Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has released the new salary benchmarking table for the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS), the points-based evaluation system applicable to all Employment Pass (EP) applications.

The benchmarks are derived from MOM’s Manpower Research and Statistics Department’s (MRSD) annual Comprehensive Labour Force Survey.

The recently-released salary benchmarking table will apply to initial EP applications from January 1, 2025, and EP renewal applications of passes expiring from July 1, 2025.

The current salary benchmarks table (which was released in May 2023) applies to initial EP applications filed until December 31, 2024, and EP renewal applications of passes expiring from September 1, 2024, until June 30, 2025.

The benchmarking table released in August applies to New EP applications from 1 January 2025 and Renewals of EPs expiring from 1 July 2025.

Current C1 salary benchmarks by sector apply to New EP applications up to 31 December 2024 (inclusive) and renewals of EPs expiring from 1 September 2024 to 30 June 2025.

COMPASS is a transparent points-based system that gives businesses greater clarity and certainty for manpower planning. It enables employers to select high-quality foreign professionals while improving workforce diversity and building a strong local core.

Your application needs to earn 40 points to pass COMPASS. Candidates are exempted from COMPASS if they have a fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500 (similar to the prevailing Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertising exemption from 1 September 2023)

To earn points under the C1. Salary criteria, your candidate’s fixed monthly salary needs to meet or exceed the 65th percentile of local PMET salaries in your sector.

This criterion benchmarks the 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.

Candidates who do not meet the EP qualifying salary will not be eligible for an EP, regardless of the points they would have scored under the C1 salary benchmark.

EP Qualifying Salary

The following EP-qualifying salary requirements apply to new applications and renewals:

• At least $5,000 for all sectors except financial services (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $10,500 at age 45 and above)
• At least $5,500 for the financial services sector (increases progressively with age from age 23, up to $11,500 at age 45 and above)

For EPs expiring from 1 September 2024, in addition to meeting the EP qualifying salary, they will also need to pass COMPASS to get their pass renewed.

From 1 January 2025, the EP qualifying salary for new applications will be revised to at least $5,600, and at least $6,200 for the financial services sector.

This revised EP qualifying salary will also apply to the renewal of EPs that are expiring from 1 January 2026.