The family office principal track under ONE Pass and GIP describes two separate but related Singapore immigration routes: one that lets a senior family office employee obtain a personal work pass on a high salary threshold, and one that lets an investor obtain permanent residence by capitalising a qualifying family office fund vehicle. Many principals end up navigating both.
Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
What is the ONE Pass route for a family office principal?
The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass, commonly called ONE Pass, is a personal work pass introduced for top-tier professionals, and a family office principal, chief investment officer or senior portfolio manager working inside a Singapore single family office is one of the categories that regularly qualifies. The distinguishing feature of ONE Pass, compared with a standard Employment Pass, is that it is assessed on a fixed monthly salary benchmark rather than the COMPASS points framework. There is no COMPASS points assessment for ONE Pass applicants; instead, the Ministry of Manpower looks at whether the applicant’s fixed monthly salary meets or exceeds the prevailing benchmark, which is broadly around S$30,000 a month, or roughly S$360,000 a year, though this figure is periodically revised by MOM and applicants should always check the current published threshold before relying on it. Because ONE Pass is a work pass tied to an employment relationship, it sits within the same statutory framework as an Employment Pass: section 7 of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 governs the application process for work passes in Singapore, the statutory framework under which Employment Pass and ONE Pass approvals are issued by the Controller of Work Passes. In practice, this means the principal is the pass holder, the family office is (or in some structures, a related entity is) the sponsoring employer, and the pass is personal to that individual’s role rather than tied to any capital they may separately be investing.
What is the GIP route (Option A) for a family office principal?
The Global Investor Programme, or GIP, is an entirely different mechanism: it is a route to Singapore permanent residence for investors, not a work pass. Option A under GIP requires the applicant to invest a minimum of S$10 million into a new business entity or expansion of an existing business operation, and for family office principals this is most commonly structured as a capital injection into a new or existing Singapore-based single family office fund vehicle. The applicant here is not applying as an employee seeking a personal work pass; they are applying as an investor whose family office fund, once operational, typically seeks to qualify for a tax incentive scheme. Section 13O of the Income Tax Act 1947 (and, for larger fund sizes, section 13U) establishes the tax exemption scheme for qualifying funds managed by a Singapore-based fund manager, the incentive scheme many single family offices supporting a Global Investor Programme application are structured to qualify for. The company formation and corporate secretarial steps behind setting up this vehicle, including the fund entity, the fund management company, and the various filings needed at each stage, are a substantial workstream in their own right; a detailed walkthrough of that process is set out at the company formation and secretarial steps behind Option A, which is worth reading before committing to a structure.
How do the ONE Pass and GIP tracks interact for the same individual?
This is the question that trips up most applicants, because the two tracks answer different problems and are not mutually exclusive. A person can be, at the same time, the investor who capitalises the family office fund under GIP Option A and the working principal who draws a salary and runs the office day to day. In that scenario, it is common to see the GIP application proceed on the strength of the S$10 million investment into the fund vehicle, entirely independent of any employment arrangement, while a separate ONE Pass application is filed for that same person’s personal work pass so they have lawful authorisation to work in Singapore while the GIP application, which typically takes longer, is still under review. The two applications are assessed by different arms of government against entirely different criteria: ONE Pass by the Controller of Work Passes against the salary benchmark, and GIP by Singapore’s Economic Development Board against the investment and business plan. Some principals take a sequential approach instead: they enter Singapore first on ONE Pass to run the office and establish a track record, then pursue GIP later once the family’s investment structure and capital commitment are fully in place. Either way, holding ONE Pass does not advance or substitute for a GIP application, and vice versa; each must independently satisfy its own requirements. Readers who want a granular breakdown of where people commonly go wrong when trying to run both applications together should see the companion article on common mistakes and re-submissions on this track, which covers sequencing errors and documentation pitfalls in more depth than this FAQ format allows.
What are the eligibility and documentation requirements for ONE Pass and GIP?
For ONE Pass, the core eligibility test is the fixed monthly salary benchmark described above, supported by proof of the salary offer, the applicant’s employment history, and evidence of the family office’s operations in Singapore. There is generally no minimum educational qualification requirement in the way a standard Employment Pass might weigh COMPASS criteria, though a strong professional track record in investment management, private banking or a related field is expected as a matter of practice. For GIP Option A, the requirements are substantially more involved: a detailed business and investment plan for the family office fund, proof of the source of the S$10 million in investible capital, a track record of business or investment experience, and typically engagement with the Economic Development Board’s appointed advisers before formal submission. Applicants relocating from certain jurisdictions face additional documentation nuances; for example, UK-domiciled individuals moving to Singapore following the 2025 non-dom reform have their own set of tax-exit and documentation considerations that overlap with, but are distinct from, the family office application itself, and these are addressed in detail in the article on documents required for UK non-doms moving to Singapore after the 2025 reform. Both tracks also require standard personal documentation: passport, education certificates, employment references and, where applicable, corporate documents for the sponsoring or investee entity.
What do the cost and timeline look like for ONE Pass and GIP applications?
The two tracks differ sharply in both capital outlay and processing time, and applicants should plan for both rather than assume one figure covers the whole exercise.
- ONE Pass: no minimum investment requirement, since it is a work pass rather than an investment route; the applicant needs only to meet the fixed monthly salary benchmark of broadly S$30,000 a month. Processing typically takes several weeks from a complete submission, though complex cases or requests for additional information can extend this.
