If your company is hiring a foreign professional in Singapore, the Employment Pass (EP) application no longer succeeds on salary alone. Since September 2023, every EP application is scored under the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS). To be approved, the candidate must score at least 40 points across four foundational criteria, with two further bonus criteria that can lift borderline applications over the line.
Most rejections we see at Raffles Corporate Services come down to one issue: the employer thought the salary was high enough, but the company itself did not score on the workforce-diversity or local-employment criteria. This 2026 guide unpacks how COMPASS actually works, how each point is awarded, and how to model your candidate’s score before you spend the application fee.
What is COMPASS and who does it apply to?
COMPASS is the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) points-based screening framework for Employment Pass applications. It applies to:
- All new EP applications with monthly salary at or above the qualifying threshold (S$5,600 from September 2023, S$6,200 from January 2025, with higher floors for the financial services sector).
- All EP renewals with passes expiring on or after 1 September 2024.
Three categories are exempt: applications for monthly fixed salary of S$22,500 or more, ONE Pass holders, and overseas intra-corporate transferees under World Trade Organisation commitments. Everyone else must clear COMPASS.
Authoritative source: MOM — Complementarity Assessment Framework.
The four foundational criteria (up to 20 points each)
Each foundational criterion awards 0, 10 or 20 points. You need at least 40 points in total — meaning at the bare minimum you must score 20 points on two criteria, or 10 points on four. Crucially, you cannot score zero across the board even if salary is very high.
C1 — Salary benchmarked to local PMET peers
| Score | How candidate’s fixed monthly salary compares to local PMETs in the same sector by age |
|---|---|
| 20 | Top 10% (90th percentile and above) |
| 10 | Between 65th and 90th percentile |
| 0 | Below 65th percentile |
MOM’s benchmarks are updated quarterly. A 35-year-old finance professional and a 35-year-old engineer face different benchmarks — salary alone is not portable across sectors.
C2 — Qualifications
| Score | Highest degree awarded |
|---|---|
| 20 | Degree from a top-tier institution (per MOM’s reference list) |
| 10 | Equivalent of a Singapore degree |
| 0 | No degree |
Top-tier qualifications are checked against MOM’s list, which is reviewed annually. A degree must be verified through MOM’s online tool or an approved verification provider — unverified degrees default to zero.
C3 — Diversity
| Score | Candidate’s nationality share among the firm’s PMET headcount |
|---|---|
| 20 | <5% (highly under-represented) |
| 10 | 5% to under 25% |
| 0 | 25% or more |
Firms with fewer than 25 PMETs receive a default 10-point score on C3. This is the criterion that most often catches single-nationality teams — particularly small subsidiaries staffed predominantly with engineers from one country.
C4 — Support for local employment
| Score | Firm’s share of local PMETs benchmarked against industry peers |
|---|---|
| 20 | At or above 50th percentile |
| 10 | 20th to 50th percentile |
| 0 | Below 20th percentile |
Firms with fewer than 25 PMETs again receive a default 10-point score. The benchmark adjusts by sector — manufacturing, finance and ICT each have different distributions.
The two bonus criteria (up to 20 points)
C5 — Skills bonus (10 or 20 points)
Awarded if the role appears on MOM’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL). The current SOL covers roles in agritech, digital, financial services, green economy, healthcare and maritime — including data scientists, AI engineers, certain medical specialists and select renewable-energy specialists. The full list is at mom.gov.sg.
Twenty points are awarded if the role is on the SOL and the candidate has the relevant qualifications and at least three years of relevant experience. Ten points if only one of those two limbs is met.
C6 — Strategic Economic Priorities bonus (10 points)
Awarded if the employing firm is participating in a recognised programme that advances Singapore’s strategic priorities — the Industry Transformation Maps, the Headquarters incentive, the Pioneer/Development & Expansion incentives, or recognised innovation/R&D partnerships. Companies need to apply for recognition; this is not automatic.
Worked examples
Example 1 — The straightforward approval
A Chief Financial Officer joining a Singapore-headquartered fintech, 39 years old, fixed monthly salary S$22,000, degree from a top-tier US university, joining a 200-person firm with 6% non-Singaporean PMETs in his nationality bracket, and the firm sits in the 70th percentile for local PMET share.
