WORK PASSES
S Pass
Get a quick overview of the S Pass to decide if it’s the right work pass for your company. Book a consultation with us to find out more.
Who is it for?
Foreign Associate Professionals and Technicians (APTs)
- ✅ Have a job offer in Singapore
- ✅ Meets S Pass qualifying salary requirementsalary requirement
Qualifying Salary
Minimum $3,150.
Fixed monthly salary must be comparable to the top one-third of local APT salaries. This increases with age, up to $4,650 for those in mid-40s.
Candidates in the financial services sector need higher salaries to qualify.
Duration
Up to 2 years.
Foreign Worker Quota Required Differs Based On Sector
The number of S Pass holders you can hire is limited by a quota of how many local employees you employ.
Sector
Dependency Ratio Ceiling (Max Ratio of Foreign Workers to Total Workforce)
S Pass Cap (Ratio to Total Workforce)
Construction
83.3%
15%
Process
83.3%
15%
Marine Shipyard
77.8%
15%
Manufacturing
60%
15%
Services
35%
10%
Sector
Dependency Ratio Ceiling (Max Ratio of Foreign Workers to Total Workforce)
Construction
83.3%
Process
83.3%
Marine Shipyard
77.8%
Manufacturing
60%
Services
35%
Sector
S Pass Cap (Ratio to Total Workforce)
Construction
15%
Process
15%
Marine Shipyard
15%
Manufacturing
15%
Services
10%
The foreign worker quota is calculated based on the average number of local employees in your company over the last 3 months.
The Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) determines the number of local employees who can be used to calculate your S Pass quota entitlement. A Singaporean or PR employee employed under a contract of service, including the company’s director, is counted as:
- 1 local employee if they earn the LQS of at least $1,600 per month.
- 0.5 local employee if they earn half the LQS of at least $800 to below $1,600 per month.
Foreign Worker Levy Required Differs Based On Sector
As an employer, you must pay the levy for all your S Pass holders.
The levy liability starts from the day the S Pass is issued and ends when the pass is cancelled or expires.
Tier
Quota %
Monthly Levy Rate
Daily Levy Rate
Basic / Tier 1
Up to 10% of total workforce
$550
$18.09
Tier 2
Above 10% to 15% of total workforce
$550
$21.37
* Levy rates are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required.
Medical Insurance
Compulsory
Renewable
Yes
Availability of Passes for Eligible Family Members
Yes
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is my company’s total workforce?
You can calculate your total workforce by adding the following:
- Latest 3-month average number of local employees earning the local qualifying salary (LQS). Please ensure their salaries and CPF contribution data are declared under the same company CPF account. Otherwise, they will not be counted towards the number of local employees.
- Number of issued Work Permit holders
- Number of issued S Pass holders
How is my S Pass quota calculated if my company has multiple CPF accounts?
The company’s S Pass quota will be based on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) account declared on the S Pass application form.
Please note that the following local employees are not counted when calculating your quota:
Please note that the following local employees are not counted when calculating your quota:
- Business owners of sole proprietorships or partnerships.
- Employees who receive salaries and CPF contributions from three or more employers.
If my company has excess quota for Work Permit, can we convert that into S Pass quota?
The Work Permit quota and S Pass quota are not interchangeable.
Companies are not allowed to use their excess Work Permit quota for S Passes.
Struggling to meet your quota requirements?
Book a consultation session with our MOM-approved Employment Agency. We will understand your company’s situation and recommend how you can navigate your work passes.
Companies are not allowed to use their excess Work Permit quota for S Passes.
Struggling to meet your quota requirements?
Book a consultation session with our MOM-approved Employment Agency. We will understand your company’s situation and recommend how you can navigate your work passes.
What is included in the fixed monthly salary?
Fixed monthly salary = Basic monthly salary + Fixed monthly allowances.
- Basic monthly salary: Payment that does not vary from month to month, regardless of employee or company performance, and regardless of whether the employee takes annual leave or medical leave.
- Fixed monthly allowances: Monthly allowances that do not vary from month to month, such as fixed food and housing allowances.
Fixed monthly salary does not include the following:
- Variable allowances
- Overtime payment, bonus, commission or annual wage supplements
- Fees from sitting on the Board, or stock options or dividends
- In-kind payments
- Any form of reimbursements, including for expenses incurred by an employee in the course of his employment
- Productivity incentive payments
- Contributions payable by the employer to any pension or provident fund, including any contributions made on the employee's behalf
- Gratuity payable on discharge, retrenchment or retirement of the foreign employee
My candidate’s salary is $3,150. Why did my S Pass get rejected?
