What Malaysians Need to Know About Singapore's New Employment Pass Rules (2026)

Employment contracts for Malaysians working in Singapore have always needed a careful read. But MOM's latest overhaul of the Employment Pass framework is the biggest shift in years — and it's no longer just a matter of hitting a minimum salary figure.

The Core Shift: COMPASS Now Applies to Renewals Too

Getting or keeping an EP used to come down mostly to salary and individual credentials. Now, every new application and every renewal goes through the Complementarity Assessment Framework — COMPASS for short.

It's a transparent, points-based system. To get approved or renewed, you need at least 40 points across four foundational criteria and two bonus categories:

C1 — Salary. Points are awarded based on how your fixed monthly salary compares to local PMETs (professionals, managers, executives, technicians) in your specific sector and age group. Sit above the 65th percentile and you get 10 points; above the 90th percentile, 20 points.

C2 — Qualifications. Your educational background matters more than it used to. Degrees from top-tier institutions score the maximum, and MOM regularly updates which institutions and professional qualifications count.

C3 — Workforce diversity. This looks at your employer's current nationality mix. If a very high percentage of the company's EP holders are already Malaysian, this specific metric scores lower.

C4 — Support for local employment. Points depend on how well your company hires and supports resident Singaporean PMETs relative to its industry peers.

The renewal risk that catches people off guard: even after years on an EP with the same employer, renewal isn't automatic anymore. If your profile or your company's hiring metrics drop the overall COMPASS score below 40, the renewal gets rejected — full stop.

2026 Salary Thresholds: The Floor Keeps Moving

Before COMPASS even comes into play, you need to clear the minimum qualifying salary, which scales progressively by age and sector.

Sector	Minimum starting salary (younger PMETs)	Peak salary cap (older/experienced roles)
Most sectors	S$5,600	Up to S$10,700
Financial services	S$6,200	Up to S$11,800

MOM has also raised the sector-specific benchmarks used for the C1 salary score. If your salary falls below the 50th percentile of local peers in your age bracket, you get zero points on the salary criterion — meaning your employer has to make up that shortfall elsewhere, typically through diversity scoring or stronger qualifications, just to clear the 40-point line.

3 Things Worth Checking in Your Next Contract

1. Background screening and degree verification

Since late 2023, MOM has made educational qualification verification mandatory. Whenever you apply for an EP or switch employers, your credentials get authenticated through an approved third-party screening firm. Make sure your contract builds in enough lead time before your start date — unusual degree structures or anything requiring extra verification can meaningfully stall an approval.

2. The Shortage Occupation List has shifted under you

If you're in tech, this one matters. MOM recently narrowed the Shortage Occupation List (which feeds the C5 bonus points) to focus on genuinely hyper-specialized roles — removing several mainstream tech titles including Cyber Risk Specialist, Cybersecurity Operations Specialist, and Product Manager (Digital). If your employer was counting on SOL bonus points to push your application over 40, they now need your base salary or qualifications to cover that gap instead. On the flip side, MOM has been adding healthcare roles to the list in the same update cycle.

3. Long-term contracts need to account for the age scaling

Because the qualifying salary rises fairly sharply with age, a flat-rate multi-year contract can quietly work against you as you get older. When reviewing a long-term contract or a renewal, check that your salary progression actually keeps pace with the rising age-based benchmarks — otherwise you could find yourself below threshold in year three of a contract that looked fine in year one.

What to Actually Do Next

If your EP is expiring in the next 6 to 12 months, don't leave this to the last minute. Ask HR or your hiring manager whether they've run your profile through MOM's Self-Assessment Tool (SAT). It lets employers pre-check your likely points layout against current benchmarks, which gives both of you real time to restructure compensation before a formal submission — rather than finding out you're short after the fact.

FAQ

Do all Employment Pass renewals now require COMPASS? Yes. As of the current renewal cycle, all EP renewals — not just new applications — are assessed under COMPASS, requiring a minimum of 40 points across the foundational and bonus criteria.

What happens if my company employs mostly Malaysians already? It affects your C3 diversity score specifically. A high concentration of any single nationality among a company's EP holders scores lower on that criterion, which means other areas of your application — salary, qualifications, or local employment support — need to be stronger to compensate.

Are tech roles still eligible for Shortage Occupation List bonus points? Some are, but MOM narrowed the list to focus on more specialized roles, removing several mainstream titles like Cyber Risk Specialist and Product Manager (Digital). Check the current SOL directly, since it's updated periodically and healthcare roles have been added even as some tech roles were removed.

If you're reviewing an employment contract that needs to hold up against these benchmarks over multiple years, running it through AI-Contract can flag whether your salary progression, notice terms, and renewal-linked clauses are structured to keep pace with rising thresholds.