Eligibility for Employment Pass

This criterion benchmarks your candidate’s salary against the local PMET salaries in your sector.

It is different from the EP qualifying salary, which is the minimum bar that candidates need to pass to obtain an EP.

How to earn points

This criterion awards points to candidates based on their qualifications.

How to earn points

Verification proof requirements

If you need points from this criterion, you have to submit verification proof together with your candidate’s qualifications in your EP application.

Otherwise, you do not need to submit your candidate’s qualifications and verification proof.

This criterion awards more points to applications where the candidate’s nationality forms a small share of the firm’s PMET employees. A diverse mix of nationalities enriches firms with new ideas and networks, and contributes to a more inclusive and resilient workforce.

How to earn points

If your organisation employs:

• Fewer than 25 PMETs, your application will score 10 points by default.
• At least 25 PMETs, your points will depend on the share of your candidate’s nationality among your organisation’s PMETs.

Related questions:

• How are PMETs counted under the Diversity (C3) and Support for Local Employment (C4) criteria for COMPASS?
• How will the increase in S Pass minimum qualifying salary from 1 September 2024 affect my organisation’s PMET count under COMPASS?
• How is my candidate's nationality or citizenship share among an organisation’s PMETs calculated under COMPASS?
• How often will my organisation’s COMPASS workforce profile be updated?
• Are PMETs who are stationed in my company's overseas branch included in the computation for C3 and C4 under COMPASS? 

This criterion recognises organisations that create opportunities for the local workforce and build complementary teams comprising both local and foreign professionals.

How to earn points

If your organisation employs:

• Fewer than 25 PMETs, your application will score 10 points by default.
• At least 25 PMETs, your points will depend on your organisation’s local PMET share relative to its sector.

Related questions:

• How are PMETs counted under the Diversity (C3) and Support for Local Employment (C4) criteria for COMPASS?
• How will the increase in S Pass minimum qualifying salary from 1 September 2024 affect my organisation’s PMET count under COMPASS?
• How is my candidate's nationality or citizenship share among an organisation’s PMETs calculated under COMPASS?
• How does COMPASS calculate my organisation’s local PMET share relative to my organisation’s sector?
• How often will my organisation’s COMPASS workforce profile be updated?
• Are PMETs who are stationed in my company's overseas branch included in the computation for C3 and C4 under COMPASS? 

This bonus recognises jobs that require highly specialised skills, which are in shortage in the local workforce. The SOL is determined by a robust evaluation process that takes into account industry needs and local workforce development efforts.

How to earn points

To obtain the C5. Skills bonus:

1. Your candidate needs to perform the job duties listed for the specific shortage occupation.
2. You need to select one of the eligible job titles in your EP application.
3. Your candidate needs to meet checks on additional job requirements if they fall into either of these categories:
   • They need the SOL bonus points to pass COMPASS.
   • They are applying for a 5-year duration EP for a specific tech occupation on the SOL.

We will check the candidate’s job duties, past work experience and qualifications or industry accreditation for the declared occupation.

Redeployment to another occupation

Candidates who needed SOL bonus points to pass COMPASS or obtain a longer duration EP can only be employed in the specific shortage occupation. This will be clearly stated in the in-principle approval (IPA) letter’s “Important” note.

If they need to be redeployed to a different job, we will need to reassess if the candidate qualifies for an EP in the new job. You should notify MOM first, and we will then advise you on the next steps.

Candidates who did not need SOL bonus points to pass COMPASS are not subjected to this restriction, but will still need to notify MOM.

This bonus recognises organisations that are either:

• Undertaking ambitious investment, innovation and internationalisation activities in partnership with economic agencies
• Endorsed by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as strong partners on company and workforce transformation activities

Singapore seeks to anchor and grow firms that can contribute to the innovative capacity of our economy, enhance our global linkages, and strengthen our economic competitiveness. Such firms should also have the scale or potential to provide good jobs for locals.

