# I need some info about company incorporation & EP



## kourosh

I have a question please help me.

I wanna know how much the minimum paid up capital of a company should be for apply EP for foreigner in Singapore.
In Malaysia, minimum paid up capital for a company must be RM 500k when a foreigner wanna apply work permit visa.
Is there any particular and similar rules in singapore?

Your cooperation highly appreciated.


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## simonsays

Singapore doesn't have a fixed value, else people will abuse the system to get EP and more .. 

Best is to look for corporate secretarial companies, who can advice you and help incorporate as well as advice on the minimum for qualifying for EP, based on their past experiences.

They don't come cheap though.

are you in Singapore ?

And out of curiosity, why Singapore ?


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## Singapore Saint

kourosh said:


> I have a question please help me.
> 
> I wanna know how much the minimum paid up capital of a company should be for apply EP for foreigner in Singapore.
> In Malaysia, minimum paid up capital for a company must be RM 500k when a foreigner wanna apply work permit visa.
> Is there any particular and similar rules in singapore?
> 
> Your cooperation highly appreciated.


The minimum paid up capital is currently $1, but a higher amount will give you greater credibility and show that its a serious company and not just a ruse to get an EP. 

I set up a company 2yrs ago in Singapore with minimal paid-up capital, certainly an amount that most people walk around with in their wallets, but I was already living in Singapore on a Dependent's Pass and the company was structured with a Singaporean PR as a fellow Director, along with another shareholder based in the UK, which possibly helped to show that it was a serious company.

Admittedly I can't remember the exact details / order of events for the process but if you are going for a low/ minimum paid up capital at the beginning and are not currently living or working in Singapore, submitting a copy of your business plan with your EP application may help your cause.

There are many companies around who can help, 2 seconds on Google will find you one. As Ecurelix says, they don't come cheap and it's worth looking down the list of companies that appear on your search.. I used one of the well-known ones in Singapore and total costs came to around SGD$6k, including the cost of drafting the shareholders agreement, and any paid-up capital would obviously need to be added to this amount.


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## kourosh

Thanks dear Singapore Saint,

Could you tell me which company secretary did your application. 
Is there different charge fee between the company with $1 and $20k paid up capital. I mean company secretary ask for more if a company has high paid up capital.

Last I checked there are 3 kind of EP: P1 - P2 - Q1
Which kind of EP do they give me when I'll apply EP base on my own company?


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## kourosh

ecureilx said:


> Singapore doesn't have a fixed value, else people will abuse the system to get EP and more ..
> 
> Best is to look for corporate secretarial companies, who can advice you and help incorporate as well as advice on the minimum for qualifying for EP, based on their past experiences.
> 
> They don't come cheap though.
> 
> are you in Singapore ?
> 
> And out of curiosity, why Singapore ?


Im not living in Singapore, Im in KL now. I would like to come to Singapore cause I guess it quite similar with Malaysia.
What is the PR benefits for foreigners?
What conditions are there for conversion PR to Singapore Passport?


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## simonsays

kourosh: I am not sure if you want me to answer, but here I goes anyway

The passes are based on your fixed salary + your qualification.

You can't choose, for example, if you are a diploma holder and insist on P1

P1 has higher perk, and P2 lesser, and Q1 even lesser

Employment Pass - Before you apply - Ministry of Manpower

Company secretaries asking for me - it is common, as they assume if you put up more paid up capital, you have deeper pockets. 

In any case, MOM is very careful with 'visa of convenience', so, if you put up a 2 $ company and then hope for a EP, you are in for a long wait.

On the other hand, a ball park figure is about 50,000 or more paid up.

Again, those are not cast in stone, so, MOM has every reason to speed up your EP or slow it down.

One option would be to work with EDB or look up at Contact Singapore - Launch a bright future in Singapore!


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## simonsays

kourosh said:


> Im not living in Singapore, Im in KL now. I would like to come to Singapore cause I guess it quite similar with Malaysia.
> What is the PR benefits for foreigners?
> What conditions are there for conversion PR to Singapore Passport?


