EntrePass

What the EntrePass is

The EntrePass is a work pass for foreign entrepreneurs who want to start and operate a business in Singapore. It is fundamentally different from the Employment Pass and the other work passes, because it is not built around being employed at a qualifying salary. It is built around founding and running a company, and the qualifying criteria are about the business and the founder’s role in it.

In essence, the EntrePass allows a foreign entrepreneur to base themselves in Singapore to build a venture that is innovative or backed by recognised funding. The pass is tied to that business: the holder is expected to hold a significant stake in it and to be actively involved in running it. And crucially, the pass’s renewal is tied to the business’s progress, its spending and its creation of local jobs, so the EntrePass is as much about growing a company as about the founder’s own status. This guide explains how it works and who it suits.

Who the EntrePass is for

The EntrePass is for foreign entrepreneurs building a specific kind of business in Singapore: one that is innovative or venture-backed, rather than an ordinary small business. It is aimed at founders whose ventures bring innovation, technology, intellectual property, or the backing of recognised investors or incubators.

This focus matters. The EntrePass is not a general pass for anyone who wants to run any business in Singapore; it is targeted at entrepreneurs whose ventures have genuine innovative or growth characteristics. A founder building a technology startup backed by a recognised venture capital firm, an innovator with valuable intellectual property, or an entrepreneur supported by a recognised incubator, these are the profiles the EntrePass is designed for. An entrepreneur whose business does not have these characteristics may find the EntrePass criteria hard to meet, and may need to consider whether a different arrangement fits. The EntrePass rewards genuine innovative or venture-backed entrepreneurship.

The business must be a Singapore company

A foundational requirement of the EntrePass is that it is tied to a business registered, or to be registered, as a private limited company in Singapore. The pass is about running a Singapore-registered venture, so the corporate vehicle is central to the arrangement.

The company is generally expected to be recently registered or not yet registered at the point of the EntrePass application, reflecting that the pass is for founding and building a new venture rather than joining an established one. There is typically a limit on how long the company can already have been registered when the application is made. This ties the EntrePass to genuine new entrepreneurship: the founder is coming to build a company, and the pass and the company are established together. An entrepreneur considering the EntrePass should understand that the pass is inseparable from the Singapore company at its centre, and that the company must fit the required form and timing.

The eligibility routes in outline

EntrePass eligibility is built around demonstrating that the venture is genuinely innovative or venture-backed, and there are several routes to doing so, reflecting different kinds of qualifying venture. An applicant generally qualifies by showing their business and their profile fit one of these routes.

These routes each provide a way of establishing that the venture is of the innovative or backed kind the EntrePass is for. An applicant works out which route their venture fits, and builds their case around it. The dedicated criteria guides in this cluster examine each route in detail; the pillar sets out how they fit together.

The venture funding route

One of the clearest routes is venture funding: showing that the business has secured investment from a recognised venture capital firm or business angel. Funding from a credible, recognised investor is a strong signal that the venture has genuine growth potential, which is exactly what the EntrePass looks for.

For a founder who has raised investment from a recognised source, this route provides a direct way to demonstrate the venture’s backing. The key is that the funding comes from a recognised investor, not simply any source, since the point is that a credible investor has judged the venture worth backing. A well-funded venture with recognised investors behind it presents a strong EntrePass case on this route. The venture funding criteria guide covers what counts in detail; the principle is that recognised investment evidences the venture’s potential.

The innovative business route

Another route rests on the business itself being genuinely innovative: possessing the technology, capabilities or characteristics that mark it out as an innovative venture rather than an ordinary business. This route recognises that innovation, not just funding, can qualify a venture.

For a founder whose venture is built on genuine innovation, whether in its technology, its product, or its approach, this route provides a way to qualify on the strength of that innovation. The criteria look for real innovative substance, not merely a claim of being innovative. A venture with genuine technological or innovative characteristics can present a strong case on this route. This reflects the EntrePass’s core purpose of drawing innovative entrepreneurship to Singapore, recognising ventures that bring genuine innovation regardless of their funding position. The innovative business criteria guide sets out what qualifies.

