S Pass quota and the 2027 salary rise: an SME employer plan

In the services sector, the S Pass quota is 10% × (total workforce + 1), rounded down; in manufacturing, construction, marine shipyard and process it is 15%. From 1 January 2027 the minimum fixed monthly salary for a new S Pass application rises from S$3,300 to S$3,600 (S$3,800 to S$4,000 in financial services), so at the lowest age band a pass holder’s salary plus the S$650 levy goes from S$3,950 to S$4,250 a month.

For passes you already hold, the date that matters is later. MOM’s factsheet on its foreign workforce policy announcements at Committee of Supply 2026 (the PDF prints no date; its file name reads 03032026) applies the new floor to new applications from January 2027 and to renewals of passes expiring from January 2028.

This guide works the quota formula through an illustrative firm, prices a pass before and after the change and shows which of four illustrative passes renews on which floor. It is general information from MOM’s pages as read on 3 October 2026 and rechecked on 17 October 2026, not legal or HR advice; the quota that counts is the balance MOM shows your company on WP Online.

How many S Pass holders can you employ?

Three steps from MOM’s booklet on calculating quota and levy decide it:

1. Count local employees. MOM uses your CPF account. A citizen or permanent resident employee, including a director, counts as 1 at S$1,800 a month or more and 0.5 at S$900 to below S$1,800, averaged over three months. Owners of sole proprietorships and partnerships, and platform workers, are not counted. S$1,800 is the Local Qualifying Salary.
2. Add up total workforce. That count plus issued Work Permit holders plus issued S Pass holders (MOM’s FAQ). Employment Pass holders and workers whose passes are not yet issued are left out.
3. Apply the percentage. 10% or 15% × (total workforce + 1), rounded down. The “+1” is the candidate you want to hire.

MOM updates the local count every Saturday. CPF data declared by the 14th of a month is included in the next month’s quota calculation, and MOM says late or missed declarations affect your quota; see our CPF contribution rates guide. S$1,800 is also the monthly gross pay MOM’s Local Qualifying Salary page requires for full-time local employees not covered by a Progressive Wage Model, covered in our Progressive Wage Model checklist.

Arithmetic from MOM’s formula, not a MOM table: the services quota reaches 1 S Pass at a total workforce of 9, then 2 at 19, 3 at 29, 4 at 39, 5 at 49 and 6 at 59. At 15% it reaches 1 at 6, 2 at 13 and 3 at 19.

Worked example: how much room does a 40-person services firm have?

This is illustrative and fictional. A services firm has 33 local employees who each earn at least S$1,800, 3 Work Permit holders and 4 S Pass holders: a total workforce of 40 on MOM’s count. A director on an Employment Pass is left out.

1. Total workforce: 33 + 3 + 4 = 40.
2. S Pass quota: 10% × (40 + 1) = 4.1, rounded down to 4. The firm holds four, so it has no room for a fifth.
3. Overall ceiling: MOM’s services formula is local count × 0.538462, here 33 × 0.538462 = 17.77, rounded down to 17 migrant workers. The firm has 7, so the 35% ceiling is not the constraint.

A fifth pass would take a total workforce of 49, which is nine more locals counted at 1 each; the “+1” already covers the candidate.

Now suppose two of the 33 locals leave. The total workforce is 38 and the quota is 10% × 39 = 3.9, rounded down to 3, so the firm’s four passes are one over (10% × 38 = 3.8 also rounds down to 3, so the “+1” does not change this result). MOM says new applications and renewals may then be rejected, you may need to cancel the excess passes, and otherwise they will be revoked and the company barred from hiring new foreign workers for six months (page updated 13 January 2025). Quota moves when local staff leave or fall below the S$1,800 line, not only when you hire.

What does an S Pass cost from January 2027?

MOM frames the cost of an S Pass as qualifying salary plus levy (paragraph 5 of the factsheet). The levy is S$650 a month whatever the sector. The factsheet describes levy changes for Work Permit holders from 2028 and none for the S Pass; MOM’s page says levy rates are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required, so recheck it.

The minimum rises with age. From MOM’s eligibility page, for sectors other than financial services (salary before and after, then salary plus levy):

• 23 or below: S$3,300 to S$3,600; S$3,950 to S$4,250.
• 35: S$4,118 to S$4,418; S$4,768 to S$5,068.
• 45 and above: S$4,800 to S$5,100; S$5,450 to S$5,750.

