Family Office Principal track under ONE Pass and GIP: Decision tree, should you choose this
The family office principal track under ONE Pass and GIP lets a high net worth individual secure long-term Singapore residency or a work pass tied to running their own family office, but whether ONE Pass, the Global Investor Programme (GIP), or an Employment Pass route suits you depends on your asset base, investment appetite and time horizon. This decision tree sets out how to choose between them for 2026 planning.
Step 1: Are you seeking permanent residency or simply a work pass to operate in Singapore?
If the end goal is Singapore permanent residency (PR) for yourself and your family, the Global Investor Programme administered through the Economic Development Board is the relevant track, since GIP is explicitly a PR-linked investment scheme. If you only need a work pass to run the family office day-to-day without committing to PR immediately, ONE Pass or an Employment Pass under the family office hiring framework (commonly referenced as the 13O/13U single family office regime) is the more direct route. Many principals eventually pursue both in sequence, starting with a work pass and applying for GIP once the fund and family office are established.
Step 2: Does your net worth and fund size meet GIP thresholds?
GIP Option B, the GIP-Select Fund route most relevant to family offices, generally requires the applicant to invest a substantial sum (historically S$2,500,000 or more) into a GIP-Select Fund that in turn deploys capital into Singapore-based companies, alongside setting up or committing to a single family office with meaningful assets under management and local hiring. If your investable assets fall short of this threshold, GIP is not realistically available this year, and you should instead pursue the ONE Pass or Employment Pass route while building towards the threshold.
Step 3: Do you meet the ONE Pass income and track-record bar?
ONE Pass is designed for top-tier talent and is assessed primarily on a high fixed monthly salary benchmark (a multiple of the qualifying salary for Employment Pass holders) or on an equivalent track record of outstanding achievement in business, arts, sports, science or academia. A family office principal with no prior drawn salary (because the office is newly set up) may struggle to demonstrate the income criterion and should instead consider the Employment Pass route tied to the family office entity itself, with a credible remuneration package benchmarked against the sector.
Step 4: Will the family office qualify for the tax incentive that underpins the hiring framework?
Most principal track applications are built around the family office qualifying for a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tax incentive scheme (the fund management exemption schemes commonly referred to by their Income Tax Act sections). Qualifying generally requires minimum assets under management, a minimum number of local investment professionals hired, and minimum local business spending. If the family office cannot yet meet these thresholds, the pass application is considerably harder to justify to the authorities, so principals should sequence family office incorporation and MAS application ahead of, or alongside, the pass application rather than after it.
What it is and who it is for
This track exists to let genuinely wealthy individuals relocate to Singapore to manage their own family wealth through a locally incorporated single family office, while contributing to the local investment management ecosystem through hiring and spending. It is for principals and their immediate family (spouse and dependent children typically follow on Dependant’s Pass), not for professional fund managers seeking employment at a third-party family office, who would ordinarily apply for a standard Employment Pass instead.
Eligibility and requirements
Beyond the asset and salary thresholds above, applicants should expect scrutiny of: source of wealth documentation (to satisfy anti-money laundering checks under MAS guidance and the law society’s conveyancing and source-of-funds practice notes where real estate is involved); the family office’s physical office presence in Singapore; a genuine investment strategy rather than a passive holding structure; and, for GIP, a clean personal and business track record with no adverse regulatory history.
Cost and timeline
Setting up a single family office (legal incorporation, MAS incentive application, and the investment strategy documentation) typically takes 3 to 6 months end-to-end, with the MAS incentive application itself often taking 2 to 4 months to process once complete. Professional fees for the full structure (incorporation, fund documentation, tax incentive application and pass application) commonly range from S$30,000 to S$80,000 depending on complexity, excluding the GIP investment capital itself. The GIP application process, once the fund commitment is made, generally takes several months for in-principle approval before PR is granted.
Step-by-step process
- Decide on the end goal (PR via GIP, or a work pass via ONE Pass/Employment Pass) using Steps 1 to 4 above.
- Incorporate the single family office vehicle in Singapore and prepare the investment mandate.
- Apply to MAS for the relevant fund management tax incentive, demonstrating assets under management, hiring and spending commitments.
