Singapore EP Pass Salary Threshold Fully Raised in 2025

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officially implements the new EP salary policy in 2025 - minimum monthly salary of S$5,600 for general industries, while the financial sector requires S$6,200 minimum. This adjustment represents an increase of S$600-700 from previous standards, marking Singapore's search for a new balance between global talent competition and local employment protection.

01 Core Policy Adjustments, Comprehensive Salary Threshold Increase

The 2025 EP salary policy presents dual differentiation characteristics: industry differentiation and age differentiation.

• Significant industry differences: The financial industry's new threshold jumps from S$5,500 to S$6,200, while general industries adjust from S$5,000 to S$5,600. The high threshold for the financial sector directly responds to Singapore's strategy of consolidating its international financial center status while preventing foreign employees from squeezing out local entry-level positions.
• Age becomes a key variable: Salary requirements for 40-year-old applicants show exponential growth.
  • General industries: Must reach S$9,541
  • Financial industry: Soars to S$11,800

2025 EP Salary Threshold Comparison Table

Transition period design reflects policy flexibility: The new policy avoids a "one-size-fits-all" approach. First-time applicants after January 1, 2025, must meet the new standards immediately, while existing EP holders can use the old salary standards for renewal applications until 2026. This buffer period provides adjustment space for businesses and individuals, reducing the impact of policy shocks.

02 Assessment System Upgrade, Salary is Just the Entry Ticket

Meeting the salary threshold is merely the first hurdle for EP applications. The COMPASS scoring framework, implemented since September 2023, further strengthens its screening role in 2025. This system requires applicants to accumulate at least 40 points across four core indicators (out of 100).

Salary carries significant weight:

• Monthly salary in industry's top 20%: Can earn full 10 points
• Educational background: PhD 10 points, Master's 8 points, Bachelor's 6 points
• Company employee nationality diversity: Excessive foreign employee ratio results in point deductions
• Local employee ratio: Higher percentage of Singaporean employees yields higher scores

Li Ming, a fintech company executive, experienced this change firsthand: "Last year we applied for an EP for a fund manager. Despite a monthly salary of S$6,500, our COMPASS score was only 38 points due to our company's excessive foreign employee ratio, resulting in rejection."

This system forces employers to rethink their talent strategies - meeting salary requirements but lacking corporate diversity and localization can still lead to application failure.

03 Deep Policy Logic, Optimizing Talent Structure

Raising salaries is not an isolated policy but a component of Singapore's national talent strategy. Behind it lies a clear dual orientation:

Economic protection aspect: The government explicitly requires foreign employee salaries to match the top 1/3 of local professionals (PMET) levels. This directly addresses local residents' concerns about employment competition, preventing companies from cutting costs by hiring "cheap foreign talent."

Talent screening aspect: Singapore is shifting from "quantity expansion" to "quality priority."

• Professionals in finance, technology, and green economy receive support: Sustainable energy experts enjoy expedited approval channels
• General labor supply continues to tighten: 2025 SP pass salary thresholds also increase simultaneously, requiring S$3,300 for 30-year-old applicants and S$4,800 for 40-year-olds

The Minister for Manpower publicly stated: "Raising thresholds aims to ensure imported talent matches Singapore's economic development stage, focusing on supplementing locally scarce high-end technical and management capabilities."

04 Application Path Reform, Self-Employed EP Becomes New Hotspot

Facing rising salary thresholds, self-employed EP applications surged 35% in Q1 2025. This path allows applicants to register a company in Singapore and hire themselves as executives, proactively setting salaries to meet standards.

But regulatory oversight has also been upgraded:

• Enhanced credibility requirements for materials: Qualifications need CSSD certification + blockchain storage, bank statements must be obtained via direct API connection (screenshots prohibited)
• Business plans must quantify local contribution: Submit 3-year financial projections in XBRL format, add quantified "Singapore Value Contribution" chapter
• Increased operational costs: Fintech company first-year audit fees rise to S$8,000

Self-employed EP forms differentiated positioning from traditional EntrePass:

• Self-employed EP: Suitable for mature business models, allows immediate family accompaniment
• EntrePass: For tech innovators, but no family accompaniment in first year, requires funding ≥S$50,000 within 12 months

A cross-border e-commerce founder who settled in Singapore via self-employed EP candidly shared: "Although self-determined salaries offer operational flexibility, MOM will verify the reasonableness between salary and company scale. Inflated salaries will trigger reviews."

05 Strategic Recommendations, Practical Solutions for New Regulations

For those planning to apply for EP in 2025, three strategies are particularly crucial:

Secure position under old standards in advance: The new policy includes a transition period. Applications submitted before end-2024 still use old salary thresholds (S$5,000 for general industries). Multiple consulting firms' data shows Q4 2024 EP applications surged 40% year-on-year, reflecting applicants' urgent response.

Precisely target COMPASS scoring points: Young applicants should strengthen qualifications (graduates from world's top 100 universities earn 10 bonus points), while senior professionals need salary items to compensate for age disadvantages. Companies must adjust recruitment structures, optimizing foreign and local employee ratios to gain diversity scores.

Leverage policy dividend areas:

• Green economy, AI, biomedical talents enjoy expedited channels
• Monthly salary ≥S$22,500 exempts from COMPASS scoring
• Salary reaching S$12,000 allows parent Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) applications

As the National University of Singapore Business School report indicates, Q1 2025 saw financial industry foreign middle management applications drop 18%, while tech sector high-end talent approval rates rose 12%. Data confirms policy expectations - salary thresholds act as a filter, directing foreign labor toward sectors most needed for Singapore's economic transformation.

For applicants, whether sprinting for COMPASS's 40-point baseline or choosing the self-employed EP path, the core logic has shifted: only when individual professional value deeply aligns with Singapore's national industrial needs will that S$5,600 threshold transform from barrier to gateway.