The EntrePass is Singapore’s pass for founders who want to start and operate a business here — but it works very differently from an Employment Pass, and the misconceptions around it are significant enough to waste months of preparation. Unlike the EP, where salary and qualifications drive approval, the EntrePass requires no minimum salary. It requires something harder to manufacture: proof that your business is genuinely innovative, funded, or research-backed, and that you are the right person to run it.
This guide takes you through the full EntrePass Singapore 2026 process — eligibility criteria, the seven qualifying pathways, the application procedure, renewal milestones, and the practical steps that distinguish strong applications from those that stall at the Enterprise Singapore assessment stage.
What Is the EntrePass and Who Is It For?
The EntrePass is a work pass issued by the Ministry of Manpower that allows eligible foreign nationals to start and operate a business in Singapore. It is targeted at three types of applicants: serial entrepreneurs with a track record of exits or funded ventures; innovators who own or are developing proprietary technology, intellectual property, or research; and experienced investors with a history of backing early-stage companies.
The EntrePass is not designed for consultants, freelancers, or founders of conventional service businesses without an innovation or funding angle. A foreign founder opening a café, a trading company, or a straightforward professional services firm is not eligible for an EntrePass. The scheme is deliberately narrow to attract founders whose businesses will create economic spillovers — jobs, IP, investment activity — that Singapore’s ecosystem benefits from. Per MOM’s EntrePass eligibility criteria, at least one of seven qualifying conditions must be met.
If you are a foreign founder who does not meet the EntrePass criteria, the standard Employment Pass is often achievable once your company is generating revenue and paying you a qualifying salary — but the EP requires the company to be operational, not merely incorporated. Understanding which route fits your stage of business is the first planning decision any relocating founder should make.
The Seven EntrePass Eligibility Pathways
To qualify for an EntrePass, you must meet at least one of the following seven criteria as assessed by Enterprise Singapore through the EntrePass Evaluation Panel:
1. Venture-Backed
Your company has raised at least SGD 100,000 from a single funding round from a recognised investor. Recognised investors include: SEEDS Capital, Vertex Ventures, other Enterprise Singapore-endorsed Startup SG Equity Programme partners, and internationally recognised VC firms, corporates, and angel investors that Enterprise Singapore accepts. Family funding, loans, and investments from individuals not recognised by EnterpriseSG do not qualify. This is the most commonly used pathway for early-stage startups.
2. Supported by a Recognised Incubator or Accelerator
Your company has been accepted into and is currently active within a recognised Singapore incubator or accelerator programme. Enterprise Singapore maintains a list of approved incubators. Being at the pitch stage or on a waitlist is insufficient — active participation in a programme cohort is required.
3. Intellectual Property Holder
You personally hold at least one registered patent, registered trademark, or registered design that is relevant to the business you are incorporating in Singapore. The IP must be registered (pending applications are not sufficient in most cases) and must be clearly connected to the commercial activity of the proposed company.
4. Proprietary Technology
You have developed and own proprietary technology that is central to the business, even if it is not formally IP-registered. This pathway requires documentary evidence — technical documentation, source code, product prototypes, or third-party assessments — and is assessed by Enterprise Singapore’s panel on a case-by-case basis.
5. Research and Development Background
You have experience conducting research and development — either at an academic institution, research institute, or corporate R&D function — and the business is commercialising research outputs. Published papers, patents, and institutional affiliations are the typical evidence required.
6. Significant Technical Expert
You are a recognised technical expert in a field relevant to the business. This typically means demonstrated expertise through a combination of credentials, publications, conference presentations, or leadership roles in technical organisations. Enterprise Singapore assesses this pathway against peer-benchmarks in the applicant’s field.
7. Experienced Serial Entrepreneur
You have previously founded and operated a business, with a track record that Enterprise Singapore regards as demonstrating entrepreneurial ability — this may include prior successful exits, funded companies, or ventures that reached scale. Evidence typically includes corporate records, shareholder agreements, financial statements, and news coverage from prior ventures.
Meeting one of these seven criteria is necessary but not sufficient. Enterprise Singapore will also assess the quality of your business plan, the plausibility of your local employment projections, and whether the business model has a credible commercial trajectory in Singapore. Weak business plans that technically check a criterion box are regularly rejected.
Company Requirements: The Structural Pre-Conditions
Before applying for an EntrePass, the company must meet specific structural requirements:
- Registration: The company must be registered (or the applicant must intend to register) as a Singapore private limited company with ACRA. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, and branches of foreign companies are not eligible. For help with company incorporation and ACRA registration, Raffles Corporate Services provides end-to-end incorporation support.
- Age of company: If already incorporated, the company must be no more than six months old at the time of application. Companies more than six months old whose founders want to switch to an EntrePass pathway face significant challenges — the route effectively requires a fresh incorporation or a new co-founder structure.
- Paid-up capital: No minimum paid-up capital is mandated in the eligibility criteria, but Enterprise Singapore’s evaluation implicitly considers capitalisation as an indicator of commitment and viability.
- The applicant must relocate to Singapore: The EntrePass is not a remote-management pass. The applicant must be present in Singapore to run the business.