The intellectual property route

Where a founder or business holds intellectual property that meets the criteria, this can provide a route to the EntrePass. Valuable intellectual property, patents or other protected innovations, is a strong marker of a genuinely innovative venture, and this route recognises it.

For an innovator whose venture is built around intellectual property they hold, this route allows them to qualify on the strength of that IP. The criteria look for genuine, relevant intellectual property, reflecting real innovation, not merely nominal registrations. A founder with substantial, relevant intellectual property behind their venture presents a strong case on this route. This route particularly suits innovators and inventors whose competitive edge and value lie in their intellectual property. The intellectual property criteria guide examines what qualifies; the principle is that genuine, relevant IP evidences the innovative substance of the venture.

The incubator and accelerator route

Support from a recognised incubator or accelerator provides another route. Where a venture is backed by a recognised incubator or accelerator, that backing signals that a credible organisation has judged the venture worth supporting and developing, which the EntrePass recognises.

For a founder whose venture is part of a recognised incubator or accelerator programme, this route allows them to qualify on the strength of that support. The key is that the incubator or accelerator is recognised, since the point is the credibility of the organisation backing the venture. Being accepted into and supported by a recognised programme is a meaningful signal of a venture’s potential. This route suits founders whose ventures are being developed within the structured support of a recognised incubator or accelerator. The incubator criteria guide covers what counts; the principle is that recognised incubation evidences the venture’s promise.

The research collaboration route

A research collaboration with a recognised institution can also provide a route to the EntrePass. Where a venture has a genuine research collaboration with a recognised research institution, that collaboration signals real innovative and research substance, which the EntrePass recognises.

For a founder whose venture involves genuine research collaboration with a recognised institution, this route allows them to qualify on the strength of that collaboration. The criteria look for genuine, substantive collaboration, reflecting real research and innovation, not a nominal association. A venture with a real research partnership with a recognised institution presents a strong case on this route. This route particularly suits deep-technology and research-driven ventures whose innovation is grounded in institutional research collaboration. The research collaboration criteria guide sets out what qualifies; the principle is that genuine institutional research collaboration evidences the venture’s innovative depth.

The founder's role and shareholding

Beyond the venture’s qualifying characteristics, the EntrePass requires the holder to be a genuine founder actively building the business, not a passive investor or a nominal director. The holder is generally expected to hold a significant shareholding in the company and to be actively involved in running it.

This requirement ensures the EntrePass goes to genuine entrepreneurs building their ventures, not to individuals using a company as a vehicle for a pass without real involvement. The significant shareholding aligns the founder’s interest with the venture’s success, and the active involvement ensures they are genuinely running it. An EntrePass holder is expected to be at the heart of the business, driving it forward. An applicant should understand that the EntrePass is for hands-on founders with a real stake, and that both the shareholding and the active role are genuine requirements, not formalities.

Renewal tied to business progress

One of the most distinctive features of the EntrePass is that its renewal is tied to the business’s progress. Unlike the Employment Pass, where renewal turns on continued qualifying employment, the EntrePass’s renewal depends on the venture meeting milestones related to its spending and its creation of local jobs.

This means the EntrePass is not just about founding a business but about growing it. As the pass is renewed over time, the business is generally expected to demonstrate increasing progress, spending on its operations and creating employment for local staff, with the expectations stepping up at successive renewals. This ties the founder’s continued status to the genuine development of the venture. An entrepreneur considering the EntrePass must understand that holding it over time requires the business to grow and to contribute through local job creation, not merely to exist. The renewal milestones are central to how the EntrePass works over the life of the venture.

The local job creation expectation

A key element of the EntrePass renewal framework is the expectation that the venture creates local jobs. As the business develops and the pass is renewed, it is generally expected to employ local staff, with the number expected typically increasing at successive renewals.

