Singapore’s New COMPASS System Set to Roll Out in September

Singapore will introduce a new points system for Employment Pass (EP) applicants on September 1, 2023, and for renewal applicants from September 1, 2024. 

The government hopes that the new system – laid out under the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) – will improve the capacity of Singaporean businesses to select high-quality foreign professionals and ensure workforce diversity.

Future EP applicants must score at least 40 points under the COMPASS system, awarded based on four attributes and two bonus criteria.

Increase in Employment Pass qualifying salaries

Under Singapore’s 2022 budget, the government announced an increase to the qualifying minimum salaries for several work permits, primarily the Employment Pass and the S Pass permits.

The qualifying salary threshold for EP applicants has been raised to S$5,000 (US$3,694) from the current S$4,500 (US$3,332). The EP permit is issued to expatriates hired as managers, executives, and skilled professionals in Singapore.

The minimum salary for EP applicants in the financial sector has also been increased to S$5,500 (US$4,064) from S$5,000 (US$3,694). The increased requirement will be applied to new applicants from September 2022, and in September 2023 for renewal applicants.

How COMPASS works

The COMPASS framework evaluates EP applications on individual and firm-related attributes. These are based on four foundational criteria where the applicant earns points on whether they meet or exceed expectations.

Applicants can also earn additional points on two bonus criteria – one for candidates in jobs with a skills shortage, and second, for firms that engage in innovation and internationalization activities.

40 points are required to pass COMPASS.

COMPASS scoring

The scoring system is highlighted in the following table.

PMET: Professionals, managers, executives, and technicians.

The skills bonus is reduced to +10 if the share of the candidate’s nationality is one-third or higher among the firm’s PMETs.

Small firms with fewer than 25 PMET employees score 10 points on C3 and C4 by default.

Case study 1

Company A meets all four foundational criteria.

Candidate attributes

Company A, a marketing consultancy firm in the professional services sector, has an EP candidate with a monthly salary at the 70th percentile of local PMET salaries in the sector. 10 points are given under the ‘salary’ attribute. Further, the applicant holds a degree-equivalent qualification, resulting in another 10 points.

Firm-related attributes

The candidate’s nationality currently forms 20 percent of the company’s PMET employees, awarding the applicant 10 points.

Finally, the company has a local PMET share at the 40^th percentile, awarding them 10 points.  

As such, the total points obtained by Company A are 40, and the candidate is eligible for the EP permit.

Case Study 2

Company B is weak on the foundational criterion but earns points on the bonus criterion

Candidate attributes

Company B, a software company in the tech sector, has an EP candidate with a monthly salary at the 95^th percentile of local PMET salaries in the sector. As such, 20 points are awarded.

The candidate (an artificial intelligence engineer) holds a degree-equivalent qualification, resulting in 10 points.

Firm-related attributes

The candidate’s nationality forms 40 percent of the company’s PMET employees, meaning they are awarded no points. Finally, the company has a local PMET share at the 10^th percentile, meaning the candidate will secure no points for this attribute.

However, the candidate is awarded 10 points under the skills bonus if their qualifications fill a shortage of occupation in Singapore. They are not awarded 20 points for the skills bonus as the share of the applicant’s nationality among the firm’s PMETs is more than one-third.

Who is exempted from COMPASS?

The candidate is exempted from COMPASS if they fulfill the following conditions:

• Earning a fixed salary of at least S$20,000 (US$14,667) per month;
• Filling a role on a short-term basis, one month or less; or
• Applying as an overseas intra-corporate transferee under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement or a free trade agreement to Singapore is a party.

Further Reading

• Incentives and Support for Businesses in Singapore’s Budget 2022
• Singapore Makes Amendments to Company Laws to Improve Compliance
• Singapore Signs Digital Trade Deal With the UK

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