For PR, not the terms are stricter:

3 years in EP before being eligible for PR.

Then atleast 2 years on PR being being eligible for Citizenship

Unlike other countries, you don't 'convert' your passport here ..


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## kourosh

Thanks a lot dear ecureilx 

I didnt mean to convert my passport, I mean Singapore passport as second passport. after I can take citizenship can I apply Singapore passport as my second passport.

I have bachelor degree but I don't wanna put my salary $8k cause I shuold pay more tax. Also I dont want show to high paid up capital. In other hand I dont want my application be in long time process with MOM or rejected. So what's your recomend. 
Actually, I want with the reasonable salary and paid up capital I can get my EP in the shortest time.


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## simonsays

Singapore don't allow dual citizenship ..   Case close .. 

About the pay, well, majority of the foreigners earn below 8K, and you can join the queue

Or place higher, and pay tax, and maybe overtake the lot ...

Paid up capital / pay has not much relevance to EP processing time.

If MOM doubts your credentials, they can sit on it for months while their detectives verify the information. .


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## Singapore Saint

kourosh said:


> Thanks dear Singapore Saint,
> 
> Could you tell me which company secretary did your application.
> Is there different charge fee between the company with $1 and $20k paid up capital. I mean company secretary ask for more if a company has high paid up capital.
> 
> Last I checked there are 3 kind of EP: P1 - P2 - Q1
> Which kind of EP do they give me when I'll apply EP base on my own company?


I think I'm allowed to give the company name, apologies to the Mods if not, but I used Rikvin - they did a good job, made it all very easy, but I know they were more expensive than others.

I don't believe that the amount of paid-up capital makes any difference to the charges. The Company Secretary has a legal role to play in the administration side of the company, which has nothing to do with the amount of capital, revenue, profitability etc.

Adding to what Ecurelix said about the types of pass available to you, as well as being determined by your qualifications, it is also dependant on the salary you will pay yourself and also your age. I think the figures have been recently updated and I don't have them to hand, but I think a P1 required a $7500 monthly salary a couple of years ago while a Q1 was around $3k for younger applicants, more for older ones.


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## simonsays

Singapore Saint said:


> I don't believe that the amount of paid-up capital makes any difference to the charges. The Company Secretary has a legal role to play in the administration side of the company, which has nothing to do with the amount of capital, revenue, profitability etc.


Well, this being Singapore, all want a 'sliding scale' of charges 

The higher the paid up, the higher or slightly higher will the agency ask, as fees .. seen it .. but you can always negotiate .. 

Oh, it is better to put maximum at the incorporation than wait it out and then put in, as there is some delay between the initial vs the amount to reflected in ROCS



> Adding to what Ecurelix said about the types of pass available to you, as well as being determined by your qualifications, it is also dependant on the salary you will pay yourself and also your age. I think the figures have been recently updated and I don't have them to hand, but I think a P1 required a $7500 monthly salary a couple of years ago while a Q1 was around $3k for younger applicants, more for older ones.


New salary scales, as per the MOM link I posted..

P1 Employment Pass 

* Fixed monthly salary ≥ $8,000*
Possesses acceptable qualifications

P2 Employment Pass 

* Fixed monthly salary ≥ $4,500*
Possesses acceptable qualifications

Q1 Employment Pass 

* Young graduates from good institutions could qualify if they earn at least $3,000*
Older applicants would have to command higher salaries to qualify, commensurate with the work experience and quality they are expected to bring

Note the words: Possesses acceptable qualifications

hence the disclaimer that declaring and paying yourself a higher pay doesn't guarantee an EP.

The only exception is if you incorporate a company, with atleast 6 Zeros ..in paid up capital ..


