Singapore to increase minimum salary requirement for work visas

Starting from January next year, Singapore will raise the minimum monthly salary requirements for foreign professionals applying for employment passes, with the standard minimum increasing to SG$5,600 and the financial services sector minimum rising to SG$6,200.

Key Takeaways

Starting next year, companies in Singapore hiring foreign professionals will need to pay higher minimum salaries to qualify for work visas, with the minimum monthly salary for an employment pass being raised to SG$5,600.
The financial services sector will face an even higher minimum salary requirement of SG$6,200 for new employment passes, reflecting the government’s efforts to ensure a level-playing field for locals and to attract overseas talent for valued professions.
Singapore’s point-based criteria called COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework) aims to evaluate the extent to which an EP candidate complements Singapore’s workforce, with specific bonus points available for applicants in certain industries.

The move aims to ensure a level playing field for local workers and is part of Singapore’s efforts to attract and retain foreign talent while maintaining opportunities for locals.

The city-state also introduced a point-based evaluation system called COMPASS to assess the suitability of EP candidates, with bonus points available for certain industries. EP applicants need to score 40 points across four criteria to qualify, and can earn up to 20 bonus points for 27 specific jobs in six industries. This change may impact global businesses sending expats to Singapore due to the higher salary requirements.