New Qualifying Salaries for Employment Pass and S Pass from 1 September 2024

Besides COMPASS, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has also made a number of changes on the Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salaries requirements which apply to new applications and renewals.

In addition to meeting the EP qualifying salary, applicants whose passes are expiring from 1 September 2024 will also need to pass COMPASS to get their passes renewed.

Sector	Current minimum qualifying salary for new EPs and renewals for passes expiring from 1 Sep 2024	Minimum qualifying salary for new EPs from 1 Jan 2025 and renewals for passes expiring from 1 Jan 2026
All (except financial services)	S$5,000 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to S$10,500 at age 45 and above)	S$5,600
Financial services	S$5,500 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to S$11,500 at age 45 and above)	S$6,200

In order to uplift the quality of S Pass holders to the top one-third of our local APT (Associate, Professionals and Technicians) workforce, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will also continue to raise the qualifying salaries and levies for S Pass holders.

The qualifying salary threshold for S Pass applications will be raised progressively in three phases as below:

Sector	Current minimum qualifying salary for renewals whose passes are expiring before 1 Sep 2024	Current minimum qualifying salary for new S Pass and renewals for passes expiring from 1 Sep 2024	Minimum qualifying salary for new S Pass from 1 Sep 2025 and renewals for passes expiring from 1 Sep 2026
All (except financial services)	S$3,000 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $4,500 at age 45 and above)	S$3,150 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $4,650 at age 45 and above)	At least S$3,300 (to be finalised closer to implementation date)
Financial services	S$3,500 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $5,500 at age 45 and above)	S$3,650 (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $5,650 at age 45 and above)	At least S$3,800 (to be finalised closer to implementation date)

 The foreign worker levy, commonly known as “levy”, is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of foreign workers in Singapore. All employers in Singapore must pay the levy for their S Pass holders. The levy liability starts from the day the S Pass is issued and ends when the pass is cancelled or expires.

The S Pass Basic / Tier 1 levy rate has been raised from S$450 to S$550. From September 2025, it will be raised to S$650:

From 1 Sep 2023	From 1 Sep 2025
From S$450 to S$550	From S$550 to S$650

With the progressive tightening of the work pass framework in Singapore, employers have to keep abreast with the new changes at a different timeline. At Triplicity, our team of experienced advisors and industry experts will work closely with you to navigate the new framework and apply the best practices that are compliant and aligned with MOM’s regulations. Reach out to us should you require assistance on work pass applications!