India is one of the largest single sources of foreign professionals coming into Singapore, especially in tech, finance, and healthcare. If you are an Indian national lining up a move to Singapore, the pass route comes down to your fixed monthly salary, the sector, and whether the role is professional, mid-skilled, or labour. The rules tightened in 2026 and they tighten again in 2027, so the calendar matters.
This guide covers the four passes that are realistic for Indian applicants, the COMPASS framework and how the diversity rule plays out for Indians, and the India-specific paperwork steps that catch out files even when the salary clears.
Which pass actually applies
For most Indian engineers, bankers, consultants, and senior managers, the Employment Pass (EP) is the default. The 2026 minimum fixed monthly salary is S$5,600 in most sectors and S$6,200 in financial services, scaling up by age. By 45 the bar is around S$10,700 in most sectors and S$11,800 in financial services. From 1 January 2027 the base lifts to S$6,000 and S$6,600 for new applications, with the age-45 bar rising to roughly S$11,500 and S$12,700, and renewals catch the new floor a year later.
Mid-skilled technical and associate professional roles sit on the S Pass. The 2026 minimum is S$3,300 in most sectors and S$3,800 in financial services, also age-scaled. Healthcare is the practical example for Indian S Pass holders, with experienced nurses and allied health professionals often landing here. From January 2027 the base rises to S$3,600 and S$4,000.
India is also an approved source country for Work Permits in construction, marine shipyard, and process sectors, so lower-skilled labour from India can be hired into those roles. Basic monthly wages here typically sit in the S$1,800 to S$3,500 range before overtime, with the pass tied to one employer and one sector. Dependants cannot be brought in on a Work Permit. For broader context on the wider work pass system in Singapore, see the Singapore work visa and permits overview.
COMPASS and the nationality diversity rule
Since September 2023, every new EP application also has to clear COMPASS, a points-based check covering salary against local PMET benchmarks, qualifications, the employer’s local-foreign workforce mix, and support for local hiring. A pass is 40 points. Candidates earning at least S$22,500 in fixed monthly salary are exempt. From 1 September 2024 COMPASS also applies to EP renewals, not only new applications.
The C3 criterion is the one Indian applicants need to read carefully. C3 scores nationality diversity within the employer’s PMET workforce. If your nationality makes up less than 5% of PMETs at the firm, you score 20 points. Between 5% and under 25%, you score 10. At 25% or more, you score zero. The rule is the same regardless of nationality, but in practice it bites Indian applicants more often because some Singapore offices of Indian-headquartered IT services firms run heavily Indian PMET headcounts.
That does not mean you cannot get the EP at one of those firms. It means the rest of the file has to do more work: a salary well above the C1 benchmark, a recognised degree on C2, and a solid local-foreign workforce share on C4. A candidate at a firm with strong nationality diversity often clears COMPASS comfortably. A candidate at an Indian-heavy office on the same salary may need to add bonus points through a Shortage Occupation List role or a Strategic Economic Priority partnership to get over the line.
ONE Pass for senior hires
If your fixed monthly salary over the previous twelve months has been at least S$30,000 from an established company with market cap above US$500 million or annual revenue above US$200 million, the ONE Pass becomes the cleanest route. It runs five years, is not tied to one employer, and lets you work for multiple companies or start your own. A confirmed offer at the same salary level from a Singapore employer meeting the same size criteria also qualifies. Candidates with outstanding achievement in arts and culture, sports, science and technology, or research and academia can qualify without hitting the salary bar.
One detail catches out senior Indian hires regularly. The S$30,000 is fixed monthly salary, not total compensation. A package of S$15,000 base plus S$200,000 in annual bonus does not qualify, even though it averages above S$30,000 a month. Many Indian compensation packages are bonus-heavy, so check the base before assuming you clear ONE Pass.
Working out which Singapore work pass your salary and role qualify for? Send us your fixed monthly salary, current sector, and the Singapore office you are joining and we will tell you the pass, the realistic COMPASS score, and the timeline before you file.
How the application actually runs
For EP and S Pass, the employer files through MOM’s myMOM Portal with Singpass. You as the candidate are identified by passport. The employer declares the role and salary, and the local-foreign workforce share is auto-populated from CPF records. The Work Permit runs through WP Online on similar logic.
MOM publishes a 10 business day target for online EP decisions. In practice most files come back within two to three weeks, and one round of follow-up requests can extend that by another three to five weeks. The in-principle approval is valid for six months. You then enter Singapore, complete medical checks where required, give biometrics, and collect the physical pass card. The Singapore work permit processing time article has more on what to expect at each stage.
The employer carries the application. You cannot file an EP or S Pass on your own, and a sponsor that is registered with ACRA in good standing and showing legitimate hiring intent is non-negotiable. If you are joining a firm that has never filed before, expect a slightly slower first run.
The India-specific paperwork
Two steps trip up Indian applicants more than the salary or the COMPASS score. Both are documentation rather than judgment calls, but both stall files cleanly when they go wrong.
The first is educational verification. From 1 September 2023 every new EP application has had to include independent verification of every post-secondary diploma or higher qualification declared. EP renewals were brought into the same rule from 1 September 2024. MOM uses approved background screening companies, and the Dataflow Group is the one most Indian applicants end up working with. Dataflow runs the check directly with the issuing institution under MOM’s Primary Source Verification process.
The verification is one-off, so once your Indian degree clears for one EP it does not need to be redone for the next employer. The catch is that some Indian institutions respond slowly to verification requests, and a few non-mainstream universities do not respond at all. If your degree is from a smaller private college or a deemed-to-be university, start the Dataflow check before the employer lodges the EP. A degree that does not verify is an automatic refusal, even when the credential is genuine.
The second step is non-public-education document handling. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, and similar documents from India often need notarisation through a Notary Public, then apostilled or attested by the Ministry of External Affairs in India before MOM and ICA will accept them. This matters most when you also want to bring a spouse on a Dependant’s Pass or apply later for an LTVP or PR. Lining up the notarisation in India before you fly out saves a round trip.
Old name-change deeds, gazette notifications, and PAN-to-passport name mismatches also need to be sorted before the application. MOM and ICA are strict on identity consistency across documents.
What Indian professionals usually earn here
For sizing, fixed monthly salaries Indian EP holders typically pull in Singapore tech, banking, and consulting roles sit in the S$5,000 to S$15,000 range, with senior engineers, principal-level technologists, and assistant vice presidents in banking often above S$12,000. Senior managers, directors, and equivalent finance roles run higher. Healthcare professionals on the S Pass typically come in between S$3,500 and S$5,500 depending on speciality and experience.
The numbers matter beyond just clearing the floor. C1 scores salary against local PMET benchmarks for the role and age band, so a candidate at the minimum is not automatically safe. A 38-year-old EP candidate on S$6,500 in tech may sit below the C1 benchmark for the role and lose 10 points there. The fix is rarely to argue with MOM about the benchmark and is usually to bring the offer up by a band before lodging.
For founder-route applicants, the EntrePass is a separate track that needs a real innovation story and either VC funding, proprietary IP, an incubator placement, or a documented track record. Routine SME plans in retail, F&B, or trading do not clear the bar.
Ready to lodge a Singapore work pass file and want a second look before it goes in? Send us your salary band, role, sector, and the employer you are joining and we will tell you what to fix before MOM sees the application.