Rule changes
- From 1 January 2027: the minimum S Pass salary rises to 3,600 Singapore dollars a month.
Looking for a retirement visa? Singapore doesn't run one — its routes require a job offer, an exceptional track record, an actively run business, or a qualifying investment. See other countries' guides
Working in Singapore: do you qualify?
A work-first residency ladder built around your job, your business, or your capital, not a single fast lane.
When rules change mid-way, the date your application is filed is what often decides which rules apply to you. Where are you right now?
Two ways in, and Singapore checks them differently
An employer, a government nomination or an approved body puts its name behind the application.
- Employment Pass (EP)SGD 5,600
- S PassSGD 3,300 – SGD 3,800
You qualify on your own record — skills, points or capital — with no sponsor standing behind you.
- Entrepass
- Global Investor ProgrammeSGD 10,000,000
- ONE Pass
- Personalised Employment Pass (PEP)SGD 270,000
- Tech.Pass
The conditions behind the routes above
An employer, a government nomination, or an approved endorsing body has to stand behind the route.
Pick a route, see the real commitment
Every official figure below is what Immimaps has verified for that route against Singapore's official programme rules — not a marketing minimum. Service fees are what independent firms publish for the route, shown only once five or more are on file.
Covers spouses and children of qualifying pass holders; it depends on the sponsor's pass staying valid.
The standard route for professionals with a confirmed job offer; most people who later apply for permanent residence arrive this way.
For founders who will actively run the business day to day — a passive investor structure won't satisfy this one.
The capital-deployment route, aimed at investors funding or running a Singapore-based business or approved fund rather than working a job.
A secondary family route for relationships the Dependant's Pass doesn't cover, such as common-law spouses or older children.
Aimed at top-tier talent across sectors; the pass itself doesn't require a specific employer, so it suits people moving between opportunities.
The main path from a work pass to permanent residence; approval is discretionary and weighs salary, sector, and how long you've already been working in Singapore.
Built for high earners who want more flexibility between jobs than the standard Employment Pass allows, at a materially higher salary bar.
Sits below the Employment Pass for mid-skilled roles, and carries a company-level quota that the employer manages, not the applicant.
For enrollment at an approved Singapore institution; it can lead to a work pass afterward but doesn't grant one on its own.
A narrow, senior track for tech leaders and specialists, assessed on track record rather than a single employer's sponsorship.
What each route costs, stage by stage
Added up from the official figures on file for each route — split into money spent for good, money locked and returned later, and money shown but never transferred. Not a modelled estimate.
Dependant's Pass▾
At application
Decision — reported: 1 month.- Spent for goodOfficial fees: SGD 330, paid to the government for the initial application.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 6,000 shown as proof of means every month — nothing is transferred.
Employment Pass (EP)▾
At application
Decision — reported: 1 month.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 330, paid to the government for the initial application.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 5,600 shown as proof of means every month — nothing is transferred.
Entrepass▾
At application
Decision — reported: 2 months.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 330, paid to the government for the initial application.
Global Investor Programme▾
At application
Decision — reported: 1 year.- Spent for goodOfficial fees: SGD 20,000, paid to the government for the initial application.
- LockedSGD 10,000,000 placed as capital — recoverable in principle, exposed in practice.
Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP / LTVP+)▾
At application
Decision — reported: 2 months.- Spent for goodOfficial fees: SGD 105, paid to the government for the initial application.
ONE Pass▾
At application
Decision — reported: 2 months.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 330, paid to the government for the initial application.
Permanent Residence — Professionals, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers (PTS) Scheme▾
At application
Decision — reported: 4 months.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 220, paid to the government for the initial application.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 37,800 shown as proof of means every year — nothing is transferred.
At renewal
Renewal — reported: 5 years.- Shown, never leaves youSGD 37,800 — the same proof is shown again.
2 ways to qualify — shown: the cheapest. Alternatives: SGD 67,200 / SGD 37,800 (shown).
Personalised Employment Pass (PEP)▾
At application
Decision — reported: 2 months.- Spent for goodOfficial fees: SGD 330, paid to the government for the initial application.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 270,000 shown as proof of means every year — nothing is transferred.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 22,500 shown as proof of means every month — nothing is transferred.
S Pass▾
At application
- Spent for goodOfficial fees: SGD 205, paid to the government for the initial application.
- Shown, never leaves youSGD 3,300 shown as proof of means every month — nothing is transferred.
2 ways to qualify — shown: the cheapest. Alternatives: SGD 3,300 (shown) / SGD 3,800.
Singapore Student's Pass▾
At application
Decision — reported: 1 month.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 1,105 – SGD 5,135, paid to the government for the initial application.
- LockedSGD 1,000 placed as capital, returned when the conditions end.
When the hold ends
- LockedSGD 1,000 returned when the conditions end.
Toward permanent residence
PR-eligible — reported: 2 years.- Spent for goodSGD 100 fee — spent, not held.
3 ways to qualify — shown: the cheapest. Alternatives: SGD 5,000 / SGD 1,000 (shown) / SGD 1,500.
Tech.Pass▾
At application
Decision — reported: 2 months.- Spent for goodGovernment fees on file: SGD 105, paid to the government for the initial application.
The order Employment Pass (EP) follows
- 2026-03-04Singapore's Ministry of Manpower confirmed that Employment Pass minimum qualifying salaries rise for new applications from 1 January 2027 (and for pass renewals from 1 January 2028): to S$6,000/month for most sectors (up from S$5,600) and S$6,600/month for financial services (up from S$6,200), both scaling higher with age as before. source
Strategy Path takes your occupation, your situation and whether you have an employer, and lays the route out step by step — cost, milestone and wait on each leg.
Upload it and Immimaps checks it against what Singapore's official programme actually requires, and reads the contract clause by clause. Free, no account.
Check my documentEvery official figure on this page is checked against Singapore's official immigration sources. Service fees are what independent firms publish for a route — not an official figure, and never any one firm's price. Immimaps does not publish success rates, approval odds or any probability score — here or anywhere else.
Don’t take a life-changing move on someone else’s word.
Immimaps is not an agency and takes no placement fees. We show the real figures on every route, show the working, and tell you what it actually costs.
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