This reflects a core purpose of the EntrePass: to draw entrepreneurship that benefits Singapore, including through the creation of employment for locals. A venture that grows and creates local jobs is delivering the benefit the pass is designed to encourage. For the founder, this means building a business that not only succeeds but also employs local staff as it grows, since this is part of what sustains the pass at renewal. An entrepreneur planning around the EntrePass should factor in the local job creation expectations, since meeting them is part of keeping the pass over time. The job creation requirement links the founder’s status to the venture’s contribution to the local economy.

The business spending expectation

Alongside job creation, the EntrePass renewal framework generally looks at the business’s spending, its genuine expenditure on operating and developing the venture. A business that is genuinely spending on its operations is demonstrably active and developing, which supports renewal.

This expectation guards against a nominal business that exists on paper but does not genuinely operate. A venture spending on its operations, its staff, its development, is a real, active business, which is what the EntrePass is for. As with job creation, the spending expectations generally step up at successive renewals, reflecting the expectation that the venture grows. For the founder, this means the EntrePass requires genuinely building and operating the business, with real expenditure, not merely maintaining a shell. The spending expectation, together with job creation, defines what the venture must demonstrate to sustain the pass through renewals.

EntrePass versus Employment Pass

The EntrePass and Employment Pass serve fundamentally different purposes, and understanding the difference is important for anyone deciding which fits. The Employment Pass is for being employed at a qualifying salary; the EntrePass is for founding and running a business.

So the choice between them is really about what you are doing: joining Singapore to be employed, or to build a company. A skilled professional taking a job needs the Employment Pass; a founder building an innovative venture needs the EntrePass. They are not interchangeable, and an entrepreneur should not try to fit a genuine founding venture into the Employment Pass framework, nor an employee into the EntrePass.

EntrePass versus ONE Pass for entrepreneurs

For entrepreneurs, the ONE Pass also comes into view, and the distinction is worth understanding. The EntrePass is built around a specific new venture meeting the innovation or funding criteria, with renewal tied to that venture’s milestones. The ONE Pass is built around the individual’s top-tier standing, and allows running businesses as part of a broader portfolio of activity.

So a founder whose case is a specific innovative new venture fits the EntrePass, while a top-tier individual who meets the ONE Pass bar and wants to build ventures alongside other activity has more flexibility on the ONE Pass. The ONE Pass is five years and self-sponsored, not tied to one venture’s milestones, but its bar is the top-tier salary or outstanding achievement, which many founders will not meet. For most entrepreneurs building a specific innovative venture, the EntrePass is the relevant pass; the ONE Pass is an alternative only for those who genuinely meet its top-tier bar. Understanding which fits depends on the founder’s profile and the nature of their venture.

Bringing family on the EntrePass

An EntrePass holder may, subject to meeting the applicable requirements, be able to bring family to Singapore, though the ability to sponsor family members is generally linked to the business reaching certain thresholds. This reflects the EntrePass’s focus on the venture’s genuine development.

Where the business meets the relevant thresholds, the founder may sponsor eligible family members to join them, allowing the entrepreneur to build their venture with their family settled in Singapore. The linkage of family sponsorship to business progress is consistent with the EntrePass’s overall design, in which benefits follow the genuine growth of the venture. An entrepreneur planning to bring family should understand that this ability is connected to the business’s development, so building the venture successfully has family as well as commercial benefits. The family dimension is covered further in the family immigration guides.

The risk profile of the EntrePass

Because the EntrePass is tied to a venture and its progress, it carries a different risk profile from the Employment Pass. An Employment Pass holder’s status depends on continued employment; an EntrePass holder’s status depends on the success and growth of their business, which is inherently less certain.

