Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass
A five-year personal work pass for the top slice of earners and for outstanding achievers in sport, arts, academia and research, issued to the individual rather than to a job.
The ONE Pass is not the general skilled migration route, despite how it is marketed. It is a pass for people already at the top of a pay scale, or for people whose achievement is externally recognised. It is also the only work pass in Singapore that lets you hold several employers and directorships at the same time without a fresh application each time, which is what actually distinguishes it from an Employment Pass.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Top 5 per cent of earners, and outstanding achievers in sport, arts, academia and research |
| Route family | Skilled work |
| Validity | 5 years |
| Stay per entry | Continuous while the pass is valid |
| Threshold | S$30,000 fixed monthly, about USD 23,100, 2026 |
| Renewal | 5 years at a time, may apply up to 6 months before expiry |
| Settlement | Discretionary. No PR pathway attached to the pass |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | 2 years as a PR, then discretionary |
| Family | Spouse, children under 21, and parents on a Long-Term Visit Pass |
| Local employment | Multiple employers and directorships allowed concurrently |
| Tax headline | Resident rates 0 to 24 per cent at 183 days or more; foreign-source income generally not taxed unless remitted |
| Processing | About 8 weeks for most cases |
Application flow
- Establish which limb you are applying under: the salary limb or the outstanding achievement limb.
- For the salary limb, confirm the S$30,000 is fixed monthly and comes from one employer.
- Confirm that employer meets the company test: market capitalisation of at least USD 500 million, or annual revenue of at least USD 200 million.
- Gather the employment contract, the company’s financial evidence and your own salary history.
- Apply to the Ministry of Manpower. If you are applying on prospective employment, the job must start within 6 months.
- For the achievement limb, prepare the portfolio for assessment by MOM with MCCY, MOE, NRF or A*STAR depending on the field.
- Receive the pass, then notify MOM of any change of employer or directorship.
Good fit
A senior executive or founder earning above about USD 23,000 a month who expects to move between employers, take board seats and advise startups over the next five years. Also a researcher, athlete or artist with a genuinely exceptional record, for whom the salary limb is irrelevant and the achievement limb is the whole application. The pass pays for itself in avoided applications if you change roles more than once.
Poor fit
Anyone whose pay is assembled from several sources. A consultant with three clients paying S$10,000 each does not qualify, because the test is fixed monthly pay from a single employer. Anyone working for a profitable but small firm, since the company test is about size, not viability. And anyone who reads “top 5 per cent” as a soft guideline: MOM benchmarks the figure to the top 5 per cent of Employment Pass holders and does not negotiate downward.
Watchpoints
- The S$30,000 must come from one employer. S$20,000 from company A plus S$10,000 from company B fails, even though the total is S$30,000. There is no aggregation.
- The employer must be large. Market capitalisation of at least USD 500 million or annual revenue of at least USD 200 million. A twenty-person consultancy billing well fails this test however much it pays you.
- Renewal is not automatic. You need either a S$30,000 average over five years in Singapore, or a Singapore company employing at least 5 locals at the Employment Pass qualifying salary. A single strong year followed by a career break does not renew.
- The achievement limb has no appeal. MOM assesses with MCCY, MOE, NRF or A*STAR, and a subjective judgement against you is not reviewable. Do not build a relocation plan on this limb unless the record is unambiguous.
- Applying before you have a job wastes the application. Prospective employment applications are only accepted when the job starts within 6 months.
- It grants no settlement preference. ICA does not rank pass types publicly, and holding a ONE Pass does not put you ahead of an Employment Pass holder in a PR application.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower, Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass eligibility, https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/overseas-networks-expertise-pass/eligibility, checked 2026-10-22
- Ministry of Manpower, pass conditions and renewal criteria, checked 2026-10-22
- Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, permanent residence and citizenship, checked 2026-10-22