Singapore’s EntrePass is the Ministry of Manpower’s work pass for foreign entrepreneurs who want to start and operate an innovative business in Singapore. It is the only Singapore work pass that allows a foreign national to be both the founder-director of a company and the holder of a work authorisation for that same company — a structure that the standard Employment Pass does not accommodate. But the EntrePass is not an easy route, and it is deliberately not designed to be. MOM and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) use it to filter for founders with a defensible innovation case: venture-backed startups, proprietors of intellectual property, or companies supported by Singapore’s recognised incubator and accelerator ecosystem.

This walkthrough covers what Singapore’s EntrePass actually involves in 2026 — the eligibility criteria, the innovation conditions, the application process, the renewal milestones, and the pathway from EntrePass to Singapore Permanent Residence — so that founders can assess fit before investing time and legal fees in an application.

Who the EntrePass Singapore 2026 Is (and Is Not) Designed For

The EntrePass is designed for foreign entrepreneurs launching an innovative, scalable business in Singapore — not for lifestyle businesses, service micro-enterprises, or traditional trades. MOM is explicit about the categories of business that are ineligible, regardless of how the entity is structured. Excluded activities include coffee shops, food courts, hawker centres, bars, nightclubs, KTV lounges, foot reflexology, massage parlours, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal dispensing, employment agencies, and geomancy businesses. This is not an exhaustive list, but it signals the direction: a business that does not involve meaningful innovation, proprietary technology, or scalable intellectual content is unlikely to pass the EntrePass threshold.

The EntrePass is also distinct from the Employment Pass that a foreign professional would hold when joining an existing company. For a comparison of the passes available to senior professionals and founders, see our guide on EP vs PEP vs ONE Pass: which visa fits your career stage. Founders who are already operating globally-recognised businesses — and earning above SGD 30,000 per month — may find the ONE Pass a better fit than the EntrePass.

The Two Core EntrePass Eligibility Requirements

Per the Ministry of Manpower EntrePass eligibility requirements, all applicants must satisfy two conditions before the innovation criteria even come into play:

Requirement 1: A Singapore-Incorporated Private Limited Company

The applicant must have either already incorporated a private limited company with ACRA, or intend to do so. If the company is already incorporated at the time of application, it must have been incorporated no more than six months before the application date. The company must be a private limited company — not a sole proprietorship, LLP, or public company. The applicant must hold at least 30 per cent of the shares in that company at the time of application and throughout the pass validity period.

Requirement 2: One of the Four Innovation Conditions

The applicant must satisfy at least one of the four innovation conditions set by EnterpriseSG. These are not hierarchical — satisfying any one is sufficient, though some are more straightforward to demonstrate than others in a document-heavy application:

  1. Funding condition: The company has raised at least SGD 100,000 from a venture capital firm, angel investor, or other recognised investor on EnterpriseSG’s accredited list. The investment must be in the form of equity (not a loan), and the investor must appear on the EnterpriseSG-approved list. This is typically the most concrete condition to meet — a properly documented funding round with a recognised investor is hard to dispute.
  2. Incubator/accelerator condition: The company is recognised or enrolled in a Singapore government-supported business incubator or accelerator. Qualifying incubators include those accredited by EnterpriseSG and well-known programmes such as BLOCK71, NUS Enterprise incubators, and Entrepreneur First. Simply attending a one-time workshop or hackathon does not qualify — there must be a formal enrolment or selection into the programme.
  3. Intellectual property condition: The applicant holds a patent that is directly relevant to the company’s core product or service — either granted, or filed with a recognised patent office. Trademarks and copyrights alone do not satisfy this condition. A patent must cover a genuine technological innovation; design registrations are also insufficient on their own.
  4. Research collaboration condition: The company or applicant has an ongoing, documented research collaboration with a Singapore Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) — NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, or SUSS — or with an A*STAR research institute. The collaboration must be structured (typically a formal research agreement or MOU) and ongoing at the time of application.

The Application Process: What to Expect

The EntrePass application is submitted online through the MyMOM Portal. The application fee is SGD 200 (non-refundable). Processing typically takes approximately eight weeks from the date of a complete application submission — significantly longer than the one-to-three-week turnaround for most EP applications.

The application requires a detailed business plan as a core document. Unlike an EP application where a job offer letter and COMPASS score are the primary determinants, the EntrePass assessment is fundamentally qualitative: MOM and EnterpriseSG evaluate whether the business has credible innovation, whether the founder is the right person to execute it, and whether the business is likely to contribute to Singapore’s economy through hiring, revenue, and IP activity.

A strong EntrePass business plan covers:

  • The business model and how revenue will be generated;
  • The innovation component and how it differentiates from existing businesses;
  • The target market and why Singapore is the right base for this business;
  • The founder’s relevant track record — prior startups, exits, patents, or domain expertise;
  • The hiring plan for Singaporeans and PRs over the first one to two years;
  • Financial projections for at least two years.

