Tech.Pass: senior technology talent working across several roles

Eligibility requirements

• Your last drawn fixed monthly salary in the past year was at least S$22,500, or the foreign-currency equivalent. EDB assesses other income, including non-cash components, case by case; it is not simply added to the fixed figure.
• You have at least five cumulative years in a leading role at a technology company with a valuation or market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or that has raised at least US$30 million, or at a technology venture-capital firm with at least US$500 million in assets under management.
• Both the salary and the experience test must be met. A high salary at a non-technology employer, or a long tech career below the salary line, does not qualify under the current criteria.
• Existing Employment Pass, Personalised Employment Pass or EntrePass holders who meet the Tech.Pass criteria may apply, provided they also continue to meet the requirements of their current pass.
• A business owner may use the pass to run a company if it is an ACRA-registered private limited company, the holder owns at least 30% of its shares and the business shows ongoing activity.
• From 28 January 2027 the successor ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track tests, according to MOM, a monthly salary of at least S$30,000 for 12 consecutive months (of which at least S$22,500 fixed, with vested equity-type components assessable), five cumulative years as a founder, C-suite executive or in a technical role within the past ten years, and employment with a technology company, tech division or tech VC meeting valuation, revenue, AUM or funds-raised thresholds.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Passport particulars and a complete career chronology that makes the five cumulative years in a leading role visible and dated.
• Twelve months of payslips, the employment contract and tax statements evidencing the last drawn fixed monthly salary; separate schedules for bonuses, equity and allowances.
• Independent evidence of the employer's scale: audited accounts, listing information or funding announcements supporting the US$500 million valuation, US$30 million raised or US$500 million AUM test.
• Job descriptions, organisation charts or board resolutions showing the leadership nature of the role, not only the title.
• At renewal: the IRAS Notice of Assessment, or the company's spending and payroll records, or the funding evidence for the Singapore-incorporated technology business, depending on the renewal route.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm which pass is right for the timing

   Compare Tech.Pass against the Employment Pass, the standard ONE Pass and the announced ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track. An application lodged close to January 2027 should be planned with the transition in mind.

2. 02

   Reconcile salary and employer-scale evidence

   Payslips, contracts and tax records must agree. Employer scale must be shown with independent documents; a press release alone is weak evidence.

3. 03

   Apply to EDB

   New applicants apply directly through EDB's online application. EDB does not require employer sponsorship. Track any request for further information.

4. 04

   Enter and have the pass issued

   Follow the in-principle approval instructions, complete any required registration and apply separately for family passes through MOM.

5. 05

   Choose a renewal route early

   Renewal is available once, and is submitted no earlier than six months and no later than twelve weeks before expiry. Decide in year one whether the assessable-income route, the business-spending route or the funded-business route is realistic, and keep the records for it.

After approval & family planning

• A legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21 may apply to MOM for a Dependant's Pass; a common-law spouse, step-children, handicapped adult children and parents may apply for a Long-Term Visit Pass. Dependants who wish to work need their own work pass or, for qualifying business owners, a Letter of Consent.
• The holder may concurrently found and operate technology companies, be employed by one or more Singapore-based companies, act as consultant, mentor or lecturer, and hold investor or director positions. Contractual restrictions and regulated-profession rules still apply.
• Renewal requires one of: assessable income of at least S$270,000 in the latest IRAS Notice of Assessment; annual total business spending of at least S$100,000 with at least one local PME (S$3,900 or more with three months of CPF) or three local qualifying-salary employees (S$1,600 or more); or a Singapore-incorporated digital or technology business that has raised more than US$10 million cumulatively in the past 36 months from programme-recognised investors.
• The pass can be renewed only once. A holder who intends to stay beyond four years should assess the Employment Pass, ONE Pass or permanent residence in good time.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant already holds a senior technology record at a company meeting EDB's scale tests and will genuinely build or lead technology activity in Singapore, this route may be assessed. The 2027 transition to the ONE Pass track must be factored into timing. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Tech.Pass is a pass for people who will genuinely do several things in Singapore. The annual records that support renewal, whether income, spending or funding, are also the records that show real activity to any later authority.
• The replacement by the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track changes the salary definition and the employer tests. Anyone planning an application for late 2026 or 2027 should obtain current guidance from both EDB and MOM.