- GIP Option A: a minimum investment of S$10 million into the qualifying family office fund vehicle, plus the professional costs of structuring the fund, the fund management company, and the ongoing compliance obligations that come with running a licensed or registered fund manager in Singapore. Processing for GIP-linked applications typically runs to roughly 8-12 weeks once the investment plan and supporting documents are complete, though the Economic Development Board’s own review and any requests for clarification can lengthen this considerably, sometimes stretching well beyond 12 weeks for more complex fund structures.
- Initial pass validity: ONE Pass is generally granted for an initial period of 5 years, which is notably longer than a standard Employment Pass, reflecting its design for established senior professionals.
Applicants should also budget for legal, tax and corporate secretarial fees on the GIP side, which can be substantial given the complexity of setting up and maintaining a compliant single family office structure, and for the periodic revision of the ONE Pass salary benchmark, which MOM reviews from time to time.
Can dependants join the principal under ONE Pass or GIP?
Dependant’s Pass eligibility for spouses and children is available under both tracks, though the mechanics differ slightly. Under ONE Pass, because it sits within the broader Employment Pass framework, the principal’s spouse and unmarried children below the prevailing age limit are generally eligible for Dependant’s Passes once the principal’s own pass is approved, following the same general framework that applies to Employment Pass holders under section 7 of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990. Under GIP, dependant eligibility runs through the permanent residence application itself rather than through a separate work pass mechanism: spouses and unmarried children under the prevailing age threshold can typically be included as dependants in the same PR application, subject to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s assessment of each dependant individually. Parents are generally not covered as dependants under either route without a separate, distinct pass application, and applicants who are relying on both tracks for the same family should map out early which family members are covered under which application, since duplicating a dependant across both an Employment Pass framework Dependant’s Pass and a GIP-linked PR application is unnecessary and can cause confusion during processing.
How does renewal work for ONE Pass and GIP-linked passes?
ONE Pass renewal follows a straightforward pattern: the initial grant is for 5 years, and renewal at the end of that period requires the principal to continue meeting the prevailing salary benchmark and to demonstrate continued employment in a role consistent with the pass’s original basis. Because GIP results in permanent residence rather than a renewable work pass, the concept of “renewal” works differently: PR status itself does not expire in the way a work pass does, but the underlying investment commitment that supported the GIP application is expected to be maintained, and the family office fund vehicle is expected to continue operating and, where relevant, to keep satisfying the conditions attached to its section 13O or 13U tax incentive status. If the qualifying investment is withdrawn or the fund ceases to meet its conditions shortly after PR is granted, this can raise questions during any subsequent government touchpoint, even though it does not automatically revoke PR. Principals holding both a ONE Pass and a GIP-linked PR status for different family members, or transitioning from one to the other over time, should keep clear records of which conditions attach to which status.
Does either track lead to long-term PR eligibility in Singapore?
GIP is, by definition, a permanent residence route, so a successful Option A application results in PR directly, subject to the Economic Development Board’s endorsement and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s final approval. ONE Pass, by contrast, does not itself confer PR; it is a work pass, and a ONE Pass holder who wishes to obtain PR must make a separate application through the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s usual channels. Singapore PR is assessed case by case, with no fixed waiting period guaranteed and no published formula that determines the outcome. That said, sustained residence in Singapore, a stable and senior employment history such as time spent on ONE Pass, and, where applicable, a demonstrated investment commitment through a family office structure, are commonly cited as favourable factors in how such applications are viewed, though none of this should be read as a guarantee of any particular outcome or timeframe. Applicants who want an authoritative, non-promotional read on the incentive framework underpinning the fund side of this can review guidance published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore at www.mas.gov.sg, while questions on the tax treatment of a qualifying fund are best checked against the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s own materials at www.iras.gov.sg.
FAQs
Is it possible to hold a ONE Pass and also be the investor behind a GIP-linked family office fund at the same time?
Yes. These are two independent applications assessed on different criteria, so the same individual can, in principle, be the salaried working principal on ONE Pass while also being the qualifying investor for the GIP Option A fund, provided each application separately satisfies its own requirements.
Does the ONE Pass salary benchmark ever change?
Yes, the fixed monthly salary benchmark for ONE Pass, broadly around S$30,000 a month, is periodically reviewed and revised by MOM, so applicants should confirm the current figure before submitting an application rather than relying on a figure quoted in an older article or advertisement.
Can the S$10 million GIP investment be spread across more than one family office fund?
Generally no; the S$10 million minimum is assessed against the single qualifying investment structure put forward in the application, and splitting capital across multiple unrelated vehicles is more likely to complicate rather than strengthen a submission. Specific structuring questions are best directed to a qualified adviser, such as one sourced through the Law Society of Singapore at www.lawsociety.org.sg.
If the ONE Pass application is filed while the GIP application is still pending, does one affect the other?
Not directly. They are processed by different authorities against different tests, so a delay or query on one does not automatically stall the other, although applicants sometimes choose to sequence their submissions deliberately for practical reasons such as cash flow, documentation readiness or personal relocation timing.
Where can I find more detail on the mistakes people make trying to run both tracks together?
A dedicated companion article covers this in depth, including sequencing errors, documentation duplication and timing missteps that recur across applications of this kind.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.