MOM’s official S Pass pages state one insurance duty in plain terms: employers must provide medical insurance for S Pass holders. A second health-related duty, the Primary Care Plan, applies to a defined group of workers. The pages cited at the end of this article set out these duties and the pass conditions around them, but they publish no coverage limits. This article sets out what they require, what they leave open, and the checks to run before you buy anything.
The medical insurance requirement
The Key facts on S Pass page lists medical insurance as a pass fact: employers must provide medical insurance for S Pass holders. That is the full wording of the duty on that page.
The pass map on the same page places the task in sequence. After the candidate arrives, you buy medical insurance for each pass holder and submit the insurance details online. You then get the pass issued and receive a notification letter stating whether registration is required. If registration is required, you book an appointment for the candidate’s fingerprints and photo. The pass card is delivered to the address provided 4 working days after registration or document verification.
MOM keeps a dedicated medical insurance page for the S Pass at mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/medical-insurance. Read that page before you purchase a policy, because it is where MOM sets out the detail of the requirement.
What the cited pages do not publish
The three official pages listed in the sources section state the insurance obligations but publish no coverage figures. They give no annual inpatient limit, no outpatient allowance, no repatriation amount, no list of approved insurers, and no rule on deducting premiums from salary.
Treat any specific coverage number you see elsewhere as unverified against these pages. Confirm the figure on MOM’s medical insurance page directly before you buy or renew a policy. That step is advice, not a MOM instruction.
Primary Care Plan: who must buy it
The Primary Care Plan (PCP) is a separate obligation with a defined scope. After you receive the in-principle approval or renewal letter, you buy a PCP for workers who either:
- stay in dormitories that can accommodate 7 or more workers, or
- work in CMP sectors — construction, marine shipyard and process.
Before the S Pass can be issued or renewed, you declare the PCP purchase on the myMOM Portal. Workers outside these two groups are not covered by the PCP rule as worded on the Key facts page.
Eligibility conditions behind the pass
Insurance obligations sit on top of eligibility. The Eligibility for S Pass page requires a job offer in Singapore and a fixed monthly salary comparable to the top one-third of the local associate professionals and technicians (APT) workforce by age.
Current minimum qualifying salary, all sectors except financial services: $3,300, rising progressively with age from age 23 to $4,800 at age 45 and above. Financial services: $3,800, rising to $5,650 at age 45 and above. For new applications submitted from 1 January 2027, and for renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028, the floor goes to $3,600 (up to $5,100 at 45 and above) and to $4,000 in financial services (up to $5,650 at 45 and above).
Declaring qualifications is optional. If you do declare them, you are responsible for ensuring the qualification is authentic and was awarded by an accredited institution on the application form’s drop-down list.
MOM tells employers to use the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) before applying. If the SAT shows the candidate is not eligible, MOM says you should not apply, because the application will be rejected. If the SAT shows the candidate is eligible, MOM states there is around a 90% chance the candidate will get a pass.
Pass duration: up to 2 years for a first-time candidate, up to 3 years for renewals. The granted duration is limited by passport validity — the pass can only be valid up to 1 month before the passport expiry date. Pass holders with a fixed monthly salary of at least $6,000 are eligible for a Dependant’s Pass for their spouse and children; the employer can apply together with the S Pass application or separately later.
Quota and levy: the cost conditions beside insurance
The S Pass quota and levy requirements page sets two limits you must price in alongside premiums.
The dependency ratio ceiling (DRC) caps foreign workers as a share of total workforce: 83.3% in construction and process, 75% in marine shipyard, 60% in manufacturing, 35% in services. On top of that, S Pass holders specifically are capped at 10% of total workforce in services and 15% in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process. Quota entitlement is computed from the average number of local employees over the last 3 months; local employee counts update every Saturday, and you can check the quota balance the next working day.
Since 1 September 2025, the S Pass levy is harmonised at $650 per month across all sectors and levy tiers. For a worker who does not work a full calendar month, the daily rate is $21.37, calculated as (monthly rate × 12) / 365, rounded up to the nearest cent. Levy liability starts the day the pass is issued and ends when it is cancelled or expires; MOM directs employers to pay by GIRO. Late or missing CPF contributions and salary declarations affect your quota and may push your foreign workers into higher levy tiers.
Checks to run before you apply
These are practical steps, not MOM requirements:
- Run the SAT for the candidate and stop if it shows ineligible.
- Check your quota balance in WP Online so you know the headroom.
- If you have never applied for an S Pass or Work Permit, declare your business activity so MOM assigns your sector.
- Advertise on MyCareersFuture and consider all candidates fairly.
- Confirm the documents MOM lists for S Pass applications.
- Read MOM’s dedicated medical insurance page for the coverage detail these three pages omit.