The salary your job must pay, and it depends on your age, not just the pass
If the pay on the offer is below the number next to your age, MOM will refuse the pass. Nobody's experience makes up the difference, and no employer can promise it away. Here is the whole table.
The other half of the question — what employers actually pay for the work Singapore hires most — is measured on what jobs pay in Singapore, by role: MOM's own 25th, median and 75th percentile for security officers, cleaners, warehouse workers, lorry drivers and F&B service staff, from the same wage release. A floor is the least a pass allows; that page is what the market pays.
Employment Pass: minimum fixed monthly salary
| Your age | Minimum fixed monthly salary |
|---|---|
| Age 23 | S$5,600 |
| Age 25 | S$6,064 |
| Age 30 | S$7,223 |
| Age 35 | S$8,382 |
| Age 40 | S$9,541 |
| Age 45 | S$10,700 |
From 1 January 2027 these floors rise — for new applications from that date, and for a pass you already hold only when it is renewed, if that pass expires from 1 January 2028. MOM’s published figures for the Employment Pass: S$6,000 at age 23 and S$11,500 at age 45. The table above is today’s floor; MOM publishes the full 2027 age curve nearer the date. Source: mom.gov.sg, read live 8 Oct 2026.
These are the non-financial-sector figures. A financial-services job needs more: at age 40 the floor is S$10,527, and it rises with age the same way. MOM also requires S$22,500 or more to skip the COMPASS assessment; below that the employer must score 40 of 90 points on COMPASS, which is scored on the employer as much as on you.
Source: MOM — Apply for an Employment Pass · read 20 September 2026.
S Pass: minimum fixed monthly salary
| Your age | Minimum fixed monthly salary |
|---|---|
| Age 23 | S$3,300 |
| Age 25 | S$3,436 |
| Age 30 | S$3,777 |
| Age 35 | S$4,118 |
| Age 40 | S$4,459 |
| Age 45 | S$4,800 |
From 1 January 2027 these floors rise — for new applications from that date, and for a pass you already hold only when it is renewed, if that pass expires from 1 January 2028. MOM’s published figures for the S Pass: S$3,600 at age 23 and S$5,100 at age 45. The table above is today’s floor; MOM publishes the full 2027 age curve nearer the date. Source: mom.gov.sg, read live 8 Oct 2026.
An S Pass also carries a levy of S$650 a month paid by the employer, medical insurance covering at least S$60,000 a year, and the employer's S Pass headcount is capped at 10% of the workforce in a services company.
Source: MOM — S Pass quota and levy · read 20 September 2026.
Source: MOM — S Pass medical insurance · read 20 September 2026.
Work Permit: no MOM salary floor, but real costs and a real age limit
- The pass is issued for around 2 years, and applications are decided within 1 week for most cases.
- You must be at least 18 and can apply up to 62. The pass ends at 64.
- MOM does not set a minimum salary for a Work Permit, so an ad that hides the pay is hiding the only number that matters to you. That is why we refuse to publish one.
- Source countries depend on the sector. For construction, process and marine shipyard work a worker can come from the nine NTS countries MOM lists — India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bhutan, Cambodia and Laos — or from Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan. For manufacturing and services the countries are Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan, and an NTS worker is allowed only in an occupation on MOM's NTS Occupation List.
Source: MOM — Apply for a Work Permit · read 20 September 2026.
Three rules that decide whether your application survives
- If the employer is applying for an Employment Pass or an S Pass, the job must be advertised on MyCareersFuture for 14 consecutive days first, with no change to the ad, before applying. Change the ad and the clock restarts. A Work Permit application does not need this.
- An agency in Singapore may charge you at most 1 month of your fixed monthly salary for each year of service, capped at 2 months. Your in-principle approval letter states your salary and the fees paid to the Singapore agency — read it.
- An employer who lies on the application faces jail of up to 2 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both. That is why an advert must carry the pay, checked against MOM’s floor for the role the employer is filling: we stop the ones that do not.
Source: MOM — Fair Consideration Framework · read 20 September 2026.
Source: MOM — what an agency may charge a worker · read 20 September 2026.
Do this next
Run your own job or offer through the free checker — it uses the same table above and tells you in 30 seconds whether the pass is possible at that pay.
Check a job or an offer See live jobs — open to locals and pass-holders