Singapore is home to more than 1,500 single-family offices, many of which operate under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s 13O and 13U tax incentive frameworks. The employment pass strategy for a family office is materially different from that of a bank or tech company. Principals, investment managers, and trusted advisers occupy unusual roles: they may be family members, they may have equity in the structures they manage, and they may be subject to MAS restrictions that do not apply to ordinary employers. This guide explains the work pass landscape for Singapore family offices in 2026.
Understanding the Family Office Employment Context
A family office in Singapore typically employs a combination of family principals (who may or may not draw a formal salary), investment professionals (who are often non-family members required under MAS incentive conditions), and operational staff covering compliance, administration, and lifestyle services. Each of these roles has a different pass profile.
For context, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Enhanced Tier 13O scheme requires family offices to employ at least one investment professional who is not a family member and not a nominee director — and that professional must be Singapore-based and active in the fund management role. The 13U scheme has higher thresholds and a two-professional requirement. The work pass strategy for the investment professionals required under these conditions therefore directly affects MAS incentive compliance.
Employment Pass: The Standard Route for Investment Professionals
Most investment professionals joining a Singapore family office — including fund managers, analysts, and chief investment officers who are not family members — will enter on an Employment Pass. Per the Ministry of Manpower, the qualifying salary for a new EP application in the financial services sector is SGD 6,200 per month (for applications from 1 September 2025), rising to SGD 6,600 from 1 January 2027. This floor is age-graduated and increases with the candidate’s age.
EP applications for family office investment professionals are also subject to the COMPASS framework from 1 January 2026. COMPASS scores candidates on salary relative to sector peers (C1), qualifications (C2), national diversity of the employer’s existing PMET workforce (C3), and the employer’s local PMET hiring ratio (C4), plus two bonus criteria. Family offices with small teams — typically three to ten employees — often face challenges on C4 (local PMET hiring ratio) because their total workforce is small and may be predominantly foreign. Engaging an experienced employment agency to assess your COMPASS position before applying can prevent rejections.
For a full COMPASS walkthrough, see our COMPASS framework guide: earning your 40 points.
Sensitive Role Restrictions for Family Office EP Holders
MOM and MAS impose additional restrictions on certain categories of EP holders in regulated financial services roles. Specifically:
Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). Individuals who are currently serving or affiliated with a foreign government in a senior official capacity, or who are immediate family members of such persons, may face additional scrutiny and delays in EP processing. The restriction applies to active PEPs; former officials are generally not affected after a defined cooling-off period.
US Persons. US citizens and US tax residents working in Singapore investment management roles create additional compliance obligations under FATCA and, in some fund structures, under the Investment Company Act. Some family offices structure around this constraint by limiting US person involvement in regulated activities or obtaining appropriate CFTC/SEC exemptions. This is a specialist legal area — engage a Singapore securities lawyer before extending an offer to a US citizen for an investment management role.
Personalised Employment Pass: For Senior Managers at SGD 22,500+
Family office investment professionals earning SGD 22,500 per month or above may be eligible for the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) after their first Singapore EP. The PEP is employer-independent: the holder may change employers, take consulting engagements, or take time between roles without reapplying, as long as they do not remain unemployed for more than six months and continue to earn at least SGD 22,500 per month in total.
For senior investment professionals who may be contemplating a move to a different family office, or who intend to take on advisory board seats alongside their primary role, the PEP provides significant flexibility. The PEP has a three-year validity and is non-renewable — upon expiry, the holder must revert to an employer-sponsored EP or qualify for the ONE Pass. Our complete PEP guide 2026 covers eligibility, application, and the transition from EP to PEP.
ONE Pass: For Family Principals and Top-Tier Investment Managers
The Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass is the most flexible work pass Singapore offers. It carries a five-year validity, allows concurrent employment with multiple entities, and is held by the individual rather than tied to a sponsor employer. For family principals who sit on multiple boards, hold stakes in various portfolio companies, and may draw income from several family entities simultaneously, the ONE Pass is often the only viable pass structure.
Per MOM, the ONE Pass requires a fixed monthly salary of at least SGD 30,000. A family principal who draws their income through management fees, carried interest, or dividend distributions — rather than a fixed salary — needs to be structured carefully to meet this criterion. In some cases, the salary criterion can be satisfied through a combination of fixed base and vested equity components under Singapore Employment Pass rules, but this requires specialist structuring advice.
The ONE Pass also has a company eligibility requirement for the standard track: the employer must be a company with a market capitalisation, annual revenue, assets under management, or total funding raised above specified thresholds. Many single-family offices do not independently meet these thresholds, which means the ONE Pass may only be accessible to principals via the Outstanding Achievements track, which requires demonstrated top-tier professional achievement in any field. For more, see our guide on who actually qualifies for the ONE Pass in Singapore.
Letter of Consent for Dependent Spouses Working in the Family Office
Some family offices involve a spouse or adult child of the principal in operational or investment roles. If the spouse or child is in Singapore on a Dependant’s Pass, they may work with a Letter of Consent (LOC) issued by MOM rather than a separate EP. The LOC is employer-specific and must be applied for by the employing entity — in this case, the family office. The LOC approach is appropriate for roles that are genuinely administrative or support roles. Investment management roles that require a Capital Markets Services licence should not be filled via LOC without MAS compliance review. See our Letter of Consent guide 2026 for the full application process.
Conclusion: Get the Pass Strategy Right Before the MAS Incentive Application
The work pass structure for a Singapore family office is an input into — not a consequence of — the MAS incentive application. If your 13O application requires two non-family investment professionals and you have not modelled their COMPASS scores, salary floors, and DRC implications, you risk a mismatch between your MAS commitments and what MOM will actually approve.
For employment pass planning and filing for Singapore family offices, Singapore Employment Agency is a MOM-licensed agency (Licence 19C9790) with specific experience in family office immigration structures. For the broader family office setup — VCC incorporation, MAS licensing applications, fund accounting, and tax compliance — Raffles Corporate Services provides integrated family office advisory services.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency