Singapore | Immigration | COMPASS salary benchmark updates and insights


August 22, 2025

Immigration

Singapore | COMPASS salary benchmark updates and insights

Impact: High

Summary

As part of regular updates to benchmark data for COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has now released the upcoming Employment Pass (EP) C1 Salary benchmarks, applicable to new EP applications from 1 January 2026 and renewals of EPs expiring from 1 July 2026.

The detail

Since the introduction of COMPASS, EP candidates need to pass a 2-stage eligibility framework:

Stage 1: EP qualifying salary; and

Stage 2: Minimum 40 points comprised of Foundational (1-4) and Bonus Criteria (5-6):

  1. C1 Salary (latest release August 2025)
  2. C2 Education (last updated November 2024)
  3. C3 Diversity (updated monthly in myMOM)
  4. C4 Support for Local Employment (updated monthly in myMOM)
  5. C5 Skills Bonus (last updated November 2024)
  6. C6 Strategic Economic Priorities Bonus (last updated August 2024)

The recent August updates will apply to stage 2 of COMPASS under C1; these recent benchmark updates reflect the MOM’s Manpower Research and Statistics Department’s annual Comprehensive Labour Force Survey results.

  • All sectors averaged around a 5.11% increase to the 65th percentile benchmark; with the highest increase in the Fund Management sector (9.91% increase) and the lowest in the Media sector (–0.47% decrease).
  • For the 90th percentile benchmark, all sectors averaged around a 3.86% increase with the highest increase in the Air & Sea Transport sector at 13.48% and interestingly, the lowest being the Fund Management sector with a -7.08% decrease.

Below is a selection of sector samples to illustrate these benchmark increases.

Sample Summary of % Salary Changes for C1
Selected SectorCurrent Average – 10 points (65th Percentile)Upcoming Average – 10 points (65th Percentile)% Difference AverageCurrent Average – 20 points (90th Percentile)Upcoming Average – 20 points (90th Percentile)% Difference Average
Banking & Other Financial Services Activities n.e.c.12,60013,3886.25%20,97620,972-0.02%
Fund Management Activities & Activities Auxiliary to Financial Services13,99415,3819.91%28,522*26,502*-7.08%
Health & Social Services7,0607,3914.69%13,12012,522-4.56%
Info-communication Technology9,52010,1336.43%15,94316,3482.54%
Manufacturing7,5738,0366.11%11,94312,6145.61%
Professional Services8,8799,0582.02%15,59916,1633.62%
Wholesale Trade7,8938,2234.18%14,21114,3030.65%

*Salary exempt from COMPASS

Timeline

The C1 upcoming benchmark will apply to new EPs applications from 1 January 2026 and for existing EPs expiring from 1 July 2026.

What this means for employers

Proactive planning is crucial to minimise disruptions to operations and ensure continued compliance with regulatory requirements.

Businesses should already be aware of the implications on the eligibility of the existing EP holders for renewal applications and will need to refresh their data analytics to factor in these recent updates for ongoing business continuity.

As the salary requirements are only one part of COMPASS, businesses should also aim to understand where they stand with their foreign employee population in light of the recent update, to forecast an optimal workforce in diversity of foreign and local talents.

Benchmark updates are expected to occur regularly as part of COMPASS and we advise businesses to be proactive in adapting their strategies, refreshing their analytics, and proactively communicate with employees to manage employee expectations and remain competitive in the evolving talent and regulatory landscape.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Yang Li
Partner

Irin Ou
Director

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