Employment Pass — what MOM actually approves.

From 1 January 2025, qualifying monthly salary is:

• S$5,600/month for candidates in general sectors, early-career age band.
• S$6,200/month for candidates in financial services, early-career age band.
• Higher floors for older candidates, on a sliding scale set by MOM. Mid-career and senior candidates require salaries above the headline figures; the older the candidate, the higher the floor.

Figures above reflect the framework current as at 2026; MOM reviews salary floors on an annual cycle, so we re-verify against MOM guidance at the start of every engagement.

The Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) is the points-based system MOM applies to EP applications below the senior-management salary threshold. It has been in force for new EPs since 1 September 2023 and for renewals since 1 September 2024.

• 40-point pass mark across four foundational criteria (salary, qualifications, diversity, support for local employment) and two bonus criteria (skills shortage, strategic economic priorities).
• Each foundational criterion scores 0, 10, or 20 points based on the candidate's and the employer's profile against MOM-published benchmarks.
• Senior management roles, candidates earning at least the top-band threshold, and certain shortage-occupation roles are exempt from COMPASS but still subject to qualifying salary checks.

The COMPASS exercise is rarely about reaching the pass mark on a single criterion — it is about the configuration of the candidate-and-employer profile across all four foundationals. We model the profile against MOM benchmarks before any application is filed.

1. Candidate diagnostic — career history, last-drawn salary, qualifications, sector, age band, accompanying family.
2. Employer-side documentation — sponsor profile, fair-consideration framework documentation where required, COMPASS support evidence.
3. COMPASS profile design — modelling salary, qualifications, diversity, and local employment support against MOM benchmarks.
4. Application packet preparation and lodgement via EP Online.
5. Clarification responses during MOM's decision window.
6. Post-approval — issuance, IPA collection, on-arrival formalities, accompanying Dependant's Pass packaging where family relocates with the EP holder.
7. Renewal cycle — first issuance up to two years; subsequent renewals up to three years; renewal applications also pass through COMPASS since 1 September 2024.

Salary alone does not pass an EP application. Meeting the qualifying salary is a gate, not a guarantee. Below the senior-management threshold, COMPASS still applies — and a borderline COMPASS profile with a comfortable salary can still be declined.

COMPASS exempts some applications, not all. Senior management roles, top-band-salary candidates, and certain shortage-occupation roles bypass COMPASS but remain subject to salary-floor and fair-consideration checks. We confirm exemption status before designing the application.

Renewal is not a rubber-stamp. Since 1 September 2024 renewals also pass through COMPASS. Profile drift between issuance and renewal — change of employer, change of job scope, salary regression — can surface at the renewal gate.

For the full 2026 salary-floors and COMPASS scoring breakdown, see Singapore Employment Pass 2026: New Salary Floors, COMPASS Scoring, and What Actually Matters. Parent pillar: Work Visa Hub. Sibling detail pages: Tech.Pass and ONE Pass.

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