Spain to Singapore Relocation: Golden Visa Guide

Spain’s Golden Visa programme stopped accepting new applications on 3 April 2025, closing off a route that had, for over a decade, let non-EU investors buy residency through property. For the remote tech founders, investors and Spain-based professionals who had been weighing that path, or who already held a Golden Visa and are now watching Spanish property rules tighten further, the question has shifted from “where in Europe” to “where instead.” A Spain to Singapore relocation is increasingly the answer, and for good reason: Singapore’s Employment Pass, ONE Pass and EntrePass routes give founders, senior hires and entrepreneurs a faster, criteria-based alternative to an investment-linked visa, alongside a tax system and business environment built for exactly this profile.

This guide sets out the practical routes into Singapore for Spain-origin applicants, how the tax reset actually works compared with Spain’s IRPF system, and what the move looks like in the first few months: schools, housing, banking, and the paperwork MOM and ICA will ask for.

Why Spain-Origin Professionals Are Looking at Singapore

Three groups are driving this shift. The first is former or prospective Golden Visa holders who relied on Spain’s residency-by-investment route and now have to find a different way to secure a base in Asia or diversify their family’s residency options. The second is remote tech founders and consultants based in Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia who serve Asia-Pacific clients and want a legal operating base in the region rather than running everything on a tourist visa. The third is Spanish executives and specialists being relocated by multinational employers with a regional Singapore hub.

Spain abolished its Golden Visa through Royal Decree-Law 4/2024, with the change taking effect on 3 April 2025; the stated reason was to ease housing pressure in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands. Investors who already held a Golden Visa as at that date keep it for its original validity period, but no new applications are being accepted. Singapore, by contrast, does not tie any of its work passes to property purchase, and its Global Investor Programme (GIP) is a separate, business-investment route rather than a real estate one; see our GIP vs Golden Visa comparison for how the Singapore investor route stacks up against what Portugal, Dubai and Malta still offer.

Singapore Work Pass Options for a Spain to Singapore Relocation

Most Spain-origin applicants planning a Spain to Singapore relocation will fit into one of three Ministry of Manpower (MOM) work pass categories. Each has a different profile, salary bar and administrative path.

Employment Pass (EP)

The Employment Pass is the standard route for a professional taking up an employed role with a Singapore-registered company. As at 28 April 2026, MOM’s published EP qualifying salary starts at SGD 5,600 a month for new applicants in most sectors (SGD 6,200 in financial services), rising with age to SGD 10,700 (SGD 11,800 in financial services) for candidates aged 45 and above. Meeting the salary bar is only Stage 1: since January 2026 every EP application (unless exempted) must also clear the points-based COMPASS framework, which scores the candidate and the role on salary, qualifications, workforce diversity and the firm’s support for local employment, with 40 points needed to pass. Candidates on a fixed monthly salary of SGD 22,500 or more are exempted from the COMPASS assessment. Our COMPASS Framework explainer and EP application walkthrough cover both stages in detail. (Source: MOM, Eligibility for Employment Pass, updated 28 April 2026.)

Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass)

For senior Spain-based executives and established founders, the ONE Pass is worth assessing before defaulting to an EP. It requires a fixed monthly salary of at least SGD 30,000, broadly the top 5% of EP holders, though candidates with outstanding achievement in fields such as arts, sport, science and technology, or research and academia may qualify without meeting the salary line. Unlike the EP, the ONE Pass is not tied to a single employer: holders can work for multiple Singapore entities, start their own company, or serve on boards, which suits a remote tech founder who also consults. See our EP vs PEP vs ONE Pass comparison for how the three sit against each other by career stage.

EntrePass

Remote tech founders incorporating a new Singapore company should look at EntrePass rather than EP. MOM’s eligibility criteria require the applicant to hold at least 30% of a newly registered ACRA private limited company that is venture-backed or owns innovative technology, and to meet at least one further condition: for example, having raised at least SGD 100,000 in a single funding round from a recognised investor, being backed by a government-recognised or internationally renowned incubator or accelerator, or holding registered intellectual property that gives the business a genuine competitive edge. Coffee shops, F&B outlets and several other listed business types are explicitly excluded. (Source: MOM, Eligibility for EntrePass, updated 14 August 2026.) Founders who already have a company running and prefer employed status instead can compare this against the Hiring Foreign Tech Talent Pass Playbook.

The Tax Reset: Spain’s IRPF vs Singapore’s Territorial System

The tax comparison is usually the deciding factor once the visa route is settled. Spain taxes resident individuals on worldwide income under its progressive IRPF scale, with top marginal state-plus-regional rates that can exceed 45% depending on the autonomous community, plus a wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) in most regions and, for some Golden Visa-era arrivals, exposure to Spain’s “exit tax” rules on unrealised gains above certain thresholds if residency is given up after a long stay.