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## kourosh

Singapore Saint said:


> I think I'm allowed to give the company name, apologies to the Mods if not, but I used Rikvin - they did a good job, made it all very easy, but I know they were more expensive than others.
> 
> I don't believe that the amount of paid-up capital makes any difference to the charges. The Company Secretary has a legal role to play in the administration side of the company, which has nothing to do with the amount of capital, revenue, profitability etc.
> 
> Adding to what Ecurelix said about the types of pass available to you, as well as being determined by your qualifications, it is also dependant on the salary you will pay yourself and also your age. I think the figures have been recently updated and I don't have them to hand, but I think a P1 required a $7500 monthly salary a couple of years ago while a Q1 was around $3k for younger applicants, more for older ones.


Thanks for replaying me.

I wanna work with Rikvin, but I found the cheaper price of them when I checked their site than your price that they charged you. 
I wonder, there is some hiding cost.


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## Singapore Saint

kourosh said:


> Thanks for replaying me.
> 
> I wanna work with Rikvin, but I found the cheaper price of them when I checked their site than your price that they charged you.
> I wonder, there is some hiding cost.


$3k+ was the Shareholders' agreement which has to be done through a law firm, not Rikvin, all of the other charges were standard.


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## kourosh

Singapore Saint said:


> $3k+ was the Shareholders' agreement which has to be done through a law firm, not Rikvin, all of the other charges were standard.


What's a law firm?!


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## Singapore Saint

kourosh said:


> What's a law firm?!


Well, mine probably isn't a dictionary definition, but it's a legal firm, a firm of lawyers, etc, who are authorised to draft up legally binding documents...


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## kourosh

Sorry I ask a lot of questions, cause I dont get your meaning.
We are in the company 1 shareholder + 1 resident director. So, is it for local director?


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## Singapore Saint

kourosh said:


> Sorry I ask a lot of questions, cause I dont get your meaning.
> We are in the company 1 shareholder + 1 resident director. So, is it for local director?


Sorry, you'll need to speak to either the Incorporation Company you are going to use or a law firm.. I'm no expert - I know the details regarding my company structure but I don't know the requirements for what you are looking for.

I guess it may be possible to avoid having a shareholders' agreement if there is only one shareholder, as the agreement will typically state what happens if one shareholder wishes to dispose of their shares, what happens to the shares should the shareholder die, it makes sure that one shareholder can't just close down the business, etc, but please confirm this with your Incorporation Company.


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## simonsays

sbsgroupsg said:


> If you are applying for an EntrePass in Singapore then your proposed business needs to meet some specific criteria. According to MOM funding from an accredited source, intellectual property, research collaboration or being an incubatee are few of these criteria. You become liable for an EntrePass if
> You already have or intend to Start a private limited company in Singapore registered with ACRA
> 
> If your business is already registered then it needs to be more than six months old
> 
> If your business is not registered then you will have to wait for the outcome of your application before registering the business
> 
> Your proposed business, or already registered business must possess more than $50,000 in paid-up capital stacked in a Singaporean bank account. In order to get your EntrePass approved, you will have to submit a bank statement of Singapore based bank reflecting said amount.
> 
> If you have registered business with ACRA, the it is necessary that you hold at least 30% shares of the company.
> 
> Apart from that, the chances of getting your EntrePass increase if your business fulfills any one of the below mentioned merit
> 
> Your incorporated business receives funding from government accredited VC or business angel.
> 
> Your company possesses any kind of intellectual property rights
> 
> Your company has a research collaboration with A*Star or a university.
> 
> Your business is an incubatee at a government supported incubator.


unless you are trying to promote your business. . I am sure in the past 3 years the OP has resolved their questions !


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## petejoest

*Paid Up Capital*

If you want to establish a private limited company and apply for your EP under that company in the future, from my personal experience I'd recommend a minimum of 50K SGD in paid up capital. Get a nominee director first and apply for your EP a few months later. Hope that helps.


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## MADstud

my friend was using this ACA to help him set up his company. You may want to consider...just search google and you can find.

No links to not flout the forum rules though.


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