Singapore has established itself as the premier family office hub in Asia, with the number of single and multi-family offices growing significantly since 2020. At the end of 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reported more than 1,650 family offices operating in the city-state under the Section 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes. For the principals, investment professionals and support staff who power these structures, the work-pass question is not straightforward: Singapore family office hiring in 2026 spans the Employment Pass, the ONE Pass, the Personalised Employment Pass and, in some cases, the EntrePass, with each pass suited to a different role profile and seniority level.
This guide covers the work-pass framework for Singapore family office hiring in 2026: which pass fits which role, how MAS licensing interacts with EP applications, how the COMPASS scoring framework affects family office EP applications, and what compliance obligations arise when a family office brings in overseas talent.
Singapore Family Office Hiring 2026: Understanding the Role Types
Family office roles in Singapore typically fall into three broad categories for work-pass purposes. Investment Professionals (IPs) are defined by MAS as portfolio managers, research analysts and traders who earn more than SGD 3,500 per month and spend more than 50% of their working time on qualifying investment activity. Family Office Principals are the beneficial owners or their appointed senior representatives, typically earning at the ONE Pass threshold. Support and operational staff — compliance officers, legal counsel, finance officers — hold EPs or, where salary-eligible, Personalised Employment Passes.
Investment Professionals: EP Under the Financial Services Threshold
Investment Professionals hired by a Singapore family office on an Employment Pass must meet the financial services sector EP salary floor, which stands at SGD 6,200 per month as at August 2026 (for new applications; renewals follow the same threshold). The EP application is submitted by the family office entity — typically a private limited company or a Variable Capital Company (VCC) subsidiary — as the employer. COMPASS scoring applies, which means the family office must also satisfy firm-level criteria on nationality diversity and local professional hiring.
For a full breakdown of the EP application process and COMPASS scoring for the financial services sector, see our Complete Singapore Employment Pass Guide 2026.
Family Office Principals: ONE Pass as the Preferred Route
Family office principals who earn or recently earned SGD 30,000 or more per month are strong candidates for the ONE Pass. The ONE Pass is issued directly to the individual rather than tied to an employer entity, which gives principals the flexibility to sit on multiple family office boards, serve as trustee directors of VCCs, and engage in cross-entity investment oversight without triggering a pass change each time. The ONE Pass is valid for five years and is renewable. There is no COMPASS scoring and no quota or levy, making it the most operationally clean pass for a family office principal.
MAS CMS Licensing and Its Impact on EP Applications
Whether your family office needs a MAS Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence depends on its structure. A Single Family Office (SFO) managing the assets of a single family is exempt from CMS licensing under Section 99(1)(h) of the Securities and Futures Act. This exemption is significant: it means an SFO can hire investment professionals on EPs without those professionals themselves holding MAS licences, provided they are employed by and act solely for the SFO.
Multi-Family Offices (MFOs), which manage assets for two or more unrelated families, are not exempt. They must hold a CMS (Fund Management) licence, and their representatives who conduct regulated activities (such as portfolio management) must hold an appointed representative status under MAS. When a licensed MFO applies for an EP for an investment professional, MOM may take into account the representative’s regulatory qualifications and MAS fit-and-proper status as part of the EP assessment.
Section 13O and 13U Requirements That Affect Hiring
The Section 13O scheme (for funds of at least SGD 20 million) requires the family office to employ at least two Investment Professionals — with one IP allowed at point of application and one year’s grace to hire the second — and to spend at least SGD 200,000 per year on qualifying local business expenditure. The Section 13U scheme (for funds of at least SGD 50 million) requires at least three IPs and SGD 500,000 in local business spending. These IP headcount obligations must be met by holders of valid Employment Passes or other MOM-recognised work authorisations. Family offices that fail to maintain the required IP count risk losing their tax incentive status.
For the tax incentive structure itself — how 13O and 13U compare, what designated investments qualify, and how the schemes interact with concessionary tax rates — see our family office tax incentives guide.
COMPASS Scoring for Family Office EP Applications
COMPASS applies to all EP applications in Singapore, including those lodged by family offices. The framework scores each application across six criteria: salary relative to local benchmark, qualifications, nationality diversity among the employer’s EP workforce, local PMET hiring ratio, shortage occupation bonus, and strategic economic priority bonus. Family offices face a specific challenge on the nationality diversity and local PMET hiring criteria because they typically operate with small headcounts — often 2 to 10 people — drawn from a narrow talent pool with specific investment expertise.
A family office with, say, five EP holders all from the same country will likely score zero on the nationality diversity criterion. Similarly, a family office with no local PMET employees (because the investment professionals are all foreign) will score poorly on the local hiring criterion. Employers should run the COMPASS self-assessment tool on MOM’s portal before filing to check their firm-level standing.
Personalised Employment Pass for Senior Finance Principals
For family office principals and senior investment professionals who hold an existing EP and earn at least SGD 22,500 per month, the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) is an alternative to the ONE Pass. The PEP is not employer-tied, valid for three years and not renewable, and is issued once in a lifetime. It suits principals who want employment flexibility without committing to the ongoing income documentation required for the ONE Pass. However, if the principal expects to earn SGD 30,000 or more per month consistently, the ONE Pass is generally preferable for its longer validity and renewability.
Regulatory Compliance: What Singapore Family Offices Must Monitor
Family offices operating in Singapore must stay current with MAS regulatory requirements, which are updated periodically. The MAS family office regulatory framework covers licensing exemptions, the conditions for maintaining Section 13O and 13U tax incentive status, and the obligations of appointed representatives at MFOs. For SFOs relying on the Section 99(1)(h) exemption, the conditions of the exemption should be reviewed annually — changes in client structure or the addition of a second unrelated family can inadvertently convert an SFO into a de facto MFO, triggering licensing obligations.
Employment pass holders serving as Investment Professionals at licensed MFOs must also maintain their appointed representative status with MAS. A lapse in MAS registration — for example, if the individual changes employers within the MFO group without properly re-registering — can result in regulatory breach and may also affect the validity of their EP, which is issued to a specific employer entity. HR and compliance teams at family offices should calendar MAS representative registration renewals alongside work-pass renewal dates.
Practical Steps for Hiring Into a Singapore Family Office in 2026
First, confirm the family office entity type (SFO or MFO) and whether MAS licensing applies to the roles you are filling. Second, map each hire to the appropriate pass: ONE Pass for principals at SGD 30,000+, EP for IPs and operational staff at SGD 6,200+ in financial services, PEP for senior hires with existing EP history. Third, run a COMPASS pre-screen on the firm’s existing EP profile to identify any firm-level scoring risks before lodging new applications. Fourth, ensure the family office entity has registered with MOM as an employer and has the required WP Online access. Fifth, if 13O or 13U obligations require a minimum number of IPs, plan the hiring timeline to meet the one-year grace period rather than letting it lapse.
Little Big Employment Agency (MOM Licence 19C9790), the employment-agency arm of Raffles Corporate Services, advises family offices on work-pass structuring, COMPASS pre-assessments and IP hiring. For family office setup, VCC structuring and corporate secretarial services, our sister team at Raffles Corporate Services can assist. Contact us at Singapore Employment Agency.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency