Published: 17 September 2026 · Reviewed by Ray Tay, Co-Founder & Managing Director, VIVOS PTE. LTD. (ACRA Filing Agent FA20240323 · MOM EA Licence 24S2425)
Last reviewed: 17 September 2026 · Reviewed by Ray Tay, Co-Founder & Managing Director, VIVOS PTE. LTD. (ACRA Filing Agent FA20240323 · MOM Employment Agency Licence 24S2425)
Singapore’s Tech.Pass — the sponsor-free visa for established tech entrepreneurs, leaders and specialists that EDB launched in 2021 — is being phased out. EDB stops accepting new and renewal Tech.Pass applications from 27 January 2027, 23:59. In its place, a new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track launches on 1 January 2027, sitting under the broader Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass framework EDB introduced in August 2022. Existing Tech.Pass holders keep their pass until it expires as normal, and can then apply for the new track or another suitable work pass. This guide sets out exactly what changes, what stays the same, and who should act before the cutover.
Until 27 January 2027, Tech.Pass applications are assessed against the two-criteria test EDB has used since launch — confirmed directly from EDB’s own Tech.Pass application form (MOM (WPD) Tech.Pass, current revision). Candidates must meet both criteria:
| Criterion | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Criterion 1 — Salary | Last drawn fixed monthly salary (in the last 1 year) of at least S$22,500, or its equivalent in foreign currency. Candidates or business owners with other income sources, including non-cash components, are considered case-by-case. |
| Criterion 2 — Track record | At least 5 cumulative years of experience in a leading role at either (i) a tech company with a valuation/market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or at least US$30 million in funding raised, or (ii) a tech venture capital firm with at least US$500 million in assets under management. |
Tech.Pass holders can start, own or work in a Singapore business without needing an employer sponsor, and can hold multiple concurrent roles — as an investor, employee, consultant, director, mentor to start-ups, or university lecturer. The application fee is S$105 per application, processing takes roughly 8 weeks, and an approved pass is valid for 2 years, renewable once for a further 2 years.
There is a separate, easily confused track that is not Tech.Pass or ONE Pass at all: MOM’s 5-year duration Employment Pass for experienced tech professionals with skills in shortage, for candidates filling specific occupations on the COMPASS Shortage Occupation List who pass COMPASS with at least 10 points on Criterion 3 (Diversity). That route needs an employer sponsor and follows ordinary EP salary tables ($10,700–$14,270 today, rising to $11,500–$15,499 from 1 January 2027) — a materially different profile from Tech.Pass’s no-sponsor, high-salary, track-record-based test. If your candidate is being hired into a specific shortage tech role by a Singapore employer, that EP route (not this guide) is usually the right starting point.
EDB has confirmed, on its own site, that eligible Tech.Pass holders will be able to move to a new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track, describing Tech.Pass as the programme that “helped shape” it. Full application procedures were still pending as of this review, but the headline structure has been detailed by immigration counsel including Fragomen, who published an alert on the change:
Compared with Tech.Pass, the new track trades a shorter renewal cycle and no-sponsor flexibility for materially longer validity, but adds a more structured employer-side test and requires more recent, specific experience (5 of the last 10 years, versus Tech.Pass’s uncapped 5 cumulative years).
