The first answers on setting up a company (Pte. Ltd.) in Singapore, on the pass or consent you need to work in it, and on what it costs, so you know what you need before you call an agency to set it up.
Yes. A foreigner can own 100% of a Singapore private limited company and be its director. Three conditions apply: a registered corporate service provider must file the registration for you, the company needs at least one locally resident director, and you need a work pass before you may work in it.
Starting a small business in Singapore follows the same four steps as a larger one. A one-person company has the same requirements and the same filings, only less to keep track of.
Which permission lets you work in your own company, and who is the resident director on day one.
An agency files with ACRA. You decide which of their other services you need.
Pass issued, Singpass and Corppass, business bank account.
Monthly salary and levy, basic bookkeeping, then the year-end filings.
Government fees are S$315 to register the company. Everything else is what an agency charges for filing, company secretary, registered address and, until you can be the resident director yourself, a nominee director.
| Official fee | S$ | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Company name and registration | 315 | ACRA, once |
| Employment Pass application and issuance | 330 | MOM, per pass |
| Annual return | 60 | ACRA, every year |
The company itself is registered in two to three working days. The pass and the bank account take longer. How long depends on your situation and on when you arrive, so allow a couple of months.
A business owner can hold an Employment Pass sponsored by their own company. The company must pay you a fixed monthly salary of at least S$5,600, more with age, and the application must score 40 points under MOM's COMPASS system.
Only until someone on your board is locally resident. Most foreign founders use a nominee from registration until their own pass is issued, then remove them.
Yes, with a Letter of Consent from MOM. You must be a sole proprietor, a partner, or a company director holding at least 30% of the shares, and you may only start operating once you hold the letter.
A small monthly levy on every salary, including a foreign director's: 0.25% of wages, between S$2 and S$11.25 per employee.
This site gives you the first answers. The Founder Guide takes you through the whole first year, step by step, in plain language and with what I learned doing it myself.
Agencies sell payroll, bookkeeping and other add-ons by the month or the year. If the guide saves you two or three months of a service you did not need, or a single unnecessary add-on, it has already paid for itself. And you go into every call with an agency knowing what to ask.
The same way as any company: an agency registers a private limited company for you, the company needs one locally resident director, and you need a pass or consent that lets you work in it. There is no simpler company form reserved for small businesses run by foreigners.
Yes. On a Dependant's Pass the route into your own company is different, through a Letter of Consent, and the guides cover it. After that the steps are the same: registering the company, the bank account, salary, bookkeeping and year end. As a Permanent Resident you can skip the parts about passes and the nominee director; everything about running the company and closing the year applies to you unchanged.
Only if that foreigner is locally resident, for example on an Employment Pass or ONE Pass. Otherwise a second, locally resident director is needed.
No meeting is needed. A private company can skip the annual general meeting if its financial statements reach every shareholder within five months of year end, and a sole director decides by written resolution.
Not at the start. Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in a calendar year, or when signed contracts show it will in the next 12 months. Below that you may register voluntarily: you then charge GST and can reclaim the GST on your own costs, and you must stay registered for at least two years. Until you are registered you do not charge GST and cannot reclaim it.
Not if the waiver applies. A company with annual revenue of S$5 million or less and nil estimated chargeable income does not need to file ECI, and does not need to tell IRAS.
A small private company is exempt from audit and may prepare its own unaudited financial statements. The director signs them and is responsible for them.
Within seven months of the financial year end for a private company. The corporate tax return is separate and due on 30 November of the following year.
I'm Dina. I moved to Singapore from Germany, set up Vickermann Media Pte. Ltd. in 2025, got my Employment Pass through it and closed the first financial year myself. Everything on this site is something I had to find out, usually by asking twice.
I do not sell incorporation packages and I do not file anything for you. Where the official rules are unclear, I say so and link to the source.
My day job is a different one: through Nearby Impact I help businesses get found on Google with their Google Business Profile. For me that was the next step after the setup: as soon as my company had its address, I created its Google Business Profile. That is the box that appears on the right-hand side of Google Search when someone looks for your company, and your entry on Google Maps. Many founders do not realise it exists, and it is free space on Google. If your new company is at that point, that is where to find me.
Rules and figures on this site come from the authorities' own pages: ACRA for the company, MOM for passes, IRAS for tax and the CPF Board for CPF and SDL. Each guide lists the exact pages it is based on.