Singapore Self-Employed Employment Pass

Advising Indian founders and companies on business immigration since 2009, from our Koramangala office in Bangalore.

Overview

Singapore has no pass called a "self-employed visa". What the market calls the Self-Employed Employment Pass is the standard Employment Pass (EP) issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), where the employer is a Singapore company that you own. You incorporate a private limited company, the company employs you as its director or senior manager, and the company applies for your EP. You hold the shares and run the business, and MOM assesses you like any other EP candidate.

The route suits founders, business owners and senior managers who want to run a real trading, consulting, services or investment business from Singapore and live there with their family. No investment amount buys the pass, and renewal depends on the company being genuinely active. Established business owners seeking permanent residence through a qualifying investment should look at the Singapore Global Investor Programme instead.

How the route works

1. Company. A private limited company is registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). You can hold 100% of the shares. ACRA requires foreigners to register through a corporate service provider.
2. Resident director. Every company needs at least one locally resident director. Until your own pass is issued, a locally resident nominee director fills that seat. A valid Employment Pass holder meets ACRA's local residency rules, so you can take the seat yourself once your EP is in hand.
3. Secretary and address. A company secretary must be appointed within six months of registration, and the company needs a registered office address in Singapore.
4. Bank account. The corporate account is opened once the bank completes its due diligence on the company and its owners.
5. Employment Pass. The company applies for your EP through MOM's online service, declaring your role, salary and qualifications.
6. Arrival. The in-principle approval gives you six months to enter Singapore and have the pass issued. Fingerprints and a photograph are registered if required, and the card follows within five working days.

Two ways to structure the company

The S$2.5 million figure is our working minimum for the investment company structure. It is not an MOM threshold, and it is separate from the S$10 million Global Investor Programme.

What MOM assesses

MOM uses a two-stage test for every Employment Pass application.

Stage 1: qualifying salary. Your fixed monthly salary must be at least the qualifying salary for your age and sector.

The 2027 figures apply to renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028.

Stage 2: COMPASS. The application must score at least 40 points.

Two bonus criteria can add points: up to 20 for a job on the Shortage Occupation List, and 10 for firms that meet the Strategic Economic Priorities criteria.

What this means for a founder. A firm with fewer than 25 professional, managerial, executive and technical employees scores 10 points on C3 and 10 on C4 by default. A new founder-owned company therefore starts with 20 points and needs the other 20 from salary and qualifications: 10 and 10, or 20 from either one. Setting the salary is the main decision in the application, because it drives both the Stage 1 test and the C1 score.

Applicants with a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500 are exempt from COMPASS. MOM requires verification proof for the qualifications declared in the application, and says most verification checks are completed within 14 working days.

The profile we look for

• Experience as a business owner, senior manager or investor that matches the role you will hold in the company.
• Around S$300,000 of available funds to capitalise the company and cover your salary and first-year running costs. This is our planning figure for a credible application, not an official MOM minimum.
• A business plan for genuine activity through the Singapore company: customers, suppliers, contracts and a reason to be in Singapore.
• Clear source-of-funds documents for the bank and the corporate service provider.

Family

The test is your own salary, not household income. A Dependant's Pass is tied to the validity of your Employment Pass. A Dependant's Pass holder who wants to take a job in Singapore needs a work pass of their own.

Official fees

The nominee director, company secretary, registered address, accounting and tax filing are service-provider charges rather than government fees, and they recur every year. XIPHIAS quotes these and its own professional fee per file, in writing, before you commit.

Timeline

Plan for two to three months from engagement to your pass. The first Employment Pass is valid for up to 2 years, and renewals for up to 3 years.

Keeping the pass

MOM publishes no turnover or headcount threshold for renewal. A renewal is assessed under the salary and COMPASS rules in force at that time, and MOM asks the employer to keep the company's turnover information up to date. In our experience a company that is not trading, or not paying the declared salary, is unlikely to be renewed. As a planning benchmark, aim for annual revenue of around S$150,000 and two local employees by the first renewal. Hiring locally also matters as the firm grows, because C3 and C4 are scored on your actual workforce once the firm has 25 or more professionals.

Budget for the running costs from the first year: accounting and annual filing, the registered address and secretary, and from the second year an office and local salaries.

Tax in brief

• Corporate income tax: 17%.
• Start-up exemption: in each of its first three consecutive years of assessment, a qualifying new company is exempt on 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000 of normal chargeable income. The company must be incorporated and tax resident in Singapore, with no more than 20 shareholders, all of them individuals or at least one an individual holding 10% or more. Investment holding and property development companies cannot claim it.
• Dividends paid by a Singapore resident company are exempt from tax in the hands of shareholders.
• Capital gains: Singapore does not tax gains from the disposal of assets that are capital in nature. A limited exception applies to certain foreign-sourced disposal gains of group entities without economic substance in Singapore.
• GST is 9%. Singapore is a low-tax jurisdiction, not a zero-tax one.
• Your Employment Pass salary is taxable income in Singapore.

Moving to Singapore does not by itself end your tax residence in your home country. Take tax advice at home before you relocate, and before you remit funds to capitalise the company.

Permanent residence and citizenship

Employment Pass holders are eligible to apply to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for permanent residence. ICA weighs family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile and length of residency. It publishes no minimum period on a pass and no points test, though its document list asks for your last six months of payslips. ICA processes complete applications within six months, some take longer, and the application fee is S$100 per applicant.

A permanent resident aged 21 or over may apply for citizenship after at least two years. Singapore does not allow adult citizens to hold dual citizenship.

Self-Employed EP, EntrePass or Global Investor Programme

Risks to plan for

• Approval is MOM's decision on each application. No adviser can promise an outcome or a processing time.
• The salary you declare must actually be paid every month, and it is taxed in Singapore.
• A nominee director is a full legal director of your company. Use a registered corporate service provider and agree the terms in writing.
• A company with no real activity is unlikely to be renewed.
• Qualifying salaries rise on 1 January 2027 for new applications.
• Bank account opening depends on each bank's own due diligence.

Our role

XIPHIAS manages the whole route as one engagement: structuring the company and your role, incorporation through a registered corporate service provider, the resident director and secretary, the bank account, the Employment Pass, and the passes for your family. After approval we stay with you for the annual filings and the renewal.

Talk to our Singapore business immigration consultants in Bangalore

XIPHIAS Immigration has advised Indian families and businesses since 2009, from our office in Koramangala, Bangalore. We were named Best Immigration Consultant by The Times of India in 2022. On Singapore our immigration consultants in Bangalore will take you through the requirements, the costs and the timeline for your specific case.

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• Immigration consultants in Bangalore
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Sources

• Ministry of Manpower — Employment Pass eligibility and COMPASS
• Ministry of Manpower — Employment Pass key facts
• Ministry of Manpower — Apply for an Employment Pass
• Ministry of Manpower — COMPASS scoring rubric
• Ministry of Manpower — Dependant's Pass eligibility
• Ministry of Manpower — Long-Term Visit Pass eligibility
• ACRA — Business registration requirements and eligibility
• ACRA — Company service and transaction fees
• IRAS — Corporate income tax rate, rebates and tax exemption schemes
• Ministry of Manpower — EntrePass key facts
• IRAS — Current GST rates
• ICA — Becoming a permanent resident
• ICA — Becoming a Singapore citizen