- Company + Employment Pass
Start a Singapore company and get your Employment Pass
There is a sequencing problem in this route, and it stops most founders before they start. You cannot be your own resident director until your pass is issued, and MOM will not issue the pass without a Singapore company to sponsor it. We close that gap: we incorporate the company, sit as your nominee director while it is open, and file the Employment Pass with MOM. One fee of $4,650, government charges already inside it.
Want to check you qualify first? The salary bands and the COMPASS score are set out below.
One company. One pass. One fee.
You arrive ready to trade.
ACRA Registered Filing AgentFA20200114
4.9 out of 5 on GoogleVerified client reviews
Since 2018Founded in Singapore
The sequencing problem
Why you need a nominee director before you need anything else
Every Singapore company must have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore, and it must have one from the moment it is registered. A foreigner living overseas is not ordinarily resident. A foreigner holding an Employment Pass issued to work in that company, with a local residential address, is.
That is the loop: you need the pass to be the director, and you need the company to apply for the pass. A nominee director breaks it. Ours is a real Singaporean on our payroll who holds the seat for the short window between incorporation and your pass being issued, then hands it to you. Nothing about the company is theirs. You hold the shares, you control the bank account, you run the business.
How the route runs, in order
01
We incorporate the company with a nominee director
Section 145 of the Companies Act 1967 requires every Singapore company to have at least one director who is ordinarily resident here, from the day it is registered. Our nominee fills that seat so the company can exist at all.
02
The company becomes your sponsor
MOM does not accept an application from an individual. An Employment Pass is applied for by a Singapore-registered employer, so the company has to exist before the pass can be filed. Yours now does.
03
We file the Employment Pass with MOM
Your salary, your role, your qualifications and the company’s details go in together. The application fee is $105 and MOM processes or updates most applications within 10 business days.
04
You enter on the In-Principle Approval
An approved application produces an In-Principle Approval, which doubles as a pre-approved single-entry visa. You have 6 months to enter Singapore and complete issuance. The issuance fee is $225.
05
You take over as the resident director
An Employment Pass issued to work in the company concerned, held by someone with a local residential address, is accepted by ACRA as ordinarily resident. You are appointed, the nominee resigns, and the deposit is returned.
Foreigners cannot file with ACRA directly. Registering a Singapore business from overseas has to go through a registered filing agent, which is what we are (FA20200114).
Who this is for
Who the company and Employment Pass route suits
It is built for one situation: you intend to move to Singapore and run the company yourself. If that is not you, one of the lighter routes below will cost less.
Best fit
Founders relocating to Singapore
You are moving here to run the business day to day, you will draw a real salary from it, and you want to be the director on the register rather than pay someone else to be.
Employment Pass
Also works
Overseas owners sending one person
The pass is applied for by the company for a named individual. If a co-founder or a senior hire is the one relocating, the application is filed in their name and the rest of the shareholders can stay overseas.
Employment Pass
Already here
Employment Pass holders starting their own company
You can own up to 100 percent of a Singapore company on an existing pass without telling MOM. Being a director of it is different: that is work, and it needs a Letter of Consent or a pass sponsored by the new company.
Letter of Consent
Not yet moving
Owners staying overseas for now
If nobody is relocating, you do not need a pass at all. You need a resident director permanently, which is the company and nominee director package at $2,495.
Nominee only
Different track
Venture-backed and deep-tech founders
If the business is venture-backed or owns innovative technology, EntrePass may be the better pass. It is judged on the venture rather than on your salary. Ask us before you file either one.
EntrePass
Not needed
Citizens, PRs and existing pass holders
If you or a co-founder is a Singapore citizen, a permanent resident, or already holds a pass that makes you ordinarily resident, the residency requirement is already met. Straight incorporation at $648 is all you need.
No pass
Stage 1
The Employment Pass qualifying salary in 2026
The floor rises progressively with age from 23, so the two figures in each row are the ends of a sliding scale rather than a two-band table. Older candidates are held to a higher number for the same job.
| Fixed monthly salary floor | General sector | Financial services |
|---|---|---|
| Age 23 and below, now | $5,600 | $6,200 |
| Age 45 and above, now | $10,700 | $11,800 |
| Age 23 and below, from 1 Jan 2027 | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Age 45 and above, from 1 Jan 2027 | $11,500 | $12,700 |
| Exempt from COMPASS entirely | $22,500 | $22,500 |
It is fixed salary only
MOM counts the fixed monthly salary: basic pay plus fixed allowances. Bonuses, commission, dividends and anything variable do not count towards the floor, and neither does a director’s fee voted at the AGM.
