Why the 2026 Cost-of-Hire Calculation Has Changed The true cost of hiring a foreigner in Singapore in 2026 is materially higher than it was in 2024 — and will increase further in 2027. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) raised Employment Pass qualifying salaries in January 2026, S Pass thresholds are climbing in July 2026 for [...]
Tech.Pass Is Being Retired — and Its Replacement Is More Powerful Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced at the Committee of Supply (COS) debate on 3 March 2026 that the Tech.Pass will be discontinued and replaced by a new track under the Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass — the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) [...]
How Singapore’s 9% GST affects employee benefit packages, payroll costs and compliance. Practical guidance for employers on CPF, IRAS, MOM and staff benefits.
Relocating to Singapore with your family is one of the better-prepared moves a foreign professional can make — but the volume of decisions required in the first six months is formidable. Schools must be selected and applied to before you arrive, ideally six to twelve months ahead. Housing in the right postal district determines your [...]
Hiring a foreign professional in Singapore is not a single line-item decision. The advertised salary is the starting point — but beyond it sit application fees, monthly levies, mandatory insurance, security bonds, CPF contributions, and a raft of hidden costs that most hiring managers do not add up until the invoice arrives. With the Employment [...]
From 1 December 2025, Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) replaced its one-month grace period for Permanent Residents (PRs) outside Singapore without a valid Re-Entry Permit (REP) with a substantially longer window of 180 days. The change is more nuanced than it appears — and misunderstanding it has already cost some PRs their status. This [...]
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced in March 2026 that it will retire the Tech.Pass and replace it with a new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track from January 2027. This is not a cosmetic rebrand — the new track introduces five-year initial validity, a fundamentally different salary calculation that counts ESOP and equity grants, and [...]
Over 2,500 people were caught for vaping-related offences in Singapore in the first three months of 2026 alone — and that figure was collected before the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act (TVCA) even came into force. From 1 May 2026, Singapore's workplace vaping landscape changed materially. The TVCA, which replaces and significantly strengthens the old [...]
Checklist for Singapore startups hiring a first employee: legal steps, CPF, MOM permits, employment contracts, payroll and compliance with ACRA, IRAS and MOM.
Relocating to Singapore with your family is, on balance, one of the most manageable international moves a professional household can make. The city-state scores consistently near the top of global livability indices, English is the primary working language, and the infrastructure — from Changi Airport to the MRT to a world-class private healthcare network — [...]