Entrepreneurs

Freelancers

Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Owners

(1) Age: Applicants are generally required to be at least 21 years old.

(2) Education: Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree or above (Chinese degrees must be certified by the Singapore government). If a bachelor's degree is not available, more than 5 years of relevant work experience can be used as a substitute, or compensation can be made by increasing salary (a monthly salary of S$22,500 can be exempted from the points assessment).

(3) Salary: The minimum monthly salary for non-financial industries is S$5,600; the minimum monthly salary for financial industries is S$6,200. For applicants aged 40 and above, the minimum monthly salary for non-financial industries is S$9,541, and for financial industries it is S$10,527.

(4) Position: Must hold a senior management or higher position in the company (such as director, general manager, etc.).

(5) COMPASS Score: Must achieve a score of at least 40 points (out of 100) in the Singapore COMPASS scoring system. The scoring criteria cover salary, education, skills, company contributions, etc.

(1) Company Entity: Must be registered as a private limited company (Pte. Ltd.), with a Singapore citizen/permanent resident/holder of relevant pass aged 18 or above serving as a local director (can be replaced by the director upon approval), a local office address in Singapore (shared office space is acceptable), and a licensed chartered secretary of the local government to be registered within 6 months of incorporation.

(2) Registered Capital: No mandatory requirement, but it is recommended to have paid-in capital of SGD 100,000-200,000 (the funds must be proven to have a legal source).

(3) Operational requirements: The company must have genuine business dealings with related enterprises to prove the rationality of its operations; it is not mandatory to lease a fixed office or hire local employees, but it is recommended to hire at least one local employee.

(1) Self-employed immigration consultation: $3500. Company structure and equity setting, industry planning.

(2) Company registration: Submit the registration application through the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore. Please allow 3-5 working days, and it can be completed in as little as 1 day. >Company registration fee: $880 for individual shareholders, $500 for corporate shareholders, and $500 for groups. This includes government fees, due diligence fees, articles of association, company seal, and the actual controller of the registered company. >ACRA government fee: $244 is included in the registration fee. >Certificate of Incorporation: $90/copy. >Registered Secretary: $720/year. >Registered Address: $480/year. >Local Agent Director: $3600/year. Group companies: $3600-$17000 depending on size.

(3) Open a local bank account. Choose a mainstream bank (such as DBS, OCBC) or a private digital bank to open a corporate account. Registered capital must be deposited and proof of funds must be provided. The approval period is approximately 2-8 weeks. Assistance with account opening incurs a service fee of $800-$1800.

(4) Submit an EP application. Submit the application through the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The service fee is approximately $8900, including application fee, government fee, and card fee.

(5) After the EP is approved, make an appointment with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to process the identity verification, fingerprinting, photo taking, and 5ingpass registration for the EP card. The service fee is $600. Apply for Dependent's Passes (DP) for family members. The spouse can work freely in Singapore, and the children can directly enroll in public or international schools without a student visa. The Dependent's Pass costs $1800 per person.

Overall, the total cost of self-employment with a Singapore EP is approximately $21,234-$36,014 USD.