Singapore runs a different system entirely. An individual becomes a Singapore tax resident for a Year of Assessment if they are physically present or exercise employment in Singapore for at least 183 days in the preceding calendar year (with related concessions for periods straddling two calendar years). As a tax resident, Singapore-sourced income is taxed on progressive resident rates, while foreign-sourced income received in Singapore is, with limited exceptions, not taxed here at all because Singapore does not operate on a worldwide-income basis in the way Spain does. (Source: IRAS, Working Out My Tax Residency, accessed 1 October 2026.) There is no wealth tax and no exit tax in Singapore. For a remote tech founder holding non-Singapore-sourced equity or overseas investment income, this is often the single biggest quantifiable saving in the move. Read our Personal Income Tax for Expats 2026 guide and, if the move involves setting up or relocating a company rather than just an individual, RCS’s guide to relocating your business to Singapore for the corporate-side mechanics.

Comparing Spain and Singapore for Relocating Professionals

The figures below are illustrative snapshots based on the sources cited in this article and should be checked against the current official pages before any application is filed, since salary bars and rules are revised periodically.

Factor	Spain	Singapore
Investment-linked residency	Golden Visa closed to new applicants from 3 April 2025	No property-linked route; GIP is a business-investment scheme, not real estate
Standard work-based route	Work-permit/visa processes tied to regional labour authorities, variable timelines	EP: MOM decision typically within a few weeks once COMPASS and salary criteria are met
Individual income tax	Progressive IRPF, worldwide income basis, plus regional surcharges and wealth tax in most regions	Progressive resident rates on Singapore-sourced income; foreign-sourced income generally not taxed; no wealth tax
Entrepreneur route	Emprendedores visa exists but is separate from the now-closed Golden Visa	EntrePass for venture-backed or IP-holding founders; ONE Pass for high earners with cross-employer flexibility
Family accompaniment	Reagrupación familiar process for dependants	Dependant’s Pass for spouse and children under EP/ONE Pass/EntrePass, subject to qualifying salary

Relocation Logistics: Schools, Housing and Banking

Once the pass is approved, the practical sequence for a Spain to Singapore relocation is broadly the same as for any EU-origin family, with a few Spain-specific notes.

Schools

Families moving from Spanish or Spanish-curriculum schools typically choose between the international school circuit (IB or British/American curricula) and local options once Permanent Residence is further down the track. Places at popular international schools fill up well ahead of the academic year, so applications should start as soon as the pass is approved in principle. Our Singapore Schools for Expats 2026 guide sets out the main options and how the Ministry of Education (MOE) registration framework applies to foreign children.

Housing

Most EP and ONE Pass holders rent in the private condominium market while they assess the city before any property purchase decision; Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats are generally not available to non-PR foreigners. Landed and condominium purchases by foreigners fall under the Residential Property Act and attract Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, a cost that should be modelled before assuming Singapore property is a near-term option.

Banking

Opening a Singapore bank account is usually straightforward once the in-principle approval (IPA) letter or the issued pass is in hand, though requirements vary by bank and by whether the applicant is a salaried EP holder or a new EntrePass founder without a local salary history yet. See our Banking for New Arrivals guide for the documents each major bank typically asks for.

Bringing Family and Setting Up the Company Side

Spouses and children accompany the main pass holder on a Dependant’s Pass once the principal applicant’s EP, ONE Pass or EntrePass salary clears the qualifying threshold; our Dependant’s Pass 2026 guide covers eligibility and the separate Letter of Consent route for a working spouse. For founders incorporating a new Singapore entity as part of the move rather than joining an existing employer, company secretary and compliance obligations (register of members, nominee director requirements if no local director is yet appointed, annual return filing with ACRA) run in parallel with the immigration process; SSS’s guide to Pte Ltd registration for foreigners sets out the incorporation costs and fee structure, and its nominee director guide explains the legal requirements where the founder has not yet relocated at the point of incorporation.

Getting the Spain to Singapore Move Right

The end of Spain’s Golden Visa has removed a familiar option, but it has also sharpened the comparison: Singapore’s work pass system rewards the underlying substance of a role, a company or a track record rather than a property purchase, and its tax system is straightforward to model in advance. Planning a Spain to Singapore relocation starts with matching the applicant’s actual profile, employed executive, remote founder, or high earner, to the correct pass category before any paperwork is filed, since choosing the wrong route is the most common reason applications stall.

Little Big Employment Agency works with Spain-origin and other EU-origin professionals on exactly this assessment, from EP and ONE Pass eligibility checks through to EntrePass structuring for tech founders. Get in touch via Singapore Employment Agency to discuss your pass options, and if the move also involves incorporating or relocating a company, Raffles Corporate Services can advise on the corporate secretarial and compliance side.

— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency