The visa routes to Singapore: an employer, a business or a very high salary

Whoever looks for a visa to go and live in Singapore finds none. There is no retirement visa, no nomad visa and no wealth visa. What there is: work passes from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and every pass hangs on an employer, your own business or a very high salary. With a Dutch passport you enter for up to 90 days without a visa, according to NederlandWereldwijd, but living only starts with a pass. The trap is in the threshold: the minimum salary rises with your age, and whoever falls below it is not even assessed against the points framework.

Which passes are there?

Pass	For whom	Threshold	Duration
Employment Pass	professionals with a job	from S$ 5,600 a month, up to S$ 10,700 from age 45, plus 40 COMPASS points	first time up to 2 years, then up to 3 years
S Pass	skilled workers	from S$ 3,300 a month, up to S$ 4,800 from age 45; quota and levy for the employer	first time up to 2 years
EntrePass	entrepreneurs with a venture-backed or innovative business	at least 30% of the shares and, for example, S$ 100,000 in funding	per application
Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass	top earners	S$ 30,000 a month, twelve consecutive months	5 years, renewable
Dependant's Pass	spouse and children under 21	main pass holder earns at least S$ 6,000	tied to the main pass

How does the Employment Pass work?

The Employment Pass is the standard route. Your employer applies for it, not you, and the application passes through two stages. Stage one is the salary. MOM benchmarks the threshold to the top third of local professionals, by age: S$ 5,600 a month up to and including age 23, rising to S$ 10,700 from age 45. In the financial sector the bar is higher, from S$ 6,200 to S$ 11,800. For new applications from 1 January 2027 the amounts rise to S$ 6,000 to S$ 11,500. Stage two is COMPASS, a points framework in which you need 40 points: points for your salary relative to the sector, for your degree, for the mix of nationalities at your employer and for the share of local employees. Whoever earns at least S$ 22,500 a month is exempt from COMPASS.

The application costs S$ 105, the issuance after arrival S$ 225. For an online application MOM decides within ten business days. The approval, the in-principle approval, is at the same time a single-entry visa and gives you six months to enter and have the pass issued; how that works, you read in registration and numbers.

The threshold depends on age. A 30-year-old needs S$ 7,223 a month, a 40-year-old S$ 9,541. Whoever falls below it scores no COMPASS points that make up for it. And the employer must first advertise the vacancy for fourteen days on MyCareersFuture, unless the company has fewer than ten employees or the salary is at least S$ 22,500.

What if you are not a professional, or precisely a top earner?

The S Pass is for skilled positions from S$ 3,300 a month, rising to S$ 4,800 from age 45; the employer pays a levy, is bound to a quota and must take out medical insurance for you.

The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass is for those who have already earned S$ 30,000 a month for twelve months at a company with at least US$ 500 million in market capitalisation or US$ 200 million in revenue, or who will earn that in Singapore; it runs for five years and does not hang on one employer. The Personalised Employment Pass asks S$ 22,500 a month and then at least S$ 270,000 per calendar year; whoever is out of work for more than six months hands it in.

Can you come with your own business?

Only with the EntrePass, and it is narrow. MOM wants a private limited company registered with ACRA of which you own at least 30%, which is venture-backed or has its own technology, plus for example S$ 100,000 in funding from a single investment round, support from a recognised incubator, a technology business you sold or registered intellectual property. Food outlets, massage parlours and employment agencies are excluded. An ordinary sole proprietorship or consultancy does not fit in here; what is allowed alongside a job is in working in Singapore.

How do partner and children come along?

On a Dependant's Pass, for your legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21, if you earn at least S$ 6,000 a month; it is about your salary, not the household income. A common-law partner, step-children and handicapped children aged 21 and above get a Long-Term Visit Pass; parents only at a salary of S$ 12,000. The application for the family can be submitted together with yours, but MOM advises waiting until the main pass is approved: if it is rejected, you lose the fees for each family member. How school works is in school in Singapore.

Is there ever an end to the tie?

Only with permanent residence. A holder of an Employment Pass or S Pass applies for that themselves at the ICA, via Singpass. The ICA weighs family ties, economic contribution, qualifications, age and length of residence and decides within six months; the application costs S$ 100, the issuance another S$ 120. A period after which you are entitled to it, the ICA does not name. Until then: lose your job and you lose your pass. What that means for your AOW is in AOW, pension and tax.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Singapore or go straight to step 1.2 in the open plan.