Applications that are rejected can be appealed, but appeals are most effective when supported by new substantive information — not simply a restatement of the original application. The MOM appeals process for the EntrePass is similar in mechanics to appeals for other pass types, detailed in our guide on why work pass appeals fail in Singapore.

EntrePass Renewal Milestones: What MOM Expects

This is where many founders are caught off guard. The EntrePass is not a static pass — it is a performance-gated pass. Each renewal requires the founder to demonstrate that the business has met escalating thresholds for local spending and local employment. The milestones, as set by MOM, are:

  • First renewal (end of year one): Total business spending of at least SGD 100,000 since incorporation, and at least one local employee (Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident) on payroll earning at least SGD 1,400 per month;
  • Second renewal (end of year two): Total business spending of at least SGD 150,000, and at least three local employees earning at least SGD 1,400 per month;
  • Subsequent renewals: Total business spending of at least SGD 200,000, and at least five local employees earning at least SGD 1,400 per month.

“Business spending” includes qualifying expenditures such as salaries (including the founder’s own remuneration drawn from the company), office rental, equipment, professional services, and operational costs. It does not include investment-in or loan repayments. The SGD 1,400 local employee salary floor — the Local Qualifying Salary — is the same threshold that governs quota mathematics for S Pass holders, and from 1 July 2026 this rises to SGD 1,800 per month.

Founders who underestimate the local hiring requirement often face renewal difficulties. If your business is still pre-revenue at year one and has not yet hired any local employees, the first renewal is at risk. Planning the hiring timeline from day one — ideally bringing on at least one Singapore Citizen or PR employee within the first six to eight months — is essential.

For context on the compliance obligations that come with being an employer in Singapore — including MOM documentation, CPF, payroll, and employment contract requirements — see our Singapore HR and MOM compliance calendar for 2026. EntrePass founders who are hiring for the first time should also review our guide on restraint of trade clauses in Singapore employment contracts — an area where founder-employers are increasingly under regulatory focus.

Pass Validity and Family Arrangements

An initial EntrePass is issued for one year. The first renewal, if granted, is also for one year. Subsequent renewals are issued for two years. The total time from initial grant to becoming eligible for renewal to Permanent Residence via the Professional, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers (PTS) scheme is typically three to five years, depending on business performance and ICA’s holistic assessment.

EntrePass holders can sponsor their immediate family members — spouse and children under 21 — for a Dependant’s Pass (DP), provided the EntrePass holder’s salary meets the relevant threshold. Spouses holding a Dependant’s Pass may apply for a Letter of Consent to work in Singapore. Parents and in-laws may be eligible for the Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP), subject to MOM assessment.

From EntrePass to Singapore PR: The Pathway

The EntrePass is a legitimate and documented route to Singapore Permanent Residence. Holders who have operated their business successfully — met the renewal milestones, grown local employment, and contributed to Singapore’s economy through taxes and local expenditure — are eligible to apply for PR under the PTS scheme.

ICA’s holistic assessment for PR considers: length of time in Singapore, salary and tax contribution, the economic value of the business (revenue, employment created, IP generated), family ties, and integration into Singapore’s community. An EntrePass founder who has built a business generating meaningful revenue, employing ten or more local employees, and paying taxes in Singapore over three to four years is in a materially stronger position than a salaried professional with similar length of stay.

For a full overview of PR routes available to Singapore-based professionals and business owners, including the PTS scheme, Family Ties scheme, and Global Investor Programme, see our Complete Singapore PR Pathway Guide 2026.

EntrePass vs Employment Pass: When to Choose Which

A common question from foreign founders is whether to apply for an EntrePass or structure themselves as an employee of their own company and apply for an Employment Pass. The Employment Pass (EP) is not designed for founder-directors — if you are the majority shareholder and sole director of a company, MOM will assess the EP application with heightened scrutiny, as the arm’s length employer-employee relationship that underpins the EP framework is absent.

The EntrePass is the correct vehicle for foreign founders in Singapore. For the complete Employment Pass guide 2026 — which covers the COMPASS framework, salary thresholds, and renewal mechanics relevant to employees of established entities — the comparison is helpful in understanding why the two passes serve fundamentally different use cases.

For the corporate services dimension of EntrePass — including company incorporation, nominee director arrangements, and ongoing corporate secretarial requirements — our sister firm Raffles Corporate Services has published a detailed guide on Singapore EntrePass eligibility, COMPASS, and the application process.

If you need support assessing your EntrePass eligibility, preparing your business plan, managing the application, or navigating the renewal milestones, Singapore Employment Agency — the consumer brand of Little Big Employment Agency (MOM Licence 19C9790) — works with foreign founders across all stages of the EntrePass journey. For company incorporation and corporate services, Raffles Corporate Services provides end-to-end support.

— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency

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