Singapore COMPASS Score for Job Search

If you are targeting roles in Singapore that require an Employment Pass, COMPASS is now part of your reality. Since September 2023, every new EP application (and most renewals) must pass the Complementarity Assessment Framework. This scoring system determines whether MOM will approve the Employment Pass, regardless of whether the employer wants to hire you. It affects expats, companies hiring foreign talent, and anyone advising on workforce planning.

For candidates, this changes the job search calculation. It is no longer enough to find a role that fits your skills and sponsors your visa. The role must also score well under COMPASS for your specific profile. Not every role that sponsors will score well for every candidate.

What COMPASS actually is

COMPASS is a points-based framework that assesses EP applications on four foundational criteria and two bonus criteria. You need at least 40 points to pass. Each criterion scores 0, 10, or 20 points.

The four foundational criteria

1. Salary. Your individual salary benchmarked against local PMET salaries in the same sector. Scoring well means earning significantly above the sector median for your age band. If the role pays at or below median, you score 0 on this criterion.
2. Qualifications. Your highest educational qualification. Degrees from top-tier institutions score higher. A candidate with a recognized university degree typically scores 10. No degree or unrecognized qualifications score 0.
3. Diversity (nationality). MOM scores this based on the proportion of your nationality among the firm's PMETs. If your nationality is already overrepresented in that company, you score 0. If underrepresented, you score 10 or 20.
4. Support for local employment. This measures the share of local PMETs in the firm relative to the industry. Companies with a strong local hiring track record score higher here, making it easier for them to bring in foreign hires.

The two bonus criteria

• Skills bonus (10 points): Awarded if the role falls within a shortage occupation on MOM's list, or if the candidate brings specialized skills Singapore's labour market needs.
• Strategic economic priorities bonus (10 points): Awarded if the hiring company is engaged in activities aligned with Singapore's strategic economic objectives (typically partnered with government agencies like EDB).

Why this makes job search harder for expats

Before COMPASS, EP approval depended mainly on salary, qualifications, and the company's track record. The process was less transparent but generally more predictable for candidates who cleared the salary bar. Now, additional factors outside your direct control affect the outcome:

• Company composition matters. If many people of your nationality already work at a company, your diversity score drops. You cannot know this from the outside without data.
• Sector benchmarks shift. MOM updates salary benchmarks regularly. A role paying S$8,000/month might score well in one sector and poorly in another.
• Your age works against generic salary. Salary benchmarks are age-banded. A 35-year-old needs a higher salary than a 28-year-old to score the same points on the salary criterion.
• Small companies face higher bars. Firms with fewer local PMETs score lower on criterion 4, which means your EP application faces a tougher total even if you personally are a strong candidate.

How to target COMPASS-friendly roles

The practical implication: expats need to filter for roles where their specific profile scores well under COMPASS. General questions to ask:

• Does the salary clear not just the EP minimum, but the sector-specific benchmark for your age?
• Is your nationality underrepresented at that company? (Hard to know without inside data.)
• Does the company have a strong local workforce ratio? (Larger MNCs tend to score better here.)
• Does the role qualify for the skills shortage bonus?

These are not easy questions to answer from a job listing alone. Most of this information lives behind company doors or in MOM's assessment system.

How RoleRadar AI factors COMPASS into matching

RoleRadar AI incorporates COMPASS-relevant signals into match scoring. This includes:

• Salary-to-benchmark alignment. The system estimates whether the role's salary clears sector benchmarks for your age band, not just the EP minimum.
• Company profile indicators. Where available, signals about company size, local workforce ratios, and industry classification help estimate COMPASS-friendliness.
• Skills shortage alignment. Roles matching MOM's shortage occupation list receive a higher match weight when sponsorship is a factor.
• Sponsorship evidence. The visa signal with evidence labels (Unknown through Employer-stated) helps you prioritize roles where EP processing is realistic.

None of this guarantees approval. MOM makes the final call. But it means your shortlist is weighted toward roles where COMPASS is less likely to be a blocker.

What you should do now

1. Know your salary benchmark. Use MOM's self-assessment tool (SAT) to check where your expected salary lands relative to sector medians for your age.
2. Target larger employers. Companies with 50+ local PMETs tend to score better on criterion 4, making EP approval easier for their foreign hires.
3. Check the skills shortage list. If your expertise aligns with MOM's published shortage occupations, you get a 10-point bonus that can offset weakness elsewhere.
4. Do not rely on salary alone. A high salary helps, but if the diversity score and company support score both land at 0, you need to clear 40 points from salary + qualifications + bonus. That is a narrow path.
5. Filter early. Do not spend time preparing applications for roles where the sponsorship signal is weak and the COMPASS outlook is uncertain.

Related reading

• How to Tell If a Singapore Job Sponsors Your Employment Pass
• Why the Singapore Job Market Feels Impossible for Expats
• Pricing and credits