The family office principal track under ONE Pass and GIP refers to the two main immigration routes, the Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass and the Global Investor Programme, that a family office founder or senior principal can use to live and work in Singapore while running or owning a single family office.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
What Is the Family Office Principal Track under ONE Pass and GIP?
Wealthy families setting up a single family office (SFO) in Singapore generally need a plan for who is physically present to run the vehicle, and under what immigration status. Two distinct schemes are usually considered side by side. The Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass, administered by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), is a work pass aimed at top talent, including those heading a family office as a hands-on principal or chief investment officer. The Global Investor Programme, administered by the Economic Development Board (EDB) in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is a permanent residence route for investors, one option of which is establishing or investing in a qualifying family office.
The two are not interchangeable. ONE Pass is a work pass tied to continued employment or business activity; it does not by itself confer permanent residency. GIP, once approved, grants permanent resident status to the principal applicant and eligible dependants, but requires a substantial capital commitment and a multi-year operating runway for the family office. Many principals in practice pursue ONE Pass first while the family office is being established and the investment case for GIP is prepared, then apply for GIP once the office is operational and the numbers are demonstrable. Understanding how these two tracks interact, and where applications commonly fail, is the difference between a smooth entry and months of rework.
Who Is This Route For?
This combined pathway is generally relevant to three groups. First, the family principal (often the patriarch, matriarch, or a senior next-generation family member) who intends to relocate to Singapore and take an active role directing investments. Second, a professional chief investment officer or chief executive officer hired to run the SFO on the family’s behalf, who may not hold an equity stake but earns a senior remuneration package. Third, the principal’s spouse and adult children who may later be brought in as investment professionals or directors, though they typically follow a separate Employment Pass or Dependant’s Pass route rather than ONE Pass itself.
It is not generally a fit for families who want a purely passive, letterbox presence in Singapore with no local staff, no real office, and no intention of anyone relocating. Both MOM and MAS increasingly expect genuine substance: a real office, real headcount, and real annual spending in Singapore. Families expecting a nominal structure with minimal footprint tend to be the ones who run into rejections at both the tax incentive and immigration stages.
Eligibility and Requirements
For ONE Pass, the applicant generally needs a fixed monthly salary that meets the prevailing high-earner threshold set by MOM (published on the MOM website and periodically revised), or must demonstrate outstanding achievement in a recognised field such as business, academia, sports, or the arts. Family office principals usually qualify on the salary criterion if the SFO’s payroll reflects a genuinely commercial remuneration package rather than a nominal figure set purely to meet the threshold.
For GIP under the family office option, the principal applicant is typically expected to establish or invest a substantial sum, commonly cited in industry guidance as around S$25 million, into a new or existing single family office based in Singapore, with that office managing a minimum level of assets under management, and committing to grow that AUM within a set period. EDB and MAS have periodically tightened these parameters (including headcount and local spending commitments), so figures should always be verified against the current published criteria before an application is prepared, rather than relied on from older articles or word of mouth.
ONE Pass also carries flexibility not found in most other work passes. A Letter of Consent allows the pass holder’s spouse to work in Singapore without a separate work pass application, which is often useful where a spouse also plays an active role in the family office’s governance or philanthropic arm. The pass itself is valid for five years and can be renewed, and unlike an Employment Pass, a ONE Pass holder is not tied to a single employer, meaning a principal who also sits on the boards of other family-related entities generally does not need a separate work pass for each role. GIP, once granted, extends permanent resident status to the principal applicant’s spouse and unmarried children below the age of 21 at the time of application, though each dependant’s eligibility is assessed on its own facts and is not automatic.
Underpinning both routes is the tax treatment of the SFO itself. Many single family offices in Singapore apply for a tax incentive scheme under Section 13O or Section 13U of the Income Tax Act 1947, administered by MAS, which can exempt specified income from Singapore tax subject to conditions on fund size, local spending, and hiring of investment professionals. Separately, because a family office typically carries out fund management activity, families should be aware that Section 99(1)(a) of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 provides an exemption from holding a capital markets services licence for entities managing assets solely for related corporations or family members, which is why most SFOs structure themselves to fall squarely within that exemption rather than seeking a full licence.
Cost and Timeline (Family Office Principal Track under ONE Pass and GIP)
Costs and timelines vary by structure and by how prepared the supporting documents are, but the following figures give a working guide (always confirm current rates with the relevant agency before budgeting):
- ONE Pass application fee: approximately S$105; issuance fee approximately S$225 (per MOM’s published work pass fee schedule).
- ONE Pass processing time: typically 4 to 8 weeks from a complete application, though complex cases can take longer.
- SFO incorporation and structuring (legal, corporate secretarial, and tax advisory fees): typically S$15,000 to S$50,000 depending on complexity.
- MAS tax incentive application (Section 13O or 13U) preparation and submission: often a further S$10,000 to S$30,000 in professional fees, with MAS review taking anywhere from 3 to 9 months depending on completeness and queue.
- GIP due diligence and approval-in-principle to final investment completion: commonly 6 to 12 months end to end, sometimes longer where source-of-wealth documentation is extensive.
