EntrePass - Singapore Entrepreneur Visa

Note: This EntrePass guide has been updated to reflect the latest policy changes announced by Singapore government and effective as of September 28, 2009.

Singapore Entrepreneur Pass (also known as EntrePass) is a work visa meant for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to start a private limited company in Singapore but lack good education and unable to qualify under the Employment Pass category. If you are a foreigner who a) doesn't have good education but have succesful business record; b) wants to setup a private limited company; and c) wants to relocate to Singapore to run the company, the Singapore Entrepreneur Pass will be a suitable type of relocation visa for you. If however, you do have good education from a reputable university, Employment Pass will likely be a better choice.

Related Topic: EntrePass vs Employment Pass Comparison

The terms EntrePass, Entrepreneurs Visa, and Business Visa all refer to the same Entrepreneur Pass scheme and are used interchangeably in this document. Few key points to note about EntrePass business visa:

• EntrePass is just a variation of the Employment Pass and has the same privileges and benefits.
• EntrePass is required only if you need to relocate to Singapore to run your new company. If you only want to setup a company in Singapore but not relocate, you don't require any work visa such as EntrePass or Employment Pass.
• EntrePass is primarily meant for entrepreneurs that don't have tertiary level education in the relevant field. Foreigners with good educational background can apply for Employment Pass instead.

The EntrePass scheme was launched in 2004 to lure foreign entrepreneurs. It is part of Singapore's overall plan to become a regional business hub and attract the best business and entrepreneurial minds to the country.

An Entrepreneur Pass allows you to bring your family (spouse and unmarried children under 21) to Singapore by applying for their dependent passes. EntrePass holders are eligible to apply for Singapore permanent residence in due course. P type EntrePass holders can also apply for a Long Term Visit Pass for their unmarried daughters above 21 years of age, physically challenged children, step-children, parents and parents-in law.  

Depending upon your salary and experience, you will be issued one of the following three types of EntrePass:

• P1 Pass: typically for foreigners with a base salary of above S$7,000 a month.
• P2 Pass: typically for foreigners with a base salary between S$3,500 and S$7,000 a month.
• Q1 Pass: typically for foreigners with a base salary between S$2,500 and S$3,500 a month.

In practical terms, there is not much difference between the above types of EntrePass except for the following:

• Although all the above three types of EntrePass allow you to bring your spouse and children under 21 years old, Q1 pass holder are unable to apply for Long-Term Social Visit Pass for their significant others.
• The timing of permanent residence application filing. As a general rule of thumb, P1 holders can apply for Singapore PR as early as 6 months after obtaining their EntrePass, whereas, Q1 pass holders should wait at least 2 years.

Investment Requirements for EntrePass

As per the latest policy changes, there is now a specific minimum investment amount of SGD 50,000 mandated by authorities when applying for Entrepreneur Pass. This minimum paid-up capital requirement ensures that your company can support startup and operational expenses.

EntrePass Eligibility Requirements

In general, any foreigner above the age of 21 and with the requisite qualifications is eligible to apply for Singapore business visa - EntrePass. The following basic requirements and guidelines apply:

• You should have an entrepreneurial background.
• The proposed business idea must be of entrepreneurial in nature and able to create local employment opportunities.
• You must be planning to relocate to Singapore to operate your Singapore company.
• It must be a new company or it must not have been registered for more than six months when you submit your Entrepreneur Pass application.
• The proposed business must be registered only as a Singapore private limited company and not as a sole proprietorship or partnership.
• The applicant must have at least 30% shareholding in the company.
• The company must have a minimum paid-up capital of SGD 50,000.

Documents Needed for EntrePass

To apply for Entrepreneur Visa, the following documents are required:

• Completed EntrePass Application Form
• A good business plan in the prescribed format
• A copy of your company's latest business profile printout, if you have already registered it with ACRA
• A passport-sized photograph taken within the past three months
• A copy of the personal particulars page of your passport
• Documentary evidence of your previous employment(s) and/or business venture(s), if any
• Copies of your educational certificates, if any
• Other supporting documents such as  licensing agreements, MOUs with potential customers/suppliers, product certifications, endorsements and anything else that will solidify your application.

All documents submitted must be in English or translated into English by a certified translation body. Your EntrePass business visa application must be sponsored by a Singapore-registered company (we will sponsor your application when you engage our service) or you will also be asked to provide a banker's guarantee of S$3,000 upon approval of the pass.

Business Plan for EntrePass

Along with your EntrePass application form, you need to furnish a comprehensive yet concise business plan of about 10 pages in a prescribed format as below:

• Business Idea: a short, self-explanatory summary covering your proposed business concept.
• Product/Service: details of product(s) and service(s) you are offering.
• Market Analysis: analysis of your industry potential in Singapore, target customers, key competitors, and potential for growth
• Marketing Plan: description of how the product/service will be marketed or distributed.
• Operational Plan: the operational plan description deals specifically with the internal operations and resources necessary to produce your product or service.
• Management Team: summary of key management individuals who will run the business along with their roles.
• Financial Projections: projected sales and net profit before tax for three years and the estimated break even point.

