Residency Routes to Singapore: Choosing Between the EP, ONE Pass, PR and GIP

A residency route to Singapore is a legal pathway through which a foreigner obtains the right to live (and work) in Singapore over the long term. For high-net-worth families there are four common choices: an Employment Pass (EP) held as an employee or through one's own company; the ONE Pass for high earners and people with outstanding achievements; applying directly for permanent residence (Permanent Resident, PR) through the Economic Development Board's (EDB) Global Investor Programme (GIP); and applying to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for PR after working in Singapore on a pass for some time. Singapore has no "residency by property" or "residency by insurance". The choice of route starts from the main applicant's occupation, the scale of the business and the shape of the family, not from the form in which assets are held.

The four routes at a glance

The routes differ in approving authority, core criteria and the nature of the status granted. The EP and ONE Pass are work passes that must be renewed when they expire; PR is long-term residence status but has to be maintained through a Re-Entry Permit (REP).

Two other passes are less often used as the main route by high-net-worth families: the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) and the EntrePass, outlined in the third section below. For a side-by-side comparison of every route, see Residency and pass comparison.

Employment Pass (EP): the two-stage assessment and the 2027 changes

The EP is Singapore's most common work pass for professionals. It is applied for by the employer, or by an employment agent appointed by the employer; candidates cannot submit an application themselves (MOM, Apply for an Employment Pass). The assessment has two stages:

1. Qualifying salary: the threshold rises with age. As of October 2026 it ranges from S$5,600 for applicants aged 23 and under to S$10,700 for those aged 45 and over in most sectors, and from S$6,200 to S$11,800 in financial services.
2. COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework): applicants need 40 points to pass; those earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500 are exempt from COMPASS.

Source: MOM, Eligibility for Employment Pass, updated 2026-04-28. A first EP is issued for up to 2 years and renewals for up to 3 years. The application fee is S$105 and the issuance fee S$225 per pass. Online applications are generally processed, or given a progress update, within 10 working days; most applications from overseas companies without a Singapore-registered entity take up to 6 weeks (MOM Key facts and Apply pages, May–June 2026). A business owner applying for an EP through their own company must pass the same assessment; registering a company does not in itself secure a pass.

ONE Pass, PEP and EntrePass: how the personalised passes differ

The ONE Pass (Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass) is aimed at top talent. Applicants need a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000, or the equivalent in foreign currency, over 12 consecutive months, or outstanding achievements in sports, arts and culture, or academia and research. Where the qualifying salary comes from an overseas employer, that employer must be an established company with a market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or annual revenue of at least US$200 million. An application can also be based on a job offer from an established Singapore company at a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 (MOM, 2026-09-14). The pass is tied to the individual rather than to one employer: it is valid for up to 5 years, the holder can start, operate and work for several Singapore companies at the same time, and changing jobs does not require a new application. The holder's spouse can work on a Letter of Consent (LOC). Renewal is possible with an average fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 in Singapore over the past 5 years, or by having started and operated a company that employs at least 5 local staff (MOM, 2026-09-14).

The PEP (Personalised Employment Pass) requires a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500 at application and a fixed salary of at least S$270,000 in each calendar year while the pass is held. It is valid for up to 3 years, is issued only once and cannot be renewed; at expiry the holder must switch to an EP or S Pass. Holders may stay in Singapore without a job for up to 6 consecutive months (MOM, PEP Key facts, 2024-03-22).

The EntrePass is for entrepreneurs. The applicant must have registered, or intend to register, a private limited company with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and hold at least 30% of its shares, and the company must be backed by venture capital or own innovative technology. New passes and first renewals are valid for up to 1 year, and subsequent renewals for up to 2 years each (MOM, 2024-11-19). For high-net-worth individuals with established businesses, these two passes are seldom the main route and are used more often as a bridge or for specific start-up situations.

GIP and "pass first, PR later": two routes to permanent residence

The GIP lets eligible investors apply for PR directly without first holding a work pass. EDB groups applicants into four profiles (established business owners, next-generation business owners, founders of fast-growth companies and family office principals) and requires one of three investment options: investing at least S$10 million in a new business or the expansion of an existing one (Option A); investing S$25 million in a GIP-select fund (Option B); or setting up a single family office with assets under management of at least S$200 million and putting at least S$50 million into investments specified by EDB (Option C). According to the EDB GIP Factsheet (version dated 2025-05-05), processing takes about 12 months, and the document states expressly that it is not a promise of approval. For details, see Global Investor Programme (GIP).

Pass first, PR later is the more common route. ICA's published PR application categories include: spouses and unmarried children under 21 of Singapore citizens or PRs; aged parents of citizens; EP or S Pass holders; students who have passed a national examination in Singapore or are enrolled in an Integrated Programme; and investors applying through the GIP. The application fee is S$100 (non-refundable). Complete applications are generally processed within 6 months, though some cases take longer, and documents not in English must come with an official translation (ICA, Apply for Permanent Residence, 2026-03-13). ICA does not publish its assessment criteria; holding an EP is only one basis for applying and does not convert automatically into PR.

Dependants' passes and a spouse's right to work

Arrangements for dependants often decide whether a family can relocate as a whole. When an EP holder applies for dependants' passes, only the main applicant's own fixed monthly salary counts; household income is not combined.

Source: MOM, DP and LTVP Eligibility, 2024-03-14. A DP's validity is tied to the main pass. A spouse's right to work is often overlooked: a DP holder who wants to work in Singapore needs an employer to apply for an EP, S Pass or Dependant's Pass Work Permit (DP-Work Permit) on their behalf, while eligible business owners can apply for an LOC (MOM, 2026-03-25). By contrast, the spouse of a ONE Pass holder can work directly on an LOC. If both spouses intend to work or run a business in Singapore, this should be part of the comparison when choosing a route.

Matching the route to the family: five questions and common misconceptions

Before choosing a route, it helps to answer five questions:

1. Will the main applicant be employed in Singapore, run their own company, or mainly invest?
2. Do the business's turnover or valuation, or the family's investable assets, meet the published thresholds for one of the GIP profiles?
3. Do parents need to live with the family, and does the main applicant's salary meet the LTVP threshold?
4. Does the spouse need to work, what stage of schooling are the children at, and are there sons who will be liable for National Service (see Maintaining PR)?
5. Can the family accept the residence and Re-Entry Permit obligations that come with PR?

Common misconceptions include:

• "Buying property gets you residency": buying property in Singapore has nothing to do with residency applications, and foreigners who buy residential property also pay 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty.
• "Registering a company gets you an EP": the EP still requires the qualifying salary and COMPASS assessment, and the company must be a genuine operating business.
• "An EP converts to PR automatically after a few years": ICA assesses PR applications holistically and there is no automatic conversion.
• "A pass makes you a tax resident": tax residence is decided under IRAS rules on days of presence and employment, which is a separate question from the type of pass held; see Tax residence in your first year.

All thresholds above reflect published criteria as of October 2026; the latest MOM, ICA and EDB pages prevail. Approval is decided by the relevant authorities after a holistic assessment. This site does not file applications and makes no commitment about outcomes. For the order of the steps, see Landing process and timeline. To map out a route for your family's circumstances, you can register an enquiry through the contact details on this site.