The floor is rarely the target
Clearing the floor gets you past Stage 1 and nothing more. COMPASS then scores your salary against the 65th and 90th percentiles of local PMET pay in your sector, so a salary set at the minimum usually scores zero on the criterion worth the most points.
The 2027 numbers are already published
The higher floors apply to new applications from 1 January 2027, and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028. If you are applying now, the current column is the one that binds you, but budget for the increase at renewal.
Source: Ministry of Manpower, Employment Pass eligibility. Figures are the published minimums at the time of writing and MOM reviews them regularly. We check the current numbers against your age and sector before anything is filed. Paying yourself is its own decision: our guide to salary, director’s fees and dividends works through what it costs the company either way.
Stage 2
How COMPASS scores a brand new company
Since September 2023 every Employment Pass application is also scored out of a points framework. You need 40 points to pass. This is the part founders get wrong, and it is also where a small new company quietly does well.
C1. Salary, up to 20 points
Your fixed monthly salary against local PMET pay in your sector, adjusted for age. Hitting the 65th percentile scores 10 points and the 90th scores 20. This is the criterion you have the most direct control over, because you set your own salary.
C2. Qualifications, up to 20 points
A degree-equivalent qualification scores 10. A degree from a top-tier institution on MOM’s list scores 20. Where you have no degree, this criterion scores zero and the points have to come from somewhere else.
C3. Diversity, up to 20 points
How concentrated your firm’s PMET workforce is in the candidate’s own nationality. A firm with fewer than 25 local PMETs is given 10 points here by default, which covers essentially every company at incorporation.
C4. Support for local employment, up to 20 points
Your share of local PMETs against other firms in your industry. Again, firms with fewer than 25 local PMETs are given 10 points by default, so a company with no staff yet is not punished for having none.
C5. Skills bonus, 10 or 20 points
A bonus where the role sits on MOM’s Shortage Occupation List. Twenty points where the role is on the list and your firm is not overly concentrated in one nationality, ten where it is.
C6. Strategic economic priorities, 10 points
A bonus for firms taking part in an eligible programme with a government agency: innovation, internationalisation or similar. Most companies will not have this at incorporation, and it is not needed to reach 40.
A new company starts on 20 points
C3 and C4 both default to 10 points for firms with fewer than 25 local PMETs. That is half the pass mark, granted for being small. The remaining 20 normally come from salary and qualifications, which is why the salary you set for yourself is the whole game.
Above $22,500, COMPASS does not apply
A fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500 exempts the application from COMPASS entirely, as does an overseas intra-corporate transfer and a role lasting a month or less. Those applications only need to clear Stage 1.
You probably do not have to advertise
The Fair Consideration Framework normally requires a 14-day MyCareersFuture advertisement before an Employment Pass is filed. Companies with fewer than 10 employees are exempt, and so are roles paying at least $22,500 a month.
MOM is not scoring your business idea. It is scoring the job you are giving yourself.
This is the single most useful thing to understand before you file. The Employment Pass is an employment pass: the assessment is of a role, a salary and a person, not of a pitch deck. A founder who registers a company with a dollar of capital and writes themselves in at the salary floor is making a weak application, because the numbers say the company cannot afford the job. A founder who capitalises the company properly and pays a salary the business can defend is making a strong one, with the same idea and the same CV. If your venture genuinely is the point, and it is venture-backed or built on technology you own, EntrePass is the pass that assesses it. We will tell you which of the two you are.
Pricing
$4,650 for the company and the pass together
One fee covering both filings and the year of compliance that follows. The government charges are already inside it and there is no GST.
Relocation package
Company + Employment Pass
$4,650 one-time, all fees included
Incorporation, a year of company secretary, the nominee director and the Employment Pass application, in one figure. No GST.
Includes the ACRA registration fees and the MOM application and issuance fees. A refundable security deposit is assessed separately.
Everything inside the $4,650
- Private limited company incorporation, all ACRA fees included
- Name check and reservation with ACRA
- Registration forms and the Model Constitution
- E-certificate of incorporation and company business profile
- Corporate bank account opening assistance with DBS, OCBC, UOB or Maybank
- Nominee director until your Employment Pass is issued
- 12 months of Company Secretary Essential, with a named secretary
- Annual return filing, including the ACRA filing fee
- AGM preparation, statutory registers and due-date reminders
- Employment Pass application with MOM, fees and follow-ups included
Your named company secretary is a Singaporean on our payroll, not an outsourced name on the register, and they are the same person you deal with for everything else. After the first year the secretary renews at $328 a year. Nothing else in this package recurs.