$3,150 is the minimum qualifying salary for S Pass. However, you need to ensure that your candidate’s salary also meets the following criteria:
- Comparable to the top one-third of local APT salaries
- Matches the S Pass qualifying salary of your candidate’s age — increases progressively from $3,150 (age 23 or below) to $4,650 (age 45 or above)
For the Financial Services sector, your candidate’s salary must be at least $3,650 (age 23 or below) and increases progressively to $5,650 at (age 45 or above).
Note: From 1 January 2025, the S Pass qualifying salary for new applications will be revised to at least $3,300 (to be finalised), and at least $3,800 for the financial services sector (to be finalised). This revised S Pass qualifying salary will also apply to the renewal of S Passes that are expiring from 1 September 2026.
Book a consultation session with our team if you need help with your S Pass appeal.
Note: From 1 January 2025, the S Pass qualifying salary for new applications will be revised to at least $3,300 (to be finalised), and at least $3,800 for the financial services sector (to be finalised). This revised S Pass qualifying salary will also apply to the renewal of S Passes that are expiring from 1 September 2026.
Book a consultation session with our team if you need help with your S Pass appeal.
What companies are considered part of the Financial Services sector, and require higher salaries to qualify for S Pass?
Financial Services sector include, but are not limited to, firms conducting the following business activities:
- Fund Management Activities
- Holding Companies regulated by MAS, or which have a nexus with MAS-regulated firms
- Insurance Agents and Brokers
- Insurance and Reinsurance Underwriting
- Monetary Intermediation (e.g. Banks, Finance Companies etc.)
- Provident and Pension Funding
- Risk and Damage Evaluation
- Securities and Commodities Exchange
- Security and Commodity Contracts Brokerage
- Trusts, Funds, and similar Financial Entities
- Other Financial Services activities (e.g. Financial Leasing, Credit Granting, Factoring companies, Representative offices of foreign banks, Money-changing services, Remittance services etc.)
- Other activities auxiliary to Financial Service activities (e.g. Trustee, fiduciary and custody services; Corporate finance advisory services; Clearing and settlement of financial instruments; Transaction/Payment processing services etc.)
- Other activities auxiliary to Insurance and Pension Funding (e.g. Representative offices of foreign insurers and professional reinsurers, Captive managers etc.)
What work passes are available for S Pass family members?
- Legally married spouse — Dependant’s Pass
- Unmarried children under 21 years old, including those legally adopted — Dependant’s Pass
Speak to our team to find out how we can help you manage the application for these separate work passes for each family member.
Does my company need to post our job on MyCareersFuture before qualifying for S Pass?
Yes, your company must post your job advertisement on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days to allow job seekers to view and apply for the vacancy. The advertisement should clearly explain the job requirements and salary offered to attract the right candidates. Please take note that your advertisement must not be discriminatory and must represent the job accurately.
You can be exempted from posting your job opportunity on MyCareersFuture if your company meets any of the following requirements:
You can be exempted from posting your job opportunity on MyCareersFuture if your company meets any of the following requirements:
- Your company has fewer than 10 employees.
- The fixed monthly salary for the vacancy is $22,500 and above.
- The role is short-term, i.e. not more than 1 month.
- The role is to be filled by a local transferee (i.e. an existing employee from the company in Singapore transferring to another related branch, subsidiary, or affiliate in Singapore)
- The role is to be filled by a candidate choosing to apply as an overseas intra-corporate transferee (i.e. a foreign employee transferred to Singapore from your company’s overseas office) that has worked for your company for at least 1 year before being posted to the branch, affiliate or subsidiary in Singapore.
Book a consultation session with our team to find out more about the MyCareersFuture posting requirement.
How long does the S Pass application take?
S Pass applications typically take 3-8 weeks.
Speak to our team to find out how we can help you with the end-to-end application process.
Speak to our team to find out how we can help you with the end-to-end application process.
WORK PASSES
Other popular Work Passes
you may be interested in
Other popular Work Passes you may be interested in
Employment Pass
For foreign PMEs
Foreign professionals, managers and executives earning a minimum salary of $5,000 comparable to the top one-third of local PMET salaries.
Work Permit
For unskilled and semi-skilled foreign workers
From approved source countries / regions working in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard, process and services sector.
Find out how our MOM-approved agency can help with your S Pass application, renewal or appeal
Get help with navigating the complex details and tedious process around the S Pass.