This means the EntrePass suits entrepreneurs prepared for the reality that their pass is linked to their venture’s performance. If the business does not develop and meet the renewal milestones, the pass may not be renewed, ending the founder’s status on it. This is the flip-side of the entrepreneurial opportunity the pass provides. An entrepreneur should enter the EntrePass understanding that it is a pass for building a genuine, growing venture, and that its continuation depends on that venture’s genuine progress. This is not a drawback so much as an inherent feature of a pass designed around entrepreneurship, but it is one an applicant should understand clearly.

Who should consider the EntrePass

The EntrePass suits a specific profile: a foreign entrepreneur with a genuinely innovative or venture-backed business, prepared to base themselves in Singapore, hold a significant stake, be actively involved, and grow the venture including through local job creation. For this founder, the EntrePass is the pass designed for them.

It is less suitable for an entrepreneur whose business lacks the innovative or venture-backed characteristics the criteria require, or who is not prepared for the venture-linked nature of the pass and its growth milestones. Such an entrepreneur may need to reconsider their venture or their pass strategy. And it is not the pass for someone seeking employment rather than founding a business, for whom the Employment Pass is appropriate. Understanding honestly whether your profile and venture fit the EntrePass is the starting point for considering it, and the eligibility guide helps make that assessment.

The EntrePass and Singapore's startup ecosystem

The EntrePass sits within Singapore’s broader effort to build a vibrant startup and innovation ecosystem. By drawing foreign entrepreneurs with innovative or venture-backed businesses, and tying their continued status to genuine growth and local job creation, the pass aims to bring entrepreneurship that contributes to that ecosystem.

This context helps explain the pass’s design. The focus on innovation and recognised backing, the founder’s genuine involvement, and the growth milestones all serve the goal of attracting entrepreneurship that genuinely benefits Singapore. A founder on the EntrePass is not just obtaining a pass but participating in this ecosystem, with access to the wider environment of investors, incubators, institutions and talent that Singapore has cultivated. Understanding the EntrePass in this light, as a pass for genuine contributors to Singapore’s innovation economy, helps a founder see both what is expected of them and what the ecosystem offers in return. The pass and the ecosystem are designed to reinforce each other.

What 'recognised' means for investors and incubators

A recurring theme across the EntrePass routes is the word recognised: recognised venture capital firms, recognised business angels, recognised incubators and accelerators, recognised research institutions. This is not incidental language; it is central to how the routes work. The point of requiring recognised backers is that their credibility vouches for the venture.

When a recognised venture capital firm invests, a recognised incubator accepts a startup, or a recognised institution collaborates on research, a credible, established organisation has judged the venture worth its involvement. That judgement is exactly what the EntrePass relies on as a signal of the venture’s potential. So an applicant relying on any of these routes needs backing from genuinely recognised sources, not merely any investor, incubator or institution. The recognition of the backer is what gives the route its weight. Understanding this helps a founder see why the identity and standing of their backers matters so much, and why building relationships with recognised organisations strengthens an EntrePass case.

What active involvement means

The requirement that the EntrePass holder be actively involved in running the business is genuine and substantive, not a formality. It means the founder is really at the helm of the venture, driving its strategy, operations and growth, rather than being a passive investor or a name on the paperwork.

This distinguishes the EntrePass founder from someone who merely holds shares or a nominal directorship. The pass is for entrepreneurs genuinely building their ventures day to day. In practice, this means the founder is expected to be based in Singapore, engaged in the business, and central to its development. An arrangement where the pass holder is not genuinely running the business would not reflect what the EntrePass is for. For a genuine founder, this is simply the reality of building a startup; the requirement aligns with what a committed entrepreneur does anyway. But it does mean the EntrePass is not available to someone seeking a pass without genuinely running the venture at its centre.

The significant shareholding requirement

Alongside active involvement, the EntrePass generally expects the holder to hold a significant shareholding in the company. This ensures the founder has a genuine, substantial stake in the venture’s success, aligning their interest with the business they are building.