A security deposit applies
While our nominee sits on your register, their name carries a director’s legal duties. A refundable deposit covers that exposure. The amount is assessed case by case from your KYC file, and it is returned when your pass is issued and you take over the seat.
If nobody is relocating
You do not need a pass to own a Singapore company, only a resident director. The company and nominee director package is $2,495, and the nominee stays for as long as you need one. See the nominee route.
If a resident director is already on board
Where a citizen, PR or existing pass holder is joining the company, the residency requirement is met and the pass is not needed. Straight incorporation is $648. See company registration.
Sitting outside this fee: a Singapore registered address if you do not have premises yet, which is $245 a year through our registered address service; your bookkeeping, unaudited financial statements and corporate tax, which are quoted on the accounting and compliance page; and any licence your activity needs before it can trade. Full list on the pricing page.
Before we file
What we need from you
Two filings run back to back here, one with ACRA and one with MOM, and they ask for different things. Have these ready and neither one waits on you.
A company name and what the business does
Two or three names in order of preference, and a plain description of the activity so we can match it to the right SSIC code. Some activities need a licence or a referral to another authority before the company can trade.
Passport and personal particulars
A clear scan of the passport biodata page, your overseas residential address and your contact details, for every shareholder and for the person the pass is being applied for.
Your CV and educational certificates
MOM scores qualifications directly, so the degree certificate matters as much as the CV. Where the qualification is not from a well-known institution, MOM may ask for third-party verification, and it is faster to have it ready.
Paid-up capital you can actually justify
ACRA will register a company on one dollar. MOM has no published minimum either, but it does assess whether the company can credibly pay the salary you have written down. See our guide on whether S$1 is enough.
A Singapore residential address, once you arrive
The pass is issued against a local residential address, and it is that address which makes you ordinarily resident for ACRA. You do not need it to apply, but you do need it before issuance completes.
KYC and the service agreements
Standard know-your-client checks, plus the nominee director agreement. We are on the register alongside you while the nominee is in the seat, so this part is not a formality and we do decline files that do not clear it.
How it works
Four steps, two filings
The company is usually registered the same day. The pass is the part that takes real time, and it is the part we handle end to end with MOM so you are not chasing a portal from another timezone.
1
We check the route before you commit
A short call and the KYC form. We look at your age, your sector, the salary the company can carry and your qualifications, and we tell you what your COMPASS score looks like. If the Employment Pass is not the right pass for you, this is where we say so.
2
We incorporate the company
Name reserved with ACRA, constitution and registration forms prepared for signature, and our nominee director appointed so the company meets section 145 from day one. In most cases the company is registered the same day the forms come back signed.
3
We file the Employment Pass with MOM
The application goes in with your salary, role, qualifications and the company’s details, and we handle every query MOM raises. Most applications are processed or updated within 10 business days, though it runs longer where MOM asks for verification or documents.
4
You arrive, and take over the seat
The In-Principle Approval works as a single-entry visa and gives you 6 months to enter. Once the pass is issued against your Singapore address, we appoint you as director, withdraw the nominee and return the deposit.
What to have ready before we start
- Two or three proposed company names, in order of preference
- A plain description of what the business will do
- Passport biodata page and overseas address for every shareholder
- Your CV and your educational certificates
- The shareholding split and the paid-up capital you intend to put in
- The salary the company will pay you, checked against your age and sector
Ready to start the company and the pass together?
Send us your details and we will tell you honestly whether the Employment Pass is the right route for you before you pay anything.
Choosing a pass
Employment Pass, EntrePass or ONE Pass
Three ways a foreigner ends up ordinarily resident in Singapore and able to sit on their own board. Most founders take the first one, and it is the one this package is built around.
| Employment PassMost founders | EntrePass | ONE Pass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A professional, manager or executive with a job in a Singapore company, including a company they own | A serial entrepreneur, innovator or experienced investor running a venture-backed or innovative-technology business | Top-tier talent already earning at that level, or with outstanding achievement in sports, arts and culture, or academia and research |
| What you have to show | The qualifying salary for your age and sector, plus 40 points on COMPASS | One of MOM’s entrepreneur, innovator or investor criteria, such as at least S$100,000 raised from a recognised investor, backing from a recognised incubator or accelerator, or a venture-backed business you founded and sold | A fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 over the 12 consecutive months before applying, or an outstanding record in an eligible field |
| Salary requirement | From $5,600 a month, rising with age | None. It is judged on the venture, not the pay | S$30,000 a month |
| Who sponsors it | The Singapore company that employs you, which can be your own | Your own Singapore company | Nobody. It is self-sponsored |
| First pass duration | Up to 2 years, then up to 3 on renewal | Up to 1 year, and up to 1 year again on the first renewal | 5 years, renewable 5 years at a time |
| Makes you a resident director | Yes, for the company that issued it | Yes | Yes |
| Business types excluded | None | Food establishments, entertainment venues, wellness services, employment agencies and geomancy | None |
| Covered by this package | Yes, application and fees included | No. Talk to us and we will scope it | No. Apply yourself, then incorporate |
Whichever pass you hold, the company still needs a resident director from day one, and none of these passes exist before the company does. That is why the nominee sits in the seat first. If you already hold a ONE Pass, our guide on ONE Pass holders as company directors covers what changes.
