C6 is worth 10 points on an Employment Pass (EP) application, and a firm earns it by participating in, or meeting the criteria for, at least one programme on MOM’s list of eligible programmes. There is no arithmetic for employers to perform. The award is made by the economic agency or NTUC running the programme, MOM tells the organisation if it has been awarded, and the points then appear in the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT).
That single sentence answers most of what readers come to this page for. The rest of the article covers where those 10 points sit in the 40-point pass mark, how long they last, what the renewal test is, and which questions the official pages leave unanswered.
What C6 recognises
C6 recognises organisations that are either:
- Undertaking ambitious investment, innovation and internationalisation activities in partnership with economic agencies; or
- Endorsed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as strong partners on company and workforce transformation activities.
MOM describes the policy aim as anchoring and growing firms that contribute to the innovative capacity of the economy, enhance global linkages, and strengthen economic competitiveness, and that have the scale or potential to provide good jobs for locals.
The published scoring table has one line and one tier:
| Strategic Economic Priorities (SEP) bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Participate in, or meet the criteria for, at least one eligible programme | 10 |
The EP eligibility page does not publish a second, higher tier for C6. It also does not publish any numeric qualifying test of its own — no investment-per-PMET figure, no R&D share of revenue, no export-intensity threshold. Any firm that assumes such thresholds exist is assuming something this page does not say.
Who decides, and how you find out
The award of the SEP bonus is at the discretion of the supporting agencies running the relevant programme. MOM will notify your organisation if it has been awarded the bonus, and the points will be reflected in the SAT. For queries about a specific programme, the route is the supporting agency, not MOM.
The practical consequence is that C6 is conferred, not declared. An employer cannot add the points by describing its own activities in the application; the points arrive through the agency relationship behind the programme.
Where the 10 points sit in the 40-point pass mark
An EP application needs 40 points to pass COMPASS. COMPASS is Stage 2 of a 2-stage framework. Stage 1 is the EP qualifying salary, and a candidate who fails Stage 1 is not eligible for an EP regardless of the COMPASS points they would otherwise score.
The six criteria and their published points are:
- C1. Salary — 20 points at or above the 90th percentile of local PMET salaries in the sector, 10 points from the 65th to less than the 90th percentile, 0 points below the 65th percentile.
- C2. Qualifications — 20 points for degree-equivalent qualifications from top-tier institutions (top 100 universities on the QS World University Rankings and other highly-reputed Asian universities, Singapore’s Autonomous Universities, or institutions highly recognised in a field and endorsed by a relevant agency); 10 points for other degree-equivalent qualifications; 0 points where there is no degree-equivalent qualification. Candidates without one can still pass COMPASS on points from other criteria.
- C3. Diversity — firms with fewer than 25 PMETs score 10 points by default. Otherwise: 20 points if the candidate’s nationality is less than 5% of the firm’s PMETs, 10 points from 5% to less than 25%, 0 points at 25% or more.
- C4. Support for local employment — firms with fewer than 25 PMETs score 10 points by default. Otherwise: 20 points at or above the 50th percentile of local PMET share relative to sector, 10 points from the 20th to less than the 50th percentile, 0 points below the 20th percentile. A local PMET share of at least 70% scores at least 10 points regardless of sector position.
- C5. Skills bonus (Shortage Occupation List) — 20 points for a job on the SOL where the candidate’s nationality share among the firm’s PMETs is less than one-third; 10 points for a job on the SOL where that share is one-third or more.
- C6. Strategic Economic Priorities bonus — 10 points.
Ten points does not pass COMPASS on its own. C6 is a supplement that can lift an application over 40, or give headroom on an application that already clears it.
Three categories of candidate are exempted from COMPASS entirely: those with a fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500, overseas intra-corporate transferees, and those filling the role for one month or less.
Validity: up to three years
The bonus points apply for up to 3 years, or for the duration of your organisation’s participation in an eligible programme, whichever is shorter. Validity therefore tracks the programme relationship, not the EP itself.
The renewal test is a firm-level test
At the end of the validity period, the supporting agency reassesses whether to continue supporting the organisation. Renewal depends on continued participation in an eligible programme and on meeting both of the following:
- Earn at least 10 points for C3. Diversity for each of the 3 months before renewal.
- Earn at least 10 points for C4. Support for local employment for each of the 3 months before renewal.
Two things follow. First, the test is about the firm’s workforce profile in the three months before renewal, not about the candidate. Second, small employers are not disadvantaged by it: a firm with fewer than 25 PMETs scores the default 10 points on both C3 and C4.
How to prepare an application around C6
The following is editorial suggestion, not an MOM requirement. The official pages set out eligibility; they do not prescribe this order of work.
- Confirm the candidate clears Stage 1. Check the EP qualifying salary for the candidate’s age and sector, and use the financial services column if your company falls in that sector.