A founder with a significant stake is genuinely invested in the venture, both literally and figuratively, and stands to gain from its success and lose from its failure. This is the position of a genuine entrepreneur, and it is what the EntrePass looks for. The shareholding requirement guards against arrangements where the pass holder has no real stake, which would not reflect genuine entrepreneurship. For a real founder, holding a significant stake in their own venture is natural. An applicant should understand that both the shareholding and the active involvement are genuine requirements that together define the EntrePass holder as a committed founder with a real stake, not a passive or nominal figure.

Choosing the right qualifying route

With several qualifying routes available, an early task for an EntrePass applicant is to work out which route best fits their venture. A well-funded startup with recognised investors fits the venture funding route; an innovation-led venture fits the innovative business route; an IP-rich venture fits the intellectual property route; a startup in a recognised incubator fits the incubator route; a research-driven venture fits the research collaboration route.

Some ventures may fit more than one route, in which case the strongest and best-evidenced route is the natural choice. Others will fit only one clearly. Identifying the right route is important because it determines what evidence the application must marshal and how the case is framed. A founder should honestly assess their venture against each route and build their case around the one that genuinely fits best. The criteria guides for each route help make this assessment. Choosing the right route at the outset focuses the application and gives it the best chance of clearly demonstrating that the venture qualifies.

Evidencing the venture

Because the EntrePass is granted on the strength of the venture and the founder’s role, evidencing both clearly is central to a strong application. The evidence must establish that the venture genuinely fits its qualifying route, its funding, innovation, intellectual property, incubation or research collaboration, and that the founder holds a significant stake and is actively involved.

For the qualifying route, this means concrete evidence: documentation of the recognised funding, of the innovative characteristics, of the intellectual property, of the incubator relationship, or of the research collaboration, depending on the route. For the founder’s role, it means evidence of the shareholding and involvement. A business plan setting out the venture, its innovation and its prospects typically supports the case. The stronger and clearer the evidence that the venture genuinely qualifies and the founder is genuinely at its helm, the better the application’s prospects. The documents guide covers what to assemble; the principle is that a well-evidenced venture and founder role make the case.

Planning the venture around the milestones

Because the EntrePass’s renewal is tied to business milestones, a founder should plan their venture with those milestones in view from the outset. The expectations around spending and local job creation, stepping up at successive renewals, are not afterthoughts but a framework the founder builds toward as the venture grows.

This means an EntrePass founder plans not just to launch but to grow the venture in a way that meets the renewal expectations: developing the business, spending genuinely on its operations, and creating local employment as it scales. A founder who builds these into their plan from the start is preparing for renewal throughout, rather than scrambling to meet milestones near a renewal deadline. This aligns the commercial development of the venture with the requirements of the pass, which is exactly the intent: a genuinely growing venture naturally meets the milestones. Planning the venture with the milestones in view is the practical way to sustain the EntrePass over the life of the business.

The self-employed nature of the pass

The EntrePass is, in effect, a pass for self-employment in one’s own venture, which gives it a different character from the employee-based passes. The founder is not an employee of someone else’s company but the driving force of their own, which brings both autonomy and responsibility.

This self-employed character means the founder’s fortunes and their pass are bound up with the venture they control. There is no external employer sustaining the pass; the founder sustains it by building a genuine, growing business. This autonomy is part of the appeal of the EntrePass for genuine entrepreneurs, who want to build their own venture rather than work for another. But it also means the founder carries the full responsibility for the venture’s success and, with it, the pass’s continuation. Understanding the EntrePass as a self-employment pass, with the autonomy and responsibility that entails, helps a founder appreciate what they are taking on: not a job, but the building of their own company in Singapore.

Common misconceptions about the EntrePass

Several misconceptions surround the EntrePass. One is that it is a pass for any foreign entrepreneur wanting to run any business in Singapore; in fact it is targeted at innovative or venture-backed ventures meeting specific criteria. Another is that it is an easy route to a pass through setting up a nominal company; in fact it requires a genuine qualifying venture and an actively involved founder with a real stake.