- Minimum family office AUM commitment under the GIP family office option: commonly cited at S$200 million or more at application, rising over an agreed period, though this threshold is reviewed periodically by EDB and MAS and must be checked at the time of application.
Step by Step Process
The typical sequence runs as follows. First, the family engages advisers (legal, tax, and corporate services) to design the SFO structure, usually a Singapore-incorporated exempt private company, and prepares a source-of-wealth and source-of-funds narrative early, since this is scrutinised heavily at both the MAS and GIP stages. Second, the company is incorporated, and a qualified company secretary is appointed within the statutory window; the duties and appointment process are covered in detail in our guide to Company Secretary in Singapore: Role, Duties and How to Appoint One (2026), which is directly relevant since every SFO vehicle needs this appointment regardless of which immigration track the principal pursues.
Third, the family recruits at least the minimum number of investment professionals required under the tax incentive scheme, ensuring the mix of local and foreign hires matches current MAS guidance. Fourth, the MAS tax incentive application is lodged in parallel with, or shortly before, the principal’s ONE Pass application, since MOM will often want to see that the underlying entity has real substance and a credible operating plan. Fifth, once the SFO is operating and the family’s long-term commitment is clearer, the GIP application is prepared, including the investment plan, the family’s business and investment track record, and supporting due diligence documents. Sixth, after GIP approval in principle, the investment is completed and permanent residence is formally granted to the principal and eligible family members.
Families that also need to bring in other specialised foreign professionals, whether for a related operating business or a family-owned enterprise, should note that pass strategy is highly sector-specific; our guide on Hiring a Foreign Veterinarian in Singapore: Licensing and Employment Pass Strategy illustrates how licensing and employment pass planning must be tailored to the profession in question, a principle that applies equally to family office hires such as compliance officers or portfolio managers with specific regulatory registrations.
Common Mistakes and Rejection Reasons
Several recurring errors account for most of the rejections and delays seen in practice.
- Setting the principal’s or CIO’s salary just at the ONE Pass threshold rather than at a genuinely commercial level, which invites scrutiny of whether the role and pay are real or engineered purely for pass approval.
- Applying for the MAS tax incentive before the family office has a credible investment mandate, staffing plan, and local spending budget, resulting in queries or rejection at MAS review.
- Underestimating source-of-wealth documentation requirements. Both MAS and EDB expect a clear, well-evidenced narrative tracing how the family’s wealth was generated, and gaps or inconsistencies are a leading cause of delay.
- Treating GIP and ONE Pass as a single combined application. They are assessed by different agencies against different criteria, and conflating the two in correspondence or documentation creates confusion and slows both.
- Underspending on local substance, such as office space, local hires, and operating expenditure, on the assumption that a family office can remain largely virtual. Reviewers increasingly test for genuine economic contribution.
- Missing statutory corporate housekeeping, such as failing to appoint a company secretary in time or lodging annual returns late, which can surface as a red flag during due diligence even when unrelated to the pass application itself.
- Relying on outdated AUM, spending, or headcount thresholds found in older articles or informal advice rather than checking current published criteria, since both MAS and EDB have revised these parameters more than once in recent years.
Given the complexity and the periodic revisions to thresholds, families are generally well served engaging advisers who work across both the immigration and the fund regulatory side. The Law Society of Singapore maintains a directory that can help identify law firms with relevant private wealth and regulatory experience at www.lawsoc.org.sg, while up-to-date guidance on the Section 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes is published directly by the regulator at www.mas.gov.sg. Tax residency and personal income tax questions for relocating principals and their families are best checked against current guidance at www.iras.gov.sg, since a principal’s own tax position in Singapore is a separate matter from the SFO’s corporate tax incentive.
Related Guides
Families preparing this application will also want the full document checklist and templates referenced throughout this process, which are set out separately in our companion guide, Family Office Principal Track under ONE Pass and GIP: Documents Required and Templates. That guide walks through the source-of-wealth templates, the investment plan format expected by EDB, and the supporting documents MAS typically requests during tax incentive review, and pairs naturally with the eligibility and process overview above.
FAQs
Does getting a ONE Pass automatically lead to permanent residency? No. ONE Pass is a work pass, not a permanent residence route. Principals who want permanent residency generally need to apply separately under GIP or another PR scheme once the family office is established and operating.
Can the family office principal hold both a ONE Pass and later apply for GIP? Yes, this is a common sequence. The principal often enters on a work pass such as ONE Pass while the family office is set up and staffed, then applies for GIP once the investment case and the office’s track record are stronger.
Is a minimum number of local hires required for the family office? Both the MAS tax incentive schemes and the GIP family office option generally expect a minimum number of investment professionals, with a portion being Singapore citizens or permanent residents, though the exact numbers are periodically revised and should be confirmed against current published criteria before an application is submitted.
Does the family office need a licence to manage the family’s own money? Generally no, provided it falls within the related corporation and family member exemption under the Securities and Futures Act 2001, which is why most single family offices are structured carefully to stay within that exemption rather than seeking a full capital markets services licence.
How long should a family budget for the whole process, from incorporation to GIP approval? A realistic planning horizon is 12 to 18 months from initial structuring through to GIP approval in principle, assuming documentation is well prepared from the outset and there are no material source-of-wealth queries.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.