How to earn points

The award of the SEP bonus will be at the discretion of the supporting agencies running the relevant programme. MOM will notify your organisation if it has been awarded the SEP bonus and the points will be reflected in the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT). You may approach the relevant supporting agency if you have any queries.

Validity of SEP bonus points

The bonus points will apply for up to 3 years, or for the duration of your organisation's participation in an eligible programme, whichever is shorter.

Renewal eligibility for SEP bonus points

At the end of the validity period, your supporting agency will reassess whether to continue supporting your organisation for the SEP bonus for a further duration. This renewal will be subject to your organisation’s continued participation in an eligible programme and meeting both of the following criteria:

• Earn at least 10 points for C3. Diversity for each of the 3 months before renewal
• Earn at least 10 points for C4. Support for local employment for each of the 3 months before renewal

These criteria ensure that organisations eligible for the SEP bonus points make efforts to diversify and improve their workforce profile.

The COMPASS guidebook provides:

• An overview on the EP eligibility framework
• Tips on navigating the EP framework and submitting an application

You can use the Workforce Insights tool on myMOM Portal to:

• Check your organisation's workforce profile and industry benchmarks for salary and non-monetary benefits based on MOM survey data
• Find out your organisation’s scores in the following COMPASS criteria:
  • C3. Diversity
  • C4. Support for local employment
• Get benchmarking insights for workforce planning and hiring decisions
• Get resources for better human capital practices

Employers and employment agents can use the enhanced Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) to check a candidate's eligibility before applying.

Learn more about how to use the SAT.

Scenario:

• The organisation is a marketing consultancy in the professional services sector.
• Firm-related attributes: The organisation has a local PMET share at the 40^th percentile of their sector. The candidate’s nationality currently forms 15% of the organisation’s PMET employees.
• Candidate attributes: The candidate is a business manager and holds a bachelor’s degree from a foreign university (not in the top-tier list). The candidate's salary is at the 70^th percentile compared to local PMET salaries in this sector.

Outcome: The application meets expectations on all four foundational criteria and scores 40 points. Most applications will fall into this category.

The table explains the points scored for each criterion.

Scenario:

• The organisation is a small medical technology start-up in the biomedical sciences sector.
• Firm-related attributes: The organisation has a small PMET employment of 15.
• Candidate attributes:The candidate is an Operations Manager and holds a bachelor’s degree from a foreign university (not in the top-tier list). The candidate’s salary is at the 70^th percentile compared to local PMET salaries in this sector.

Outcome: The application meets expectations on all four foundational criteria and scores 40 points. Most applications will fall into this category.

The table explains the points scored for each criterion.

Scenario:

• The organisation is a commercial bank in the financial services sector.
• Firm-related attributes: The organisation has a local PMET share at the 40^th percentile of its sector. The candidate comes from a less represented nationality in the organisation, which currently forms 3% of the organisation’s PMET employees.
• Candidate attributes: The candidate is a management associate and holds a bachelor’s degree from a foreign university (not in top-tier list). The candidate's salary is at the 60^th percentile compared to local PMET salaries in the sector.

Outcome: The candidate does not meet expectations on the salary criterion, but his nationality improves the diversity of the organisation. His application still scores 40 points and passes.

The table explains the points scored for each criterion.

Scenario:

• The organisation is a software firm in the Infocomm technology sector.
• Firm-related attributes: The organisation has a local PMET share at the 10^th percentile of its sector. The candidate’s nationality currently forms 35% of the organisation’s PMET employees.
• Candidate attributes: The candidate’s job is on the shortage occupation list and the candidate holds a master’s degree from a foreign university (not in the top-tier list). The candidate’s salary is at the 95^th percentile compared to local PMET salaries in the sector.

Outcome: The application does not meet expectations on firm-level criteria, but the candidate is of a higher calibre and fills a shortage occupation. His application doesn't earn enough points on foundational criteria but with the SOL bonus points, the application scores 40 points.

The table explains the points scored for each criterion.