From 28 January 2027, Singapore’s ONE Pass gets a dedicated AI and Tech track, replacing EDB’s Tech.Pass. For the first time, vested equity counts towards the S$30,000 monthly salary bar. For founders and senior engineers paid partly in stock, that opens a five-year pass that was out of reach on salary alone.
It also means the Ministry of Manpower will be reading your payslips, plan documents and vesting schedules closely. That is where most of the work is.
What changes on 28 January
- Tech.Pass closes. EDB accepts new and renewal Tech.Pass applications until 27 January 2027, 11.59pm. Existing holders keep their pass until it expires.
- The AI and Tech track opens. Each pass is issued for up to five years.
- No COMPASS, no job advertising. The track is exempt from the COMPASS points test and the Fair Consideration Framework.
- Not tied to one employer. Holders can move between employers or take on more than one professional activity without a new pass application.
Who qualifies
There are three tests, and you need to meet all of them.
1. The company
Your current or most recent employer must be a tech company, a tech division within a company, or a tech venture capital firm. It must also meet at least one of these:
- valuation or market capitalisation of at least US$500 million
- annual revenue of at least US$200 million
- at least US$500 million in assets under management
- for tech start-ups, at least US$30 million raised
2. The pay
At least S$30,000 a month, or the foreign-currency equivalent, for the 12 consecutive months before you apply. At least S$22,500 of that must be fixed monthly salary. The rest can be vested non-cash compensation such as ESOPs or share awards, which MOM assesses.
3. The experience
At least five cumulative years in the past ten as a founder or C-suite executive at a tech firm, in a technical role such as senior software engineer, or a mix of the two.
Where applications will go wrong
- Unvested is not vested. Grants that have not vested yet, promised top-ups and future awards do not count, however large.
- The fixed floor is hard. Below S$22,500 a month in fixed salary, no amount of equity gets you onto this track.
- Twelve consecutive months. A pay cut, a gap between roles or a switch from salary to consulting fees partway through the year can break the run.
- The equity has to add up. The grant letters, vesting schedule, plan rules, the value at each vesting date and how it was reported for tax should all tell the same story. If your payslips, plan documents and tax filings disagree, expect questions.
- The company’s scale has to be shown. Applicants submit recent financial information proving the valuation, revenue, assets under management or funds raised. For a start-up, that usually means round documents and the cap table.
File a Tech.Pass now, or wait?
If your fixed salary is at least S$22,500 but your vested equity will not take you to S$30,000 a month over a full year, a Tech.Pass filed before 27 January may be the better route. It lasts two years and can be renewed once for two more. The Personalised Employment Pass also starts at S$22,500, but it lasts three years and cannot be renewed.
If your cash and vested equity together clear S$30,000, waiting for the new track gets you five years instead of two. Either way, make the call before the holidays rather than in the last week of January.
Plan the renewal on day one
As announced so far, renewing needs one of two things: an average fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 over your five years in Singapore, or a Singapore company of your own employing at least five locals, each earning at least the Employment Pass qualifying salary.
Equity gets you in, but on the announced criteria it does not get you renewed. If your package leans on vested stock, decide now which renewal route you are working towards. That means either fixed pay that grows into the threshold, or a local team built inside your own Singapore entity from the start. MOM has said it will publish more detail on renewals.
Why this is an accountant’s problem
Most of this track is a numbers exercise. We test the 12-month pay record and value the vested equity consistently with how it is taxed (see ESOPs in Singapore: when the tax hits). We make sure payroll records support the application, and that the company’s scale is evidenced. If the renewal plan is your own Singapore company, we can set up the entity, payroll and CPF so the local-hiring route is on track from the first month.
Not at S$22,500 fixed yet? An Employment Pass may still work. Here’s how to structure an equity-heavy offer.
Weighing the AI and Tech track?
A readiness review tells you which pass fits, whether your pay and equity record meets the criteria, and what to fix before you apply.
Based on the Ministry of Manpower’s published criteria as at November 2026. MOM is due to publish further detail, including the renewal criteria, closer to launch.