An Employment Pass (EP) candidate in Singapore must be offered at least the qualifying salary set by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which starts at S$5,600 a month (S$6,200 in financial services) and rises with age. Before applying, the employer must usually advertise the job on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days, unless one of MOM's listed exemptions applies.
MOM writes its figures as "$"; they are Singapore dollars, shown here as S$.
The rule by situation
All figures below are from MOM's EP eligibility page (last updated 28 April 2026) unless another page is named.
| Situation | What MOM states |
|---|---|
| Qualifying salary today, all sectors except financial services | S$5,600, which "increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $10,700 at age 45 and above" |
| Qualifying salary today, financial services | S$6,200, rising with age up to S$11,800 at 45 and above |
| New applications from 1 January 2027, and renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028, all sectors except financial services | S$6,000, rising with age up to S$11,500 at 45 and above |
| The same dates, financial services | S$6,600, rising with age up to S$12,700 at 45 and above |
| After the salary check (Stage 2) | "Your application needs to earn 40 points to pass COMPASS." |
| Advertising before applying | The job must be on MyCareersFuture and "open for at least 14 consecutive days" (EP fair-consideration page, last updated 5 January 2026) |
| Offers during the advertising window | Employers "should not make a job offer to a candidate during the mandatory FCF job advertising duration" (Fair Consideration Framework page, last updated 8 August 2025) |
| The advert changes (UEN, occupation, salary or number of vacancies) | A new advert, kept open "for at least another 14 consecutive days" (EP fair-consideration page) |
| The advert closed or expired more than 3 months ago | It "cannot be used for EP applications"; the job must be advertised again (EP fair-consideration page) |
MOM's eligibility page also says the salary check comes first: "Candidates who do not meet stage 1 will not be eligible for an EP, regardless of the points they would have scored under COMPASS."
Exemptions from advertising
MOM lists exemptions from the MyCareersFuture advertising requirement on two pages, one for the EP and one for the S Pass. Meeting any one item is enough.
| Exemption, as MOM words it | EP page (last updated 5 January 2026) | S Pass page (last updated 20 January 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| "Your company has fewer than 10 employees." | Listed | Listed |
| "The fixed monthly salary for the vacancy is $22,500 and above." | Listed | Listed |
| The role or vacancy "is short-term, i.e. not more than 1 month." | Listed | Listed |
| "The role is to be filled by a local transferee." | Listed | Listed |
| "The role is to be filled by a candidate choosing to apply as an overseas intra-corporate transferee." | Listed | Not listed |
MOM's EP page lists five exemptions and its S Pass page lists four; the overseas intra-corporate transferee line appears only on the EP page.
MOM's FAQ pages add context for three of them:
- The S$22,500 line. From 1 September 2023, MOM "raised the salary threshold for exemption to $22,500, comparable to the top 10% of EP holders" (FAQ, last updated 15 August 2024).
- Small companies. Firms with fewer than 10 employees "are still expected to consider Singaporeans fairly for jobs" (FAQ, last updated 14 March 2024).
- Overseas intra-corporate transferees. The candidate must fit the definition in the WTO's GATS or in a free trade agreement Singapore has signed. Under GATS, the person must have "worked for your company outside Singapore for at least 1 year" and be a manager, executive or specialist (FAQ, last updated 14 March 2024).
An exemption covers the advert only. MOM's EP page says exempt employers still "must practise fair hiring."
If you are the candidate
Your floor depends on your age and your sector. The figure for a 23-year-old and the figure for someone 45 or older are far apart, so check the line that fits you on MOM's eligibility page.
Watch the date. MOM applies the higher floors to new applications from 1 January 2027. If your application is likely to be filed in 2027, the S$6,000 / S$6,600 starting points apply, not today's.
Expect some waiting time. If the job needs advertising, the employer cannot make you an offer until the advert has been open for at least 14 consecutive days. A change to the advert restarts that count.
Meeting the salary is only Stage 1. The application also needs 40 COMPASS points.
If you are the employer
Plan the advert into your timeline. The 14 days are a minimum, offers wait until the window closes, and changing the UEN, occupation, salary or number of vacancies means a new advert and another 14 days.
Check the floor against the candidate's age and the application date, not just the role. An offer that clears today's floor may not clear the 2027 one.
Take the declarations seriously. MOM's Fair Consideration Framework page states that, from January 2020, the minimum work pass debarment is 12 months and "can be up to a maximum of 24 months" in egregious cases. A false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act can lead to "imprisonment of up to 2 years, or fine up to $20,000, or both."
If you rely on an exemption, keep a record of which one. Only the EP page lists the overseas intra-corporate transferee route.
How ROUND.1 handles this
ROUND.1 asks each candidate "Where can you already work without needing a visa? Pick all that apply." Singapore is one of the options. It also asks "How soon could you realistically start?"
On the company side, ROUND.1 reads the role's job description for whether the employer will sponsor a work visa. If the description says it will not, candidates who would need a visa are not matched to that role. A description that says nothing is not treated as a refusal.
ROUND.1 does not check EP eligibility, score COMPASS points or post adverts to MyCareersFuture. Those steps stay with the employer and MOM.
This is general information, not legal advice; check the official source for your case.
Sources (7)
- MOM — Employment Pass eligibility (last updated 28 April 2026)accessed 2026-10-13
- MOM — Fair Consideration Framework (last updated 8 August 2025)accessed 2026-10-13
- MOM — S Pass: consider all candidates fairly (last updated 20 January 2026)accessed 2026-10-13
