

The new regulations mandate higher salary benchmarks for applicants, with thresholds for those entering the workforce (age 23 and below) increasing to S$5,600 (£3,275) per month for most sectors and S$6,200 (£3,625) for financial services. 

Salary requirements are determined based on age and sector, and will also apply to those renewing their EPs from January 2026.

The pass’ duration for first-time candidates is two years, up to three years for renewals, and for in-demand sectors, such as tech, applicants may receive a longer five-year pass.

EP applicants must also pass a two-stage eligibility process. If the salary requirement is met, the application is put through a points-based Complementarity Assessment (COMPASS) Framework as the second stage of assessment.

Legal experts say employers should utilise platforms like the Ministry of Manpower’s Self-Assessment Tool to verify their candidate’s eligibility.

“The only way for employers of foreign employees to meet the higher salary thresholds for EPs is to increase the foreign employees’ compensation and benefits packages accordingly – especially for key foreign talent,” TSMP’s Nicholas Ngo tells GML.

With the thresholds reflecting median salary growth, these adjustments are considered necessary for maintaining competitiveness and equity in Singapore’s labour market.

“It is important to bear in mind that the EP salary threshold is benchmarked to the top third of local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) by age,” says Ngo.

“Increasing the salaries of the relevant employees should accordingly be par for the course.”

But financial services firms face higher thresholds, with a starting benchmark of S$6,200 (£3,625) for applicants under 23 years of age and S$10,527 (£6,145) for workers who are over 40 years old.

Preparing for this shift will likely require revisiting budget allocations and assessing workforce strategies to meet compliance standards while retaining key personnel.

Ngo warns employers against submitting false declarations of monthly salaries as this could result in criminal prosecutions. 

“This extends to employers declaring a higher salary, but collecting back sums such that the foreign employee effectively receives a lower salary.”

Instead, he advises: “If a foreign candidate cannot meet the required salary threshold for an EP, an employer should assess if another pass might be more suitable, or if a local candidate would be preferred.”

Further eligibility 

As the second part of the eligibility process, under COMPASS, applicants need to score a minimum of 40 points, but some exemptions are applicable. 

“If the EP candidate has a fixed monthly salary of S$22,500 [£13,124], is applying as an overseas intra-corporate transferee, or is filling the role for a month or less, then the EP application would not be subject to COMPASS,” explains Ngo.

Employers must also adhere to the Fair Consideration Framework, requiring transparent job advertising and equitable candidate evaluation.

“This requires employers to accurately advertise the job vacancy on MyCareersFuture.gov.sg, have this open for at least 14 consecutive days, and fairly consider all applicants both local and foreign,” Ngo says.

As with the COMPASS, under this framework some exemptions also apply. Most of the same are applicable, as well as where the employer has fewer than ten employees.

But non-compliance – even if it’s as simple as failing to fairly consider all applicants – can result in restrictions severely impacting workforce operations, Ngo warns.

“An employer which has not complied with this Fair Consideration Framework could find itself barred from applying for new work passes, or renewing existing ones, for one to two years,” he advises.

“This could deal a significant blow to the employer’s workforce, given how reliant many employers are on foreign talent.”