EntrePass
A work pass for foreign founders who incorporate a Singapore private limited company and run it, with no minimum salary and no minimum capital but one of five qualifying tests.
The EntrePass is not a cheap Employment Pass. It is a pass for people building a venture-backed or intellectual-property-backed company, and the renewal terms assume the company grows. Founders who treat it as a way to be self-employed in Singapore fail at the second renewal, because the spending and headcount targets escalate on a published ladder and your own salary does not count toward them.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Venture-backed or IP-owning founders starting a Singapore private limited company |
| Route family | Business |
| Validity | 1 year on first issue, 1 year on first renewal, 2 years thereafter |
| Stay per entry | Continuous while the company meets the terms |
| Threshold | No minimum salary, no minimum capital, but one of five tests. Cheapest is S$100,000 raised in a single round, about USD 77,000, 2026 |
| Threshold formula | None. Qualification is by funding, incubator, exit, IP or research collaboration |
| Renewal | Yes, against rising business spending and local headcount targets |
| Settlement | Discretionary |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | 2 years as a PR, then discretionary |
| Family | Spouse and children on Dependant Passes |
| Local employment | Yes, you run the company |
| Tax headline | Corporate tax on profits, personal tax on salary; resident rates 0 to 24 per cent |
| Processing | Within 8 weeks for most cases |
The five qualifying tests
| Test | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Funding | At least S$100,000 raised in a single round from an accredited investor or institution |
| Incubator | Accepted into a government-recognised incubator or accelerator |
| Intellectual property | Registered IP you own or hold exclusive rights to, used in the business |
| Research | A research collaboration with a Singapore institution |
| Track record | An established business with a proven exit or substantial revenue |
The renewal ladder
| Cycle | Total Business Spending | Local employees |
|---|---|---|
| Second renewal | S$100,000 | 1 |
| Third renewal | S$200,000 | 2 |
| Subsequently rising to | S$1,150,000 | 10 by the eleventh cycle |
Application flow
- Incorporate the Singapore private limited company first, and apply within 12 months of incorporation.
- Choose which of the five tests you are relying on and evidence it properly: the term sheet, the incubator letter, the IP registration, the research agreement.
- Confirm you hold at least 30 per cent of the shares.
- Check that your business activity is not on the excluded list.
- Apply to MOM; Enterprise Singapore assesses the business substance.
- On approval, complete formalities and begin trading.
- At each renewal, produce audited spending and CPF records for local hires against the ladder.
Good fit
A founder with a funded round, a recognised accelerator place, or registered IP that the company actually uses. Someone who intends to hire in Singapore and can show spending on rent, equipment, professional services and local staff. The pass rewards a real operating company with a Singapore cost base, and it is generous to founders who were going to build there anyway.
Poor fit
A consultant, an agency owner, or anyone opening a cafe, bar, massage parlour or employment agency. Those activities are excluded by MOM and the exclusion is not appealable in practice. Also a solo founder planning to bill overseas clients from a serviced office with no local hires: that profile clears the first year and fails the second renewal.
Watchpoints
- Apply within 12 months of incorporation. If the company is older than 12 months at application, you are assessed against the renewal criteria instead of the startup criteria, which is a materially harder test.
- You must hold at least 30 per cent of the company. A founder who has diluted below that cannot use this pass, whatever their role.
- The renewal ladder is steep and published. S$100,000 and 1 local at the second renewal, S$200,000 and 2 at the third, climbing to S$1,150,000 and 10 locals by the eleventh cycle. Plan the hiring before you need it.
- Your own salary is excluded from Total Business Spending. Paying yourself generously does nothing for renewal. The money has to leave the company on something else.
- Excluded business types are not negotiable. MOM lists them and refusals on this ground are not reversed on appeal.
- The first two years are short. One year, then one year, then two. Two renewal filings in the first 36 months is normal, and each is a fresh assessment.
- It carries no PR advantage that anyone will confirm. ICA lists EntrePass as a work pass but does not rank pass types for PR purposes.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower, EntrePass eligibility, https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/entrepass/eligibility, checked 2026-10-22
- Ministry of Manpower, EntrePass renewal criteria and Total Business Spending, checked 2026-10-22
- Enterprise Singapore, startup ecosystem and incubator recognition, checked 2026-10-22