• EntrePass
• Employment Pass
• Entrepass vs EP
• Singapore Permanent Residence
• Other Visit Pass and Visa

Entrepreneur Pass – Work Pass for Foreign Entrepreneurs

This work pass is intended for serial entrepreneurs, high-calibre innovators or experienced investors that want to operate a business in Singapore.

Eligibility

You can apply for an EntrePass if you:
– Have started, or intend to start, a private limited company registered with ACRA.

• If registered, the company must be less than 6 months old on the date you apply.
• If not registered, you can do so after you know the outcome of your application.

– Meet any of the following innovative criteria for application as an entrepreneur, innovator or investor.

You do not need to meet all of the criteria for each respective profile or type, but having more qualifications would help your application.

1. Be funded by a recognised third-party venture capitalist or business angel

• Strictly monetary funding of at least $100,000
• Applicant to provide shareholder certificate or documentary proof of investment commitment from VC/business angel
• Examples include Vertex Ventures, SGInnovate, Jungle Ventures etc

2. Hold a nationally-recognised proprietary or licensed Intellectual Property (IP)

• IP delivers a competitive advantage to your proposed business and cannot be easily replicated
• One of the shareholders or the company must be the owner of the IP
• Expired IP can be considered as long as one of the shareholders is the inventor of the IP

3. Has research collaboration with recognised research institutions such as A*STAR or an institute of higher learning

• Research collaboration must be related to your proposed business
• Research institution needs to provide a contact person to verify details of the research collaboration
• You must be involved with ongoing research collaboration
• Contract of services is not considered to be research collaboration

4. Is an incubatee at a government-approved incubator or accelerator

• Incubators or accelerators in SPRING Singapore’s Startup SG Accelerator Programme
• Accredited Mentor Partners under Startup SG Founder
• SGInnovate-linked incubation or acceleration programmes

5. Hold significant business experience/network and promising entrepreneurial track record

You must fulfil any of the following:

• Founded and sold a tech company
• Raised significant funding from investors for a current or past venture
• Have been or are being incubated by an internationally renowned incubator or accelerator
• Have strong industry networks and business contacts that are related to your proposed business
• Have substantial track record related to your proposed business
• Have received recognition by a national body, recognised media publication or credible industry organisation for your professional, business or entrepreneurial achievements

6. Has exceptional technical/domain expertise in an area related to proposed business

You must fulfil all of the following:

• Area of expertise must be related to your proposed business
• Have outstanding achievements or received international recognition in your area of technical or domain expertise

7. Hold good track record of investing in businesses and want to grow new or existing businesses in Singapore

You must fulfil all of the following:

• You are willing to invest a substantial amount of money in a local company
• You have a track record in one of the following:
  • In investing in and driving the growth of highly-scalable businesses
  • Substantial experience as a senior management professional or executive in a large corporation

Businesses that are not eligible

The following businesses are not eligible for an EntrePass:

• Coffee shops, hawker centres, food courts
• Bars, night clubs, karaoke lounges
• Foot reflexology, massage parlours
• Acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal dispensing businesses
• Employment agencies
• Geomancy business

Renewal Criteria

Renewal will be based on criteria such as incorporation of company, proof of business activities, at least 30% shareholding of the company, as well as others shown in the following table:

*Total Business Spending (TBS) refers to total local business spending excluding renumeration to EntrePass holder

**Full-time Employees (FTEs) refer to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who earn a monthly salary of at least $1,400 and receive CPF contributions for at least 3 months

***PMEs refer to professionals, managers and executives who are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents and earn a monthly salary of at least $3,600 and receive CPF contributions for at least 3 months

Note: 1 local PME = 3 local FTEs

How to renew

Complete the EntrePass renewal form. Post the form and the required documents to:

Work Pass Division
Ministry of Manpower
18 Havelock Road
Singapore 059764

Documents required
You need to submit the following documents with your application:

If available, you need to include these documents with your application:

• Corporate bank statements for the past 3 months
• Referral letters from customers
• Recent invoices issued
• Contracts awarded

Passes for Family Members

Depending on the pass type issued, the following EntrePass holders will be permitted to apply for the following passes:

Documents Required for All EntrePass Applications

The following documents are required for all EntrePass applications:

• EntrePass application form;
  • If the company/business has yet to be registered, state the proposed company/business name and business address in the application form.
  • The applicant must be sponsored by a well-established Singapore-registered company. The form must be endorsed with the company`s stamp/seal and signed by both the applicant and an authorised officer from the sponsoring company; OR
  • Alternatively, the applicant can furnish a Banker`s Guarantee of $3,000 if the application is approved. The Banker`s Guarantee has to be furnished when the successful applicant collects the pass.
• Employment History – detailed CV
  • Including dates of employment (dd/mm/yyyy)
  • Name of companies
  • Occupation
  • Country of employment
  • Last drawn salary in SGD
  • Brief description of duties and responsiblities of each employment history
  • Total period of relevant working experience with the post of your EP application
  • A copy of the applicant`s past employment testimonials. (These should be translated into English if they are in another language)

Education

• 2 of your highest qualifications (include dates dd/mm/yyyy, “from” and “to”)
• Qualification (eg. Bachelor, Honours, Diploma, Advance Dip)
• Awarding body/institute/university of the qualifications (country/state/province and name)
• Mode of study (distance learning/full time/part time)
• Faculty (eg. engineering)
• Specialisation (eg. civil engineering)
• Membership with society/organisation (if any) and position held (eg. chairman, treasurer, president)

Others

• 2 copies of your passport photo (for manual submission)
• Race and religion
• any other documents that may support your applications such as testimonial from previous employers
• please also provide a personal particulars page which include marital status
• if married please provide name, NRIC/FIN no. and date of birth of spouse
• A comprehensive business plan of not more than ten pages detailing the following:
  1. Business idea – a short, self-explanatory summary covering the proposed business concept;
  2. Product/service – the product and service offering;
  3. Market analysis – the target market in terms of key customers, competition and market growth potential;
  4. Market plan – how the product/service will be marketed or distributed;
  5. Operation plan – resources needed to run the business;
  6. Financial projections – projected sales and net profit before tax for three years and breakeven point;
  7. Management team – key drivers of the business; and
  8. Supporting documents – e.g. licensing agreements, product certifications, endorsements etc.
• For companies/businesses already registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority: – A copy of the company`s latest Business Profile/Instant Information;
• A passport-sized photograph of the applicant (taken within the last three months); and
• A copy of the personal particulars page of the applicant`s travel document.

Other Documents Required for Selected EntrePass Applications

In addition to the above documents, the following documents are required for selected EntrePass applicants:

Applicants who are married and whose spouse is a Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident or Employment Pass holder:- A copy of the official marriage certificate; or

• Applicants applying for Dependant`s Passes (DPs) for their spouses and/or unmarried children below 21 years of age, if they are foreigners:
  • The Dependant`s Pass application must be sponsored by a well-established Singapore-registered company. The form must be endorsed with the company`s stamp/seal and signed by both the applicant and an authorised officer from the sponsoring company. For children below 12 years old, one of the parents is required to sign on their behalf; OR
  • A Banker`s Guarantee of $3,000 for each Dependant`s Pass applicant. The Banker`s Guarantee has to be furnished when a successful Dependant`s Pass applicant collects the pass.
• Dependant`s Pass applications should be submitted together with the EntrePass application to facilitate processing.

Processing Time

• Usually about 8 weeks or more