| Tech.Pass (until 27 Jan 2027) | ONE Pass (AI and Tech) (from 1 Jan 2027) | |
|---|---|---|
| Validity | 2 years, renewable once (4 years total) | 5 years, renewable for further 5-year periods |
| Salary test | ≥S$22,500 fixed monthly, last 1 year | ≥S$30,000/month for 12 consecutive months, or S$22,500 fixed salary + vested non-cash components |
| Experience test | ≥5 cumulative years (any period) in a leading role at a qualifying tech company or VC firm | ≥5 cumulative years within the last 10 years, in a founder, C-suite or senior technical role |
| Employer/company test | Assessed via the candidate’s own leading role, not a separate employer test | Current/most recent employer must itself meet a tech-company/division/VC-firm test, plus a scale threshold (valuation, revenue, AUM or funding raised) |
| Application fee | S$105 | Not yet published |
| Processing time | ~8 weeks | Not yet published |
Sources: EDB’s Tech.Pass application form (current revision) for the left column; Fragomen’s 11 March 2026 client alert, cross-checked against EDB’s own confirmation of the 1 January 2027 launch and Tech.Pass-to-ONE-Pass transition, for the right column. EDB has stated further implementation details and application procedures for the new track will be released ahead of launch — treat the fee, processing time and any figures not yet confirmed directly by EDB as provisional until then.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Now – 27 January 2027, 23:59 | New and renewal Tech.Pass applications remain open under the current criteria. |
| 27 January 2027, 23:59 | EDB stops accepting new and renewal Tech.Pass applications. |
| 1 January 2027 | ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track launches. |
| After 27 January 2027 | Existing Tech.Pass holders keep their pass until its natural expiry, then may apply for the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track or another suitable work pass. |
No immediate action is required. Your existing pass remains valid until its expiry date. Before it lapses, assess whether you meet the new track’s employer-scale and recent-experience tests — they are not identical to Tech.Pass’s criteria, so eligibility is not automatic.
You still have a window to apply under the current, better-understood two-criterion test, provided you can complete the application before 27 January 2027. Given EDB states processing takes around 8 weeks, and given a first-instance Tech.Pass only runs 2 years before you’d face the new track’s criteria at renewal regardless, weigh whether applying now or waiting for the new track’s full published rules better fits your situation.
You’ll need to wait for the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track to open and for EDB to publish full application procedures.
Tech.Pass’s current criteria, fee and processing time come directly from EDB’s own Tech.Pass application form. The 1 January 2027 launch date, the shift to Tech.Pass holders being able to move to the new track, and Tech.Pass’s role in shaping it are confirmed on EDB’s own site. The detailed eligibility mechanics of the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track — the specific salary combination rule, the employer-scale thresholds, and the 5-of-10-years experience window — are sourced from Fragomen’s published client alert rather than an EDB rules page, because EDB’s own detailed criteria page for this track was not yet published at the time of this review. We did not independently verify the new track’s application fee or processing time, since EDB has not yet published them.
Whether you’re weighing a Tech.Pass application before the January 2027 cutoff, or assessing your fit for the incoming ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track, VIVOS is a MOM-licensed Employment Agency (Licence 24S2425) advising foreign tech founders, leaders and specialists on Singapore work pass strategy.
Yes, until 27 January 2027, 23:59. After that, EDB stops accepting new and renewal Tech.Pass applications, and the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track becomes the relevant route for a similar profile.
No. EDB has confirmed existing Tech.Pass holders keep their pass until its normal expiry date, and can then apply for the new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track or another alternative work pass.
It depends on your profile. The salary bar is higher in headline terms (S$30,000/month, versus S$22,500 for Tech.Pass) but can be met by combining a S$22,500 salary with vested equity, similar in spirit to Tech.Pass’s own case-by-case treatment of non-cash income. The experience test is narrower — 5 years within the last 10, rather than 5 cumulative years over any period — and adds a new employer-scale test that Tech.Pass does not have. In exchange, validity roughly doubles, from 4 years total (2+2) to a renewable 5-year term.
Both share the same 5-year, renewable validity and sit under the same ONE Pass framework. The standard ONE Pass is open to top professionals earning at least S$30,000/month from a single employer, or those with outstanding achievements in fields like arts, sports, science or academia. The AI and Tech track narrows this to technology professionals specifically, adds the employer-scale test, and allows the salary threshold to be met through a combination of fixed salary and vested equity.
No — that is a different, employer-sponsored EP variant for specific tech roles on MOM’s Shortage Occupation List, assessed under COMPASS with ordinary EP-style salary tables. It is not connected to Tech.Pass or the ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track, though all three deal with tech talent.
EDB’s Tech.Pass pages carry the current, binding criteria. EDB has confirmed the January 2027 transition but had not yet published a full ONE Pass (AI and Tech) rules page as of this review — check EDB’s site directly, or speak with a licensed employment agency, before relying on any third-party summary of the new track’s exact criteria.
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