Facts checked on 10 October 2026 against the sources linked below. Rules change often — check the official page before you act. This is shared experience, not legal or financial advice.

The pass comes first

Singapore has no job-seeker visa. You work here only on a pass your employer applies for, and travellers on a Short-Term Visit Pass may not engage in any business, professional or paid employment (ICA: entering Singapore). You do not need to be in Singapore when your employer applies.

  • Employment Pass (EP), for professionals: a fixed monthly salary of at least S$5,600 at 23 or below, rising with age to S$10,700 at 45 and above (S$6,200 to S$11,800 in financial services). At 30 it is S$7,223. Bonuses do not count (MOM: EP eligibility).
  • From 1 January 2027 a new EP needs at least S$6,000 a month (S$6,600 in financial services). Renewals follow for passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
  • S Pass, for skilled technicians: at least S$3,300 a month, rising to S$4,800 at 45, and S$3,600 for new applications from 1 January 2027 (MOM: S Pass eligibility). The employer pays a levy of S$650 a month, and a services firm may hold S Pass workers only up to 10% of its workforce, so its quota decides as much as your CV (MOM: S Pass quota and levy).

COMPASS: the 40 points

An EP application must also score 40 points on COMPASS. Four criteria give 0, 10 or 20 points each: your salary against local pay for your sector and age, your qualifications, the share of your nationality among the firm's professionals, and the firm's share of local staff. A job on the Shortage Occupation List adds up to 20 more.

The diversity criterion is the one to understand. Where your nationality is 25% or more of a firm's professionals, you score zero on it and must find 40 points elsewhere. At a firm with few Indians the same CV earns 20. Salaries of at least S$22,500 a month and intra-company transfers are exempt.

Where to look

  • MyCareersFuture, the government portal. Before applying for your EP, the employer must advertise the job there for at least 14 consecutive days, with a visible salary range, and must not make you an offer during those 14 days (MOM: consider all candidates fairly).
  • LinkedIn for professional and technology roles; JobStreet and Indeed Singapore for volume roles; eFinancialCareers for banking and finance.
  • Licensed recruiters, who are paid by the employer. Check the agency licence number against MOM's directory before you send a passport scan.
  • Referrals, which bring in most technology and finance hires.

What the jobs pay

MOM's resident medians for June 2025, gross a month, excluding bonuses and employer CPF (MOM: Occupational Wages 2025):

  • Software developer: S$7,808
  • Data scientist: S$10,111
  • Accountant: S$5,968
  • Registered nurse: S$5,210

A 30-year-old needs S$7,223 fixed to qualify for an EP at all. Foreigners on work passes pay no CPF, so your gross salary is your gross salary (MOM: employer's CPF contributions).

Scams

Singapore's police counted 5,575 job scams in 2025, with losses of about S$123.5 million (SPF: Annual Scam and Cybercrime Brief 2025).

  • Check any application on MOM's Check work pass and application status page with your date of birth and passport number. A job you cannot find on MOM's system does not exist.
  • A Singapore agency may charge you at most one month's fixed salary for each year of the pass or contract, capped at two months' salary, and nothing for renewals (MOM: agency fee cap).
  • The task scam was 2025's commonest job scam: small commissions, then "tasks" that need your own money. Unsure? Call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799.

What to ask here

  • Which firms in my field have hired Indian candidates on an EP this year?
  • Is my offer's fixed monthly salary fair for my role and age?
  • How long did your in-principle approval take after the advert closed?
  • Did your employer wait out a 60- or 90-day Indian notice period?

The full Namaste guide: Jobs in Singapore for Indians.