The page lists every age; in the table for sectors other than financial services the floor rises by S$300 at each age. A pass held exactly at the floor therefore costs S$300 a month, or S$3,600 a year, more: S$47,400 a year now at the lowest age band (12 × S$3,950) against S$51,000 (12 × S$4,250). For the four-pass firm, with every holder paid exactly the floor, that is 4 × S$3,600 = S$14,400 a year once all four are on the new scale. The factsheet adds that the minimum is expected to be around S$4,000 to S$4,500 by about 2030, an expectation and not a rate.

These are minimums, not salaries to offer; our reading is that a holder already paid above the floor for their age would not need a raise to meet it. The figures leave out medical insurance, which MOM’s key facts say employers must provide, and the S$100 fee to issue a renewed pass (MOM’s renewal page).

Which salary floor applies when a pass renews?

The S$3,300 level applies to new applications from 1 September 2025 and renewals from 1 September 2026, per Annex B of the factsheet. The S$3,600 level applies to new applications submitted from 1 January 2027 and renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028.

For renewals MOM’s wording is keyed to the expiry date (“renewal of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028”), so a pass expiring in early 2028 faces the new floor even though you would apply in 2027. MOM says you can start renewing up to 6 months (180 days) before expiry and gives a tool on that page to check your own start date. The window dates below are our 180-day arithmetic, so treat them as approximate; counting six calendar months instead gives dates a few days earlier. Four illustrative passes:

• Pass A, expires 30 June 2027: renewal opens about 1 January 2027. Current floor.
• Pass B, expires 15 December 2027: opens about 18 June 2027. Current floor.
• Pass C, expires 10 January 2028: opens about 14 July 2027. New floor, although you apply in 2027.
• Pass D, expires 30 June 2028: opens about 2 January 2028. New floor.

Renewal also needs a passport valid for at least seven months and enough S Pass quota. If you miss the deadline, MOM says you must apply for a new pass, and a new application submitted from 1 January 2027 faces the higher floor. For any borderline case, such as a pass expiring close to 1 January 2028, ask MOM.

What if a pass holder will be below the floor?

Two options appear in MOM’s pages. One is to pay at least the floor for the holder’s age. The other is a Work Permit: MOM’s eligibility page says some employers may wish to convert S Pass holders to Work Permit holders, and that experience gained on an Employment Pass, S Pass and Work Permit is counted towards the years of experience assessed for higher-skilled (R1) levy status. Our reading is that whether a given worker can move to a Work Permit depends on that pass’s own rules: the booklet shows Work Permits have their own quota, sub-quotas and levy tiers, and the factsheet mentions source restrictions. For the Non-Traditional Source occupation list, which the factsheet says gains eight occupations from September 2026, the factsheet says firms continue to face an 8% sub-ceiling and a S$2,000 minimum fixed monthly salary. Compare the options for the role.

Do Employment Pass holders count towards the quota?

No. MOM’s Employment Pass key facts say no levy or quota is required, and the booklet leaves EP holders out of total workforce. The EP floor rises on the same dates, from S$5,600 to S$6,000 (financial services S$6,200 to S$6,600), and candidates must also pass COMPASS unless exempt (MOM’s EP eligibility page, updated 28 April 2026). The key facts page, updated 4 May 2026, still shows S$5,600. Our guide to the Employment Pass salary rise in 2027 covers the EP age table and COMPASS.

What to check before 1 January 2027

1. List every S Pass holder with expiry date, age and fixed monthly salary, and mark the floor each renewal faces.
2. Work out total workforce and S Pass quota in the three steps, then compare with WP Online.
3. Confirm local employees’ salaries and CPF are declared by the 14th and under the same company CPF account (MOM’s FAQ says data declared under a different account is not counted).
4. Note whether a planned new application falls before or after 1 January 2027; the floor follows the submission date.
5. Diarise each renewal window and check quota first.
6. For holders who would fall below the floor, price a raise against a Work Permit.
7. Add a quota check to a monthly routine such as your month-end close checklist. For hiring records, see our Workplace Fairness Act guide; more is in our operations guides.

Dates to diarise: 1 January 2027 (new floor for new S Pass and Employment Pass applications) and 1 January 2028 (new floor for renewals of passes expiring from then). The factsheet says Work Permit levy changes come “from 2028” without giving a day.

Common questions