Tech.Pass
A two-year pass for established tech founders, leaders and experts, closing to new and renewal applications on 27 January 2027 and replaced by the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track from 28 January 2027.
This page covers a programme that is shutting and the one that replaces it, because the two are read together by everyone planning a 2027 move. The single most important fact: Tech.Pass applications close at 23:59 on 27 January 2027 with no grace period, and there is no automatic transfer to the replacement. A Tech.Pass holder who wants the new track must apply from scratch.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Tech founders, C-suite and senior technical staff with at least 5 years in a leading tech role in the past 10 years |
| Route family | Skilled work |
| Validity | 2 years, renewable once for 2 more years |
| Stay per entry | Continuous while valid |
| Threshold | S$22,500 fixed monthly last drawn, about USD 17,300, 2026 |
| Renewal | Once only, and only if the application is filed before 27 January 2027 |
| Settlement | Discretionary |
| 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 roles, directorships and consultancies allowed |
| Tax headline | Resident rates 0 to 24 per cent at 183 days or more |
| Processing | About 8 weeks |
The replacement: ONE Pass (AI and Tech)
| Item | Rule from 28 January 2027 |
|---|---|
| Threshold | S$30,000 monthly total, of which at least S$22,500 must be fixed cash |
| Duration | 5 years, renewable for 5 |
| Experience | 5 cumulative years in the past 10 as a founder, C-suite executive or technical role in tech |
| Employer test | USD 500 million valuation or market cap, USD 200 million revenue, USD 500 million assets under management, or USD 30 million raised for a startup |
| Renewal criteria | New AI and Tech criteria apply from 2028; MOM has not published them in full |
Application flow
- Decide which instrument you are actually applying for, since the answer changed on 28 January 2027.
- For Tech.Pass, file before 23:59 on 27 January 2027. Late applications are refused, not deferred.
- Document 5 cumulative years in a leading tech role within the past 10, at a company valued at USD 500 million or with USD 30 million raised, or as a venture capitalist with USD 500 million under management.
- Evidence the S$22,500 fixed monthly pay from your last drawn salary.
- Apply through the Economic Development Board; the pass itself is issued by MOM.
- If you are arriving after January 2027, apply for the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) instead and evidence the S$22,500 fixed cash component separately from any equity.
- On approval, complete formalities and collect the pass.
Good fit
People already in Singapore on Tech.Pass who can file a renewal before the deadline and want two more years. Also, before the closure, established technical founders and senior engineers from large or well-funded companies who wanted to consult, advise and hold directorships without a single employer. After 28 January 2027 the fit narrows sharply: the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) is the same audience with a higher headline number and a five-year horizon.
Poor fit
Anyone planning to arrive in 2027 or later, who is looking at a closed programme. A well-paid engineer at a small agency, since the employer test is about scale. Anyone whose compensation is mostly unvested options, because the new track requires S$22,500 in fixed cash and assesses non-cash components case by case. And anyone who assumes their existing Tech.Pass converts, which it does not.
Watchpoints
- The closure is absolute. New and renewal applications close at 23:59 on 27 January 2027. Existing holders keep the pass until expiry and keep its privileges, but there is no grace period for a late filing.
- There is no conversion. Holding Tech.Pass gives no advantage in the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) application. It is a fresh application against fresh criteria.
- The salary bar rises from S$22,500 to S$30,000. The new track requires S$30,000 monthly total, with at least S$22,500 as fixed cash and the rest optionally vested ESOP or ESOW. An offer heavy in options may not clear it.
- Management experience outside tech does not count. The 5-year test is specifically founder, C-suite or technical roles in tech. A general manager from another industry fails it.
- Check which employer limb you satisfy before applying. There are four alternatives and they are not interchangeable across company types. A fund satisfies the assets-under-management limb; a startup satisfies the fundraising limb.
- Tech.Pass never made a company eligible for Tech@SG. That is a separate company-level test, and people conflate the two constantly.
- The renewal criteria for 2028 are unpublished. A 2027 grant is judged at renewal on terms MOM has not fully set out.
Sources
- Economic Development Board, Tech.Pass, https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/how-we-help/incentives-and-facilitation/tech-pass, checked 2026-10-22
- Ministry of Manpower, Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass eligibility, including the AI and Tech track, checked 2026-10-22
- Ministry of Manpower, Tech.Pass closure notice, checked 2026-10-22