Moving to Singapore from Australia

More than S$31,000 a month: MOM's Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass asks for a fixed monthly salary (to be safe, have more than S$31,000 a month, or the equivalent in a foreign currency) for the 12 consecutive months before you apply, earned at an established company: market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or annual revenue of at least US$200 million. To be safe, plan for more than S$31,000 a month. At the European Central Bank's rate of 15 October 2026, that is about A$35,000. You can apply from outside Singapore and do not need a Singapore job offer. MOM says most cases take within 4 weeks.

Submit the free SG Arrival Card within three days before you arrive; your passport must be valid for six months, and you may be asked for evidence of enough funds and a confirmed onward or return ticket. The High Commission lists a visa fee of A$35 (plus an A$77 agent fee) only for people who do need a visa. The authority says visit pass holders may not do any paid or unpaid employment or run a business unless they hold a work pass or do a work pass exempt activity; attending company meetings, conferences and training as a participant is allowed without notifying MOM. MOM says that people who hold a stay pass such as a Dependant's Pass do not need a work pass to work for an overseas employer, but we found no official page that says the same for a visitor, so remote work on a visit pass is unconfirmed: ask MOM before you plan around it. An extension is applied for online when 14 days or fewer remain, ICA decides the length, and a fee of S$40 applies once the stay reaches 90 days.

Every other route needs a Singapore employer or business. An Employment Pass is applied for by a Singapore employer and, for new applications before 1 January 2027, needs a salary test of about S$5,600 to S$10,700 a month depending on age (to be safe, have more than S$11,000 if you are 45 or over), plus a points test. From 1 January 2027 the salary test is about S$6,000 to S$11,500 a month depending on age; to be safe, have more than S$12,000 if you are 45 or over. The Personalised Employment Pass needs a higher monthly salary (to be safe, have more than S$23,000), excludes freelancers and needs continuous employment in Singapore. The EntrePass is for a Singapore start-up that has raised funding (to be safe, more than S$110,000) or has accelerator backing. Tech.Pass stops taking applications on 28 January 2027. The Global Investor Programme, which grants permanent residence, starts at a large investment (to be safe, more than S$11 million). MOM says an employer of record cannot sponsor a pass so that you can stay in Singapore while working for an overseas company. MOM's ONE Pass eligibility page sets no condition on nationality. The Employment Pass points test gives more points the smaller the share of the employer's professionals who share your nationality. The Work Holiday Pass, open to undergraduates and graduates aged 18 to 25 of recognised Australian universities, lasts up to 6 months.

MOM says most ONE Pass applications are decided within 4 weeks. The fee is S$105 per pass when you apply and S$225 when the pass is issued, plus S$30 for a Multiple Journey Visa if it applies. If you are approved, you get an in-principle approval letter and then have to make an appointment to have the pass issued in Singapore. Each year, by 31 January, you notify MOM of your professional activities and income for the year before.

IRAS says income for services rendered in Singapore is taxable, including for people who work for a foreign employer, even if the pay is not received in Singapore. Overseas income received in Singapore is generally not taxable, but IRAS lists working in Singapore for a foreign employer among the exceptions. A non-resident who works in Singapore for 60 days or less in a calendar year is exempt on those earnings, and every day you are in Singapore counts if you travel in for business. If you freelance, IRAS looks at where the activities that earn the income are based.

A non-resident employee who stays or works 61 to 182 days pays the higher of a flat 15% or the resident rates, and other non-resident income is taxed at 24%.

We found no IRAS page that settles the case of a freelancer on a visit pass, so ask IRAS or an adviser.

As a citizen you cannot cash out super because you move: the departing Australia superannuation payment is for temporary residents who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents. If you have a HELP, VET Student Loan or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan, you must still repay it: submit an overseas travel notification within 7 days of leaving if you intend to be away 183 days or more in any 12 months, and report your worldwide income each year (the deadline is 31 October). If you get Age Pension, the pension supplement drops to the basic rate after 6 weeks away and the energy supplement stops, and after 26 weeks the rate depends on how long you were an Australian resident between 16 and Age Pension age; with 10 years you would get 10/35ths of the usual rate in most cases. This is a mechanism, not your bill.

Keep it from your first arrival, because the pass type does not change either count.

Stamp duty on a lease of four years or less is 0.4% of the total rent. CEA warns that payment is not required to secure a viewing or a rental, and that payments should go to the owner, not the agent.