It's important to note that the business plan required for the purpose of filing your Entre Pass work visa application is not the same as you would prepare when planning to raise for example venture funding for the business. Instead, it's a much simplified version and often the complexity will depend on the nature and size of the business you are planning to start. Still, preparing a good business plan might take considerable amount of your time and writing might not be your forte. When you engage our EntrePass application filing service, we will assist you with writing the business plan as part of our service.

EntrePass Application Procedure and Timeline

Once your EntrePass application along with supporting documents is ready, it must be filed with Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Your application will be reviewed by two government bodies - Spring Singapore and MOM. The application process works as follows:

• The application is submitted to MOM.
• Once submitted, the processing of Entrepreneur Pass application on the average takes is about 4-6 weeks.
• If your application is successful, you will be issued with an Approval In-Principle (AIP) letter, after which you have to register your Singapore company within 30 days (assuming the company has not been registered yet).
• MOM will require you to submit proof of company registration and the injection of the minimum paid-up capital before they issue you a final approval letter.
• You may be required to go through a medical test and produce the medical report when collecting your EntrePass. Whether or not you need to go through a medical test will be mentioned in the approval letter (along with the list of tests). You can get the medical tests done in your own country through an established clinic/hospital or you can get it done when you arrive in Singapore. There are number of clinics in Singapore that can give you the medical report on the same day while others can take up to a week.
• Once the final approval letter has been issued, you must relocate to Singapore within 6 months of the approval date. If based on your nationality you require an entry visa to Singapore, a onetime entry visa is normally issued to you as part of the EntrePass approval letter.
• If you had applied for dependant passes (DP) for your family, you can collect the DPs at the same time when collecting your EntrePass. 

Company Registration Matters

You are not required to incorporate your new Singapore company until the EntrePass business visa is approved. This works really well for those entrepreneurs who are less confident of their approval chances and don't want to incur company registration expenses unless they are sure that they will be able to relocate to Singapore to run their business.

Once you have received Approval-In-Principle (AIP) letter from authorities, you will be required to register your Singapore company within 30 days. This is usually not a problem because a company in Singapore can be registered in just 1-2 days. For more details, see Singapore Company Registration guide.

Rejection Of EntrePass Application

If your desire to start a business in Singapore is genuine, you have made the minimum investment and you have the necessary background, it's unlikely that your Singapore entrepreneur visa application will be rejected. However, if your application gets rejected, MOM normally will not provide specific reasons or explanations. You can submit an appeal within 30 days. Upon receiving an appeal letter, MOM is likely to provide you with some details on why the application was rejected. You are then asked to address the deficiencies and submit additional/amended details.

 The processing of an appeal application can take take another 2-4 weeks.

Should You Hire A Professional Firm?

It depends. If you are tight on budget and have the necessary time and experience to deal with preparing the business plan, going through application forms/requirements, submitting an appeal in case of rejection, etc., you can file the EntrePass application on your own. In all other cases, hiring a reputable professional firm to handle your EntrePass application will be a better choice for the following reasons:

• An experienced professional firm knows the process and pitfalls to avoid so your chances of application approval will be maximised.
• The firm will help you prepare the business plan as prescribed by authorities. Normally, you will need to give them the basic information about your proposed business idea and they will be able to draft a business plan accordingly.
• The professional firm will normally sponsor your entrepreneur pass application so you won't be required to provide S$3000 banker's guarantee to authorities.
• The firm will submit and track your application status with authorities, find out the reasons in case the application is rejected and file an appeal if necessary.

EntrePass Renewal Guidelines

The Entrepreneur Pass is issued for one or two years at a time as decided solely by authorities. A renewal form will be sent to you by MOM before it expires. You should file the renewal application at least four weeks before it expires. EntrePass renewal applications typically require the following documents (the requirements will be listed in the renewal reminder letter):

• Latest copy of company registration information from ACRA.
• Latest financial statements of the company declared to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
• Documentary evidence on the company's activities such as office rental agreement, invoices, contracts, payments, employee salary payments, etc. Authorities want to make sure that you are actively doing business and that it's not just a paper company.

For the first renewal your business must be in commercial operation and/or third party funding should have been secured. Additionally, your business must be engaged in business activities as per the original business plan.

For subsequent renewals, you must:

• provide evidence of turnover/sales
• demonstrate that you have employed the local work-force and demonstrate a Total Business Spending (TBS) of a specified amount for a 1 year period. Details are as follows:
  • P1 Pass - 8 local employees; TBS S$ 300,000
  • P2 Pass - 4 local employees; TBS S$ 150,000
  • Q1 Pass - 2 local employees; TBS S$ 100,000 
• prove that you have paid corporate taxes for at least one year
• ensure that your business is engaged in business activities as per the original business plan. 

From EntrePass to Permanent Residence

EntrePass holders are eligible to apply for permanent residence in due course. Before you file your PR application with Singapore immigration authorities, it's recommended that you are able to demonstrate that you are running a viable business and that you will not become a financial burden on Singapore.

Final Thoughts

An EntrePass business visa is an ideal relocation package for those with an entrepreneurial spirit but lack good education and who would like to settle down and do business in Singapore.

Other Related Topics

Singapore Immigration | EntrePass | Employment Pass