A further misconception is that once granted, the pass simply continues; in fact renewal depends on the venture meeting growth milestones. And another is that the EntrePass and Employment Pass are interchangeable options; in fact they serve entirely different purposes, founding a business versus being employed. Clearing up these misconceptions is important, because approaching the EntrePass on a mistaken understanding leads to disappointment. The EntrePass is a genuine pass for genuine innovative entrepreneurship, with real criteria and real growth expectations, and understanding it accurately is the starting point for a realistic application.

The EntrePass and permanent residence

A founder building a successful venture on the EntrePass may, over time, consider permanent residence. The EntrePass does not itself confer PR, but a founder who builds a genuine, growing business in Singapore, creating local jobs and contributing to the economy, develops exactly the kind of contribution profile that a PR assessment considers.

Permanent residence is assessed holistically on its own criteria, weighing the individual’s economic contribution, ties and commitment to Singapore. A successful EntrePass founder whose venture genuinely contributes, through its activity and its local employment, builds a strong foundation for a PR case. The venture’s contribution to Singapore is precisely the kind of factor that supports permanent residence. So for an EntrePass founder thinking long term, building the venture successfully serves not only the pass’s renewal but potentially a future PR application. The PR route has its own dedicated guides; the connection here is that genuine entrepreneurial contribution supports both the EntrePass and a longer-term path to permanent residence.

The commitment the EntrePass requires

The EntrePass asks a real commitment of a founder: to base themselves in Singapore, to hold a significant stake in the venture, to be actively involved in running it, and to grow it in a way that meets the renewal milestones. This is a substantial commitment, appropriate to a pass built around genuine entrepreneurship.

For a committed founder building a genuine venture, this commitment is simply what entrepreneurship involves, and the EntrePass provides the basis to do it in Singapore. But it is not a light or passive arrangement; it asks the founder to genuinely build a business, with all that entails. An entrepreneur considering the EntrePass should understand the commitment it requires and be ready to make it. For those who are, the pass offers the opportunity to build an innovative venture within Singapore’s ecosystem. The level of commitment the EntrePass asks is a measure of how genuinely it is designed around real entrepreneurship, and it rewards founders prepared to make that commitment fully.

The opportunity the EntrePass represents

Set against its requirements, the EntrePass represents a real opportunity: the chance for a foreign entrepreneur to build an innovative venture in Singapore, with access to its ecosystem of investors, incubators, institutions and talent, and a stable base from which to grow. For the right founder with the right venture, this is a significant opportunity.

Singapore has deliberately built an environment attractive to innovative entrepreneurship, and the EntrePass is the gateway for foreign founders to participate in it. A founder who builds a genuine, growing venture on the EntrePass gains not just a pass but a foothold in one of the region’s leading innovation hubs. The requirements of the pass, the qualifying venture, the founder’s commitment, the growth milestones, are the counterpart to this opportunity, ensuring the pass goes to genuine contributors. For an entrepreneur with a genuinely innovative or venture-backed business and the commitment to build it, the EntrePass opens a valuable door. Understanding both the opportunity and the requirements is what this cluster of guides is for.

Explore the EntrePass in detail

This pillar gives the overview. The child guides in this cluster go deeper into each part of the EntrePass: the eligibility criteria, each of the qualifying routes, innovative business, venture funding, intellectual property, incubator, and research collaboration, the application process, the documents required, the processing time, and the fees. Together they form a complete guide to the pass.

Whether you are assessing which qualifying route your venture fits, weighing the EntrePass against the Employment Pass or ONE Pass, or preparing an application, the detailed guides provide the specifics. Start with the eligibility and the route that fits your venture, then work through the application, documents and timeline. The EntrePass rewards a genuine, well-evidenced innovative or venture-backed business and a committed founder, and these guides are designed to help you build a strong case.

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