Singapore’s two main foreign-worker passes don’t compete for the same jobs — they split the workforce by salary and skill level, with very different rules for the employer on each side. The Employment Pass (EP) is for professionals, managers, and executives above a high salary floor, with no quota or levy but a mandatory points test called COMPASS. The S Pass is for mid-skilled roles at a lower salary floor, with no points test but a company-level sector quota and a flat monthly levy the employer pays for every holder. Our standalone guides cover each pass in full — the Employment Pass’s COMPASS test and application steps and the S Pass’s quota, levy, and salary bands — this page puts the two side by side on the dimensions that actually decide which one applies to your offer.
The headline difference: who the test falls on
The EP’s hurdle sits with the candidate’s offer: clear the salary floor, then clear COMPASS. The S Pass’s hurdle sits with the employer’s capacity: there’s no points test, but the company needs spare quota and has to absorb the levy as an ongoing cost. A strong candidate can still lose out on an S Pass role if the employer is out of quota, and a well-paid EP candidate can still be refused if COMPASS comes up short. Knowing which hurdle applies to your situation is the fastest way to tell which pass you’re actually negotiating for.
Side-by-side comparison
| Employment Pass | S Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Professionals, managers, executives, specialists | Mid-skilled technicians, associate professionals, supervisory and specialist trade roles |
| 2026 salary floor (entry-level, non-financial) | S$5,600/month | S$3,300/month |
| 2026 salary floor (age 45+, non-financial) | S$10,700/month | S$4,800/month |
| Financial-services floor | Higher across all bands (from S$6,200) | Higher across all bands (from S$3,800) |
| Points test | COMPASS: 4 core criteria, 40 of 80 points needed (exempt above S$22,500/month) | None |
| Employer sector quota | None | Yes — S Pass sub-DRC, 10–15% of workforce depending on sector |
| Monthly foreign-worker levy | None | S$650 flat, paid by employer, since 1 Sep 2025 |
| Self-sponsorship | Not allowed — employer/agent files | Not allowed — employer/agent files |
| Job ad requirement | 14 days on MyCareersFuture, Fair Consideration Framework | 14 days on MyCareersFuture, same framework |
| Family sponsorship (Dependant’s Pass) | From S$6,000 fixed monthly salary | From S$6,000 fixed monthly salary |
| Processing time | ~3 weeks (established employer); ~8 weeks (no local office) | ~10 business days via MOM’s portal |
| Path to PR | No fixed rule; case-by-case under the PTS scheme | Same scheme, same case-by-case rule |
| Conversion | — | Can be converted to EP later if salary/role grow into it |
Figures above are drawn from MOM’s own Employment Pass eligibility page and S Pass eligibility page, plus MOM’s S Pass levy and quota requirements. Both sets of thresholds are scheduled to rise again for applications filed from 1 January 2027 — see our dedicated guides for the exact post-2027 numbers.
Salary floor: the first filter, not the whole story
Both passes set salary on an age-banded scale — older applicants need higher pay, on the theory that more experienced hires command more. The EP floor starts at S$5,600 and climbs to S$10,700 at 45 and above; the S Pass floor starts at S$3,300 and tops out at S$4,800 in the same age band. The gap between the two floors is the zone employers and candidates argue over most: a 30-year-old offered S$5,500 a month doesn’t clear the EP floor and isn’t automatically an S Pass case either — it depends on exactly where that number lands against both scales for their age and sector.
Clearing the salary floor gets an EP candidate into COMPASS scoring, and gets an S Pass candidate into the employer’s quota-and-levy decision. Neither floor is a guarantee by itself.
COMPASS vs. quota-and-levy: two different kinds of hard
This is the structural difference that matters more than the salary gap. The EP runs on COMPASS, a points framework scoring salary rank (C1), qualifications (C2), workforce diversity (C3), and local-hiring support (C4) — a candidate needs 40 of 80 points across those four, and a high salary alone doesn’t guarantee a pass if the other three are weak. The S Pass has no equivalent points test, but trades it for a structural employer-side constraint: a sector quota (the S Pass sub-DRC, 10% in services up to 15% in manufacturing and construction) that caps how many S Pass holders a company can employ at all, plus a flat S$650 monthly levy per holder that the employer pays for as long as the pass is valid.
In practice: an EP applicant controls more of their own outcome by improving their offer and qualifications. An S Pass applicant is more exposed to factors outside their control — whether their prospective employer has quota room left and is willing to carry the levy cost.
Who actually fits each pass
- Employment Pass: a managerial, executive, or specialist hire with a salary clearly above the age-banded EP floor, strong formal qualifications or equivalent experience, and an employer with a reasonably diversified foreign workforce and a solid local-hiring record. Tech, finance, consulting, and senior operational roles land here most often.
- S Pass: a diploma or degree holder in a technical, supervisory, or specialist trade role — think technicians, associate engineers, para-professionals — whose offered salary sits below EP territory but above Work Permit level, at a company in manufacturing, services, construction, or a similar sector with available sub-DRC headroom.
Family and the path to PR: where the two converge
Family sponsorship runs on the same rule for both passes: a fixed monthly salary of at least S$6,000 qualifies either an EP or S Pass holder to bring a spouse and unmarried children under 21 on a Dependant’s Pass. Below that line, neither pass holder can sponsor family, regardless of which one they hold.
Permanent residence works the same way on paper — Singapore’s PTS scheme assesses every application case by case, with no published minimum holding period tied to either pass. See our Singapore PR guide for the factors PTS actually weighs. In practice, EP holders tend to have an easier path simply because the criteria that got them the EP (higher salary, stronger qualifications, an employer that scored well on COMPASS) overlap with what PR assessors look for — not because the EP itself confers any formal advantage.
What can go wrong on either track
- Assuming your job title decides which pass applies. It doesn’t — the salary on the actual offer letter does, checked against the age-banded floor for your sector. The same title can land on either pass depending on what’s actually paid.
- An EP candidate ignoring COMPASS because the salary looks strong. A comfortable salary only covers C1; weak qualifications, an undiversified foreign workforce, or a poor local-hiring record at C2–C4 can still sink the score.
- An S Pass candidate assuming the role is available because they’re qualified. It isn’t, if the employer is out of sector quota — ask directly whether the company has confirmed sub-DRC headroom, not just budget for the levy.
Salary floors, COMPASS weightings, quota percentages, and the levy rate are all set by MOM and have changed more than once in the past two years — always confirm current figures at mom.gov.sg before an employer files on your behalf. VisaMet isn’t a law firm and this isn’t legal advice — when we launch, our eligibility check will help you see which pass your offer actually falls under before anyone applies. Join the waitlist for early access.