- Submit the pass application (ONE Pass, Employment Pass, or both in sequence) to the Ministry of Manpower once the family office structure is substantially in place.
- If pursuing GIP, commit the required investment into a GIP-Select Fund and submit the GIP application to the Economic Development Board.
- Arrange Dependant’s Passes for immediate family once the principal’s pass or PR is approved.
Comparing the three routes side by side
It helps to see the three principal routes laid out against each other before committing resources to any one application.
- ONE Pass: best for principals who already draw, or can credibly structure, a high fixed monthly salary from the family office or another entity, and who want flexibility to work across multiple Singapore entities without being tied to one employer. No PR is granted automatically; it remains a work pass, renewable, with its own long validity period.
- Employment Pass under the family office hiring framework: the most common starting point for a newly set up single family office, tied specifically to the family office entity, assessed against standard EP salary benchmarks adjusted for the finance sector, and generally easier to obtain in the first year before the office has an established track record.
- Global Investor Programme (GIP): the only route of the three that leads directly to permanent residency, but it requires the largest capital commitment and the most extensive source-of-wealth due diligence, and is typically pursued once the family office and its investment track record are already established in Singapore.
Many principals treat this as a staged journey: Employment Pass first to establish the office and demonstrate commitment, ONE Pass once the salary and track record criteria are comfortably met, and GIP in parallel or subsequently once the capital commitment and investment history support a PR application.
Structuring the family office entity correctly from the outset
Because the pass and tax incentive applications both depend on the underlying legal entity, it is worth getting the corporate structure right before any application is filed. This typically means incorporating a Singapore private limited company as the family office management entity, appointing at least one locally resident director in line with Companies Act requirements, and ensuring the company’s constitution and shareholding structure clearly reflect the principal’s ownership and control, since both MAS and the Economic Development Board will scrutinise the structure during due diligence. Many principals also set up a separate holding or fund vehicle, sometimes in another jurisdiction, with the Singapore family office acting purely as the Singapore-based manager; this adds complexity but can be important for existing international tax and succession structures.
Common mistakes
- Applying for ONE Pass before the family office has any demonstrable income or track record to support the salary or achievement criterion.
- Underestimating the source-of-wealth documentation required, particularly for wealth derived from private businesses or multiple jurisdictions.
- Treating GIP and the family office tax incentive as the same application; they are assessed by different bodies (Economic Development Board versus MAS) with different criteria.
- Delaying local hiring commitments until after the pass is granted, which undermines the credibility of the family office’s stated investment professional headcount.
FAQs
Can I apply for ONE Pass and GIP at the same time?
Yes, the two are not mutually exclusive, though most principals sequence them, securing a work pass first while the GIP investment and family office track record are being built up.
Does my spouse need a separate application?
No, a spouse and unmarried children under 21 typically follow on a Dependant’s Pass once the principal’s own pass or permanent residency is approved.
Is there a minimum number of staff the family office must hire?
Yes, the applicable MAS tax incentive scheme specifies a minimum number of local investment professionals, which should be confirmed against the current MAS circular before committing to headcount.
What happens if the family office fails to meet its committed assets under management?
MAS periodically reviews compliance with the tax incentive conditions, and failure to meet committed thresholds can result in the incentive being revoked, which in turn affects the basis for any linked pass application.
Do I need a lawyer for the GIP application?
It is not mandatory, but given the scale of capital involved and the source-of-wealth scrutiny, most applicants engage legal counsel experienced in GIP and family office structuring.
Related guides
For a closer look at how family office hiring interacts with pass strategy, see Family office hiring under 13O/13U/GIP: Common mistakes and rejection reasons. Principals opening banking relationships for the family office entity may also find Singapore bank account opening: DBS, OCBC, UOB, Wise, Aspire FAQs useful, alongside our related article on Single Family Office (SFO) Singapore setup: Decision tree.
For authoritative detail on the relevant tax incentive schemes, consult the Monetary Authority of Singapore. For the tax treatment of family office income and structures, refer to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. For legal practitioners experienced in family office and wealth structuring matters, see the Law Society of Singapore directory.
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.