- C1 (salary): 20
- C2 (qualifications): 20
- C3 (diversity): 10
- C4 (local share): 20
- Total: 70 points — pass with margin
Example 2 — The borderline tech role
An AI Engineer, 31 years old, fixed monthly salary S$9,500 (60th percentile for sector and age — below the 65th percentile threshold), Master’s degree from a top-tier institution, joining a 12-person ICT firm (default C3 and C4 scores apply, 10 each), role is on the SOL with five years of experience.
- C1 (salary): 0
- C2 (qualifications): 20
- C3 (diversity, default): 10
- C4 (local share, default): 10
- C5 (SOL, both limbs met): 20
- Total: 60 points — pass
Without the SOL bonus, this candidate would sit at 40 points exactly — a pass, but with no margin for any MOM dispute on benchmarks.
Example 3 — Why high salary is not enough
A senior engineering manager, 42 years old, salary S$15,000 (top 10% for sector), no recognised degree (entered industry directly out of polytechnic), single-nationality team (28% non-Singaporean PMETs in his nationality at the firm), firm in 15th percentile for local PMETs.
- C1: 20
- C2: 0
- C3: 0
- C4: 0
- Total: 20 points — fail
This is one of the most common patterns of rejection in 2025-2026: a high earner working at a firm that has neglected diversity and local-employment posture.
How to maximise your COMPASS score
- Benchmark salary properly before drafting the offer letter. Use MOM’s Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) to confirm the candidate clears the 65th or ideally the 90th percentile for sector and age. Re-run the SAT every quarter as benchmarks shift.
- Verify the degree first. Push candidates to complete verification through Dataflow or DigiLocker before the application. Unverified degrees default to zero on C2.
- Audit your PMET headcount before applying. A simple nationality count and percentile check can flip C3 from 0 to 10 or 20. If you sit just above 25% for one nationality, hiring a Singapore citizen first changes the calculation.
- Check the Shortage Occupation List. A 10-point SOL bonus is the single fastest way to fix a borderline application without changing salary.
- Map the role to Strategic Economic Priorities. If the firm has an EDB Pioneer/DEI status or participates in an Industry Transformation Map, ensure the application reflects it.
Common mistakes that drag scores down
- Salary right at the qualifying threshold. Hitting S$6,200 only clears the EP floor — it does not score on C1. Aim for the 65th percentile minimum.
- Job duplicating an existing local role. MOM cross-checks the firm’s Fair Consideration Framework compliance — advertising on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 days and genuinely considering local applicants.
- Wrong SSOC code. The Singapore Standard Occupational Classification code drives MOM’s benchmark lookup. A wrong code maps the candidate to the wrong sector and breaks C1.
- Stale diversity data. Firms that have grown rapidly through one nationality often score worse than they expect. The diversity check is on the application date, not last year’s composition.
- Ignoring renewals. COMPASS now applies on renewal too — an EP holder approved before September 2023 must clear COMPASS at their next renewal. See our EP renewal guide for the renewal-specific checks.
When COMPASS does not solve the problem
If COMPASS scoring genuinely cannot be improved — the candidate is excellent but the role does not fit a 40-point profile — consider whether a different pass class is appropriate. The S Pass covers mid-skilled roles, the ONE Pass is an exemption pathway for very high earners, and the Work Permit covers sector-specific roles. For founders, EntrePass is a separate track with its own criteria.
FAQ
What is the minimum score to pass COMPASS?
Forty points across the four foundational criteria, with bonus criteria (C5, C6) capable of adding up to 20 more.
Do bonus points alone clear the framework?
No. Bonus criteria only top up the foundational score. A candidate scoring 0 on C1–C4 cannot pass on bonus points alone.
Are firms with fewer than 25 PMETs treated differently?
Yes. They receive a default 10-point score on C3 and on C4. This is one reason newly-incorporated small firms find COMPASS workable even before they build a diverse local team.
Can the score change between application and renewal?
Yes — the firm’s diversity and local PMET share are reassessed at each application and renewal. A firm that scored well in 2023 may not score well in 2026 if it has grown predominantly through one nationality.
What happens if I disagree with MOM’s benchmark?
You can request a review through the EP Online portal with supporting evidence (e.g. third-party salary data). Successful reviews are uncommon but not impossible, particularly for niche sectors.
Hiring foreign talent in Singapore is increasingly an exercise in pre-application modelling rather than post-application appeal. Run the calculator before you negotiate the offer, fix the gaps you can fix, and apply only when the math is comfortably above 40.
— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services