No Salary Requirement: What This Means in Practice
One of the most distinctive features of the EntrePass is that there is no minimum salary requirement. Unlike the Employment Pass — where a qualifying salary of SGD 5,600 per month (for most sectors, as at 9 July 2026) is the threshold test — the EntrePass applicant does not need to pay themselves at all to qualify. This makes the EntrePass particularly useful for pre-revenue founders who cannot yet justify a market-rate salary from their company’s cash flow.
However, the absence of a salary requirement does not mean financial solidity is irrelevant. Enterprise Singapore will assess whether the business plan demonstrates a credible path to revenue and local job creation. A plan with no revenue projections and no local hiring intent is unlikely to succeed even if a qualifying criterion is technically met. For founders who are weighing the EntrePass against other paths — particularly more established founders who might qualify for a ONE Pass — the salary dynamics are important to model explicitly.
The Application Process: Step by Step
The EntrePass application proceeds in two stages: MOM processing and Enterprise Singapore assessment.
Step 1: Prepare Your Documents
The documentary requirements vary by qualifying criterion but generally include:
- Completed EntrePass application form
- Business plan (structured to address Enterprise Singapore’s evaluation criteria: innovation, IP, funding, team, market, local employment plan)
- Evidence of the qualifying criterion (e.g. term sheets, investor letters, IP registration certificates, incubator acceptance letters, prior company records)
- Curriculum vitae demonstrating the applicant’s relevant track record
- ACRA business profile (if the company is already incorporated)
- Applicant’s passport and travel history
Step 2: Submit the Application
As at 9 July 2026, the EntrePass application is submitted in person at a SingPost branch, accompanied by the SGD 70 non-refundable application fee. Unlike the Employment Pass, which is submitted online via myMOM Portal by the employer, the EntrePass application is a physical submission.
Step 3: MOM Screens, Enterprise Singapore Assesses
MOM conducts an initial screening for eligibility — checking that the structural requirements (company age, applicant nationality, Singapore relocation intent) are met. It then forwards the application to Enterprise Singapore’s EntrePass Evaluation Panel, which assesses the innovation criteria and business plan. This is the substantive assessment that determines most outcomes.
Processing typically takes 8 weeks but can extend to 12 weeks for applications requiring detailed assessment of proprietary technology or complex business plans. Unlike Employment Pass appeals, EntrePass assessments do not have a transparent appeal scorecard — outcomes depend heavily on the quality of the business plan narrative and the strength of criterion evidence.
EntrePass Validity and the Renewal Milestones
A new EntrePass is valid for one year. The first renewal is also for one year; subsequent renewals are for two years each. However, renewal is not automatic — the applicant must demonstrate that the business has made genuine progress during the preceding pass period.
For first renewal (at the one-year mark), MOM and Enterprise Singapore require the applicant to show at least two of the following three milestones:
- Total business spending of at least SGD 100,000
- At least one local employee (Singapore citizen or PR) hired on a full-time basis, earning at least the prevailing Local Qualifying Salary (SGD 1,800 per month from 1 July 2026 — see the LQS update effective 1 July 2026)
- Investment of at least SGD 50,000 from a recognised venture capital fund or angel investor
For subsequent renewals, the milestones become more demanding, reflecting the expectation that the business is maturing: higher investment thresholds, additional local headcount, and in some cases, revenue evidence. EntrePass holders who fail to meet the renewal milestones face non-renewal and must either transition to an Employment Pass (if their company is now generating sufficient salary to support an EP) or exit Singapore.
EntrePass Versus Employment Pass: Choosing the Right Route
The EntrePass is the right route for founders at the very early stage of building a Singapore company, where the business is not yet revenue-generating and the applicant cannot pay themselves a qualifying EP salary. Once the business is operational and paying the founder at least SGD 5,600 per month (or the applicable sector threshold), transitioning to an Employment Pass is typically more straightforward to maintain and renew. The EP vs PEP vs ONE Pass comparison is helpful for understanding where each pass type fits in the career and business lifecycle.
For founders who qualify — particularly those with prior successful exits, raised funding, or registered IP — the EntrePass provides a legitimate and well-defined pathway to building a Singapore-based business. The key is preparation: a weak business plan or insufficient criterion evidence results in rejection, and the six-month company-age restriction means that founders who miss the EntrePass window and keep operating may not have a clean re-entry path. Planning the application from day one of company formation gives the strongest possible outcome.
Getting Your EntrePass Application Right
Little Big Employment Agency (LBEA) is a MOM-licensed employment agency (Licence No. 19C9790) with experience advising foreign founders on EntrePass eligibility, application strategy, and renewal milestone planning. If you are preparing an EntrePass application or assessing whether the EntrePass or Employment Pass is the right route for your business stage, speak with the team at Singapore Employment Agency before committing to a structure.
For company incorporation, registered address, and corporate secretarial services — which are prerequisites for the EntrePass application — Raffles Corporate Services provides end-to-end support for founders incorporating in Singapore. For corporate secretarial and compliance services specifically, Singapore Secretary Services covers ongoing secretarial obligations once the company is incorporated.
Detailed EntrePass eligibility conditions and the current list of recognised incubators and investors are maintained at MOM’s EntrePass hub. Company incorporation procedures and ACRA registration requirements are covered at ACRA’s website, which also hosts the BizFile portal for online company registration.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency