- Singapore’s ONE Pass holders reached 8,500 by 2025, more than doubling in just two years since launch.
- The visa targets top-tier talent earning at least 30,000 Singapore dollars monthly with five-year flexibility.
- A new AI and Tech track will launch on January 1, 2027, replacing the existing Tech Pass.
Singapore's Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass, or ONE Pass, reached 8,500 holders by the end of 2025, more than doubling from 3,600 at the end of 2023. It opened on 1 January 2023. The visa asks for a S$30,000 monthly fixed salary or equivalent outstanding achievements.
Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau tied the rise to the pass's appeal to mobile specialists. She did not describe a slowdown. She wrote in a parliamentary reply on August 5, 2026:
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"The steady growth in the number of One Pass holders reflects the attractiveness of these passes to global talent. They have contributed expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and biomedical sciences."
The pass is aimed at senior talent, executives, founders, academics and other high achievers. It is built for movement. No single employer controls it. Holders can start, operate and work for multiple companies without filing for a new pass each time.
The rules also give holders more room at home. The pass runs for 5 years and can be renewed for another five years if the holder keeps an average monthly salary of S$30,000 or starts a Singapore-based company employing at least five locals earning the Employment Pass minimum. Holders can also sponsor family members under related long-term stay arrangements. Spouses can work more easily through a Letter of Consent.
Dr. Tan See Leng put the government's pitch more bluntly in a March speech. He called the target group "movers and shakers." Then he went further:
"What we are really hoping to bring to Singapore are the rainmakers. the ONE Pass is an offensive strategy for us. In the competition for talent, we're in a very, very hyped-up mode."
The climb did not happen in one jump. Official figures released in August 2026 show the holder count moved from 3,600 in December 2023 to 6,300 in December 2024, then to 8,500 in December 2025.
| End of year | ONE Pass holders |
|---|---|
| December 2023 | 3,600 |
| December 2024 | 6,300 |
| December 2025 | 8,500 |
Singapore's holders cluster in three sectors
About 70% of holders sit in three sectors, financial and insurance services, information and communication, and professional services. That concentration is not random. The salary floor puts applicants in the top 5% of all Employment Pass holders. The bar stays high.
Singapore opens another channel for AI and tech
A new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track is set to start on January 1, 2027. It will replace Tech.Pass, which carried a lower threshold of S$22,500. The new route will let applicants meet the S$30,000 benchmark with a fixed cash salary of at least S$22,500 plus vested non-cash components.
The same date brings a wider shake-up in work-pass rules. Singapore will raise the general Employment Pass minimum qualifying salary to S$6,000, and to S$6,600 for financial services, effective January 1, 2027. The government says the changes are meant to keep the pass system complementary to the local workforce. The clock is already ticking.