After approval
What happens once the pass is issued
The pass is not the finish line. Here is what lands in the first month, and what recurs after that.
6 months
You have time to make the move
The In-Principle Approval doubles as a pre-approved single-entry visa and gives you 6 months to enter Singapore and complete issuance. You do not have to fly in the week it is approved.
MOM
$225
The issuance fee
Payable once the application is approved and you are completing issuance, on top of the $105 application fee. Both are inside our package. A Multiple Journey Visa, if you want one, is $30.
MOM
Up to 2 years
How long the first pass runs
A first Employment Pass is issued for up to 2 years. Renewals run up to 3 years, and tech professionals in shortage roles can be given up to 5. Renewal is assessed against the criteria in force at the time.
MOM
$6,000
When your family can follow
An Employment Pass holder earning a fixed monthly salary of at least $6,000 can sponsor a Dependant’s Pass for a legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21, including legally adopted children.
MOM
Same week
You replace the nominee
We file your appointment as director with ACRA and the nominee resigns. The deposit is returned. From that point the company has a resident director in the person who actually runs it.
ACRA
Every year
What the company owes after that
An annual return to ACRA, a company secretary in place at all times, financial statements, and corporate tax through ECI and Form C-S. Our compliance timeline sets out the dates.
ACRA / IRAS
Questions
Employment Pass and company setup, answered
The questions founders actually ask us before they commit, with the government sources behind the answers.
Can I apply for a Singapore Employment Pass for my own company?
Do I need to be in Singapore to apply?
How long does the Employment Pass take?
What if my Employment Pass is rejected?
What salary do I have to pay myself?
How many COMPASS points does a brand new company start with?
Is there a salary that skips COMPASS altogether?
Do I have to advertise the job on MyCareersFuture first?
Why do I need a nominee director at all?
What control does the nominee director have over my company?
How much is the security deposit and when do I get it back?
The package covers 2 months of nominee director. What if my pass takes longer?
How much paid-up capital do I need?
What is included in the package fee, and what is not?
Can I bring my family?
I already hold an Employment Pass. Can I just start a company?
Client feedback
Trusted by the companies we file for
Verified Google reviews from clients we still file for, quoted in full.
4.9
★★★★★
out of 5 on Google
★★★★★
I recently used their service to incorporate my new company, and I was very impressed with their service. They were fast and responsive, and they made the whole process very easy for me. They answered all of my questions in a clear and concise way, and they helped me to understand the entire incorporation process.
I would highly recommend their service to anyone who is looking to incorporate a business. They are fast, responsive, and knowledgeable, and they will make the whole process as easy as possible for you.
Timothy Jurn
· Google review
★★★★★
I just switch over to Left-Right from another secretary firm. Lisa is patience & easy to get in touch with in helping me to make a smooth switch.
For SME company like mine, we need someone dedicated to hear our issue and provide professional opinion, so far, Lisa had deliver it to me.
Thanks to Lisa.
Choon Heng Tew
· Google review
★★★★★
Had been using their services all along and would continue to use them as they are professional.
Clarence Chua
· Google review
★★★★★
A great company with speed respond. All questions answer and add on bonus information to allow business owners to plan well and accurate for annual filing. Which is always the most critical and important for any business.
Highly recommended for their services.
Fair priced and efficient work!
Mas Gnat
· Google review
★★★★★
Lisa is very attentive to details and prompt with replies and follow up. So far it has been a pleasant sign up experience with them and I’m already glad we switch over to them for our Corporate Secretary services.
Eugene Wong
· Google review
Guides
Read our guides
Plain-English explanations of the rules behind the route.
Next step
Start your company and your Employment Pass
Begin online, or talk to us first about the qualifying salary, how COMPASS scores a brand new company, and whether you need a nominee director in the meantime. We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner.
Email [email protected] · Call +65 3159 4755 · Weekdays 10am – 6pm