- Run the candidate through the SAT. Read whether C6 points are already reflected.
- If no C6 points appear, check MOM’s list of eligible programmes and identify which one covers your organisation’s activities.
- Approach the supporting agency running that programme. The award is its decision.
- Check your firm’s C3 and C4 position on the Workforce Insights tool on the myMOM Portal.
- If a renewal decision is approaching, keep that profile steady across the three months before it.
- Confirm the candidate is not exempt from COMPASS before spending effort on bonus points.
Selected EP qualifying salary figures, in Singapore dollars, fixed monthly salary:
| Age | All sectors except financial services (before 1 Jan 2027 new applications) | All sectors except financial services (from 1 Jan 2027 new applications, renewals expiring from 1 Jan 2028) | Financial services (current) | Financial services (from 1 Jan 2027) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 or below | $5,600 | $6,000 | $6,200 | $6,600 |
| 30 | $7,223 | $7,750 | $7,982 | $8,541 |
| 35 | $8,382 | $9,000 | $9,255 | $9,927 |
| 40 | $9,541 | $10,250 | $10,527 | $11,314 |
| 45 or above | $10,700 | $11,500 | $11,800 | $12,700 |
MOM publishes the full table for every age from 23 to 45 and above. The minimum rises progressively with age from 23, and is benchmarked to the top one-third of local PMET salaries by age.
What the official pages do not publish
MOM does not publish, on these pages:
- Any numeric threshold or scoring formula for C6 beyond the single 10-point tier.
- The internal assessment of the supporting agencies, or how the discretion is exercised in a given case.
- How many organisations hold the bonus at any time.
For permanent residence, ICA publishes the factors it takes into account — family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile and length of residency — and states that it assesses an applicant’s ability to contribute and integrate, and their commitment to sinking roots. ICA does not publish the weight of each factor, any scoring system, any quota, or any link between COMPASS points and PR outcomes. Treat any claimed connection as unsupported.
C6, S Pass and PR
COMPASS, including C6, appears under EP eligibility. The S Pass eligibility page sets no COMPASS criteria. S Pass eligibility turns on a fixed monthly salary of at least $3,300 for all sectors except financial services and $3,800 in financial services, rising progressively with age to $4,800 and $5,650 respectively at age 45 and above. From 1 January 2027 those minimums rise to $3,600 and $4,000 for new applications, and for renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028. Employers hiring S Pass holders are subject to a quota and levy: the dependency ratio ceiling is 35% in services, 60% in manufacturing, 75% in marine shipyard, and 83.3% in construction and process, with S Pass holders capped at 10% of the total workforce in services and 15% in the other sectors. The levy has been harmonised at $650 per month across all sectors and tiers since 1 September 2025, with a daily rate of $21.37 for partial months. S Pass holders earning at least $6,000 may be eligible to bring family members on a Dependant’s Pass.
On PR, an EP or S Pass holder is one of the eligible categories and applies through ICA e-Service using Singpass. Fees are S$100 per application at submission, and S$20 for the Entry Permit, S$50 for a 5-year Re-Entry Permit and S$50 for the Singapore Identity Card at completion of formalities. All fees are non-refundable. Applications are processed within 6 months provided all required documents are submitted and in order; some take longer. Singpass account approval itself may take 2 to 5 working days. ICA states it has no affiliation with any external migration agency or commercial entity presenting itself as a Singapore immigration specialist or partner.
FAQ
Can a firm earn 20 points from C6? The scoring table on MOM’s page lists one tier: 10 points for at least one eligible programme. No higher tier is published.
Can a newly expanding tech company qualify? The eligibility pages note separately that fast-growing tech companies newly expanding to Singapore and the region may be eligible for the Tech@SG Programme. That is a separate programme reference, not a statement that Tech@SG confers C6 points.
If a candidate earns $22,500 or more, does C6 matter? No. A fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500 exempts the candidate from COMPASS altogether.
Does C6 change an employer’s S Pass quota or levy? No. Quota and levy are set by the dependency ratio ceiling and the levy rate described above. COMPASS does not apply to S Pass applications.
Can a candidate who scored C6 points be redeployed to another role? The redeployment restriction in the published rules attaches to C5. Candidates who needed SOL bonus points to pass COMPASS or to obtain a longer-duration EP can only be employed in the specific shortage occupation, and the in-principle approval letter states this. MOM must be notified first.
Official pages this article is based on
- Eligibility for Employment Pass — Ministry of Manpower
- Key facts on Employment Pass — Ministry of Manpower
- Eligibility for S Pass — Ministry of Manpower
- Key facts on S Pass — Ministry of Manpower
- S Pass quota and levy requirements — Ministry of Manpower
- Becoming a Permanent Resident — Immigration & Checkpoints Authority