The short answer
A Singapore company that wants to hire an Indonesian professional has two routes. Bring the person to Singapore on an Employment Pass or S Pass, and meet the 2026 salary floors, the COMPASS test and, for S Pass, the levy and quota. Or employ the person in Indonesia, through your own entity or an employer of record, at an Indonesian salary with Indonesian statutory costs and no pass at all. The first route is for roles that must be on Singapore soil. The second is for every other role, and it is the one most Singapore companies searching “hiring Indonesian in Singapore” have not costed.
Route one: bring them to Singapore on a work pass
The Ministry of Manpower’s framework for 2026, as published and reported at the time of writing, sets the floors below. They rise with the candidate’s age, and they change; confirm the current figures on mom.gov.sg before you make an offer.
Requirement | Employment Pass | S Pass |
|---|---|---|
Minimum fixed monthly salary, 2026 | S$5,600 (S$6,200 financial services), rising with age | S$3,300 (S$3,800 financial services) for new applications, rising with age |
Points test | At least 40 COMPASS points across salary, qualifications, diversity and local employment, plus bonus criteria | None |
Quota | None | 10% of total workforce in services; 15% in most other sectors |
Foreign worker levy | None | S$650 a month per holder, paid by the employer |
CPF | Not payable for pass holders; Skills Development Levy applies | Not payable for pass holders; Skills Development Levy applies |
From 1 January 2027 | Floor rises to S$6,000 (S$6,600 financial services) | Floor rises to S$3,600 (S$4,000 financial services) |
On top of the pass sit relocation, a Singapore salary that has to cover Singapore rent, and the candidate’s willingness to move. For a regional sales lead who must sit with clients in Raffles Place, that is the right price to pay. For an analyst, an engineer, an accountant or a marketer who will work from a laptop, it is a premium for geography.
Route two: employ them in Indonesia
The same person, employed in Jakarta, is one hour behind Singapore and a ninety-minute flight away. Employing them there means an Indonesian professional salary, employer BPJS contributions of roughly 10.24% to 11.74% of gross, one additional month a year as THR, and a compliant PKWTT contract in Bahasa Indonesia. If your company has a PT or PT PMA, you employ them directly. If it does not, an employer of record employs them for you: it signs the contract, registers them with BPJS, runs payroll and PPh 21 in its own name, and you direct the work. Published employer of record fees run from USD 199 to 699 per employee per month across the market; MixWork’s is USD 249 with Total Care 360 included. Our complete guide to employer of record in Indonesia and our Indonesia versus Singapore hiring comparison carry the detail.
What you cannot do is the thing many small Singapore companies do first: pay the person as a freelancer for a full-time role. An Indonesian national working set hours under your direction for one client is an employee in substance, and reclassification arrives with back-dated BPJS, tax, THR and severance exposure. Our contractor guide explains where the line sits.
The two routes side by side
Factor | Work pass in Singapore | Employed in Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
Salary basis | Singapore market, at or above the pass floor | Indonesian market, at or above the city minimum wage |
Statutory employer costs | Skills Development Levy; S$650 monthly levy for S Pass; no CPF | BPJS about 11% of gross; THR one month a year |
Approvals | MOM pass application, COMPASS for EP, quota for S Pass | None beyond Indonesian employment registration |
Time to start | Pass processing plus relocation; typically weeks to a few months | One to three weeks through an employer of record once the candidate is chosen |
Time-zone overlap | Full | Full; Jakarta is one hour behind Singapore |
Where it is the right answer | Roles that must be physically in Singapore | Everything else |
Who you are actually hiring
The Jakarta professional class is the deepest in Southeast Asia, and the cohort worth targeting has spent its career inside multinationals and global agencies. The professionals MixWork places average around six years of experience, are typically educated at Indonesia’s top ten universities, and use English at near-native level in the way that matters: they write to clients, present to stakeholders and run meetings without anyone reviewing their work first. Every placement works with AI tools daily as standard. Twelve-month retention across our placements runs above 90%, which is the figure that decides whether the Indonesian salary saving survives the first year.
Where MixWork fits
MixWork is a Singapore company with an office in Jakarta, built for exactly this decision. We recruit mid-career Indonesian professionals with multinational backgrounds, screen and verify them, and employ the one you choose as a full-time permanent employee through our employer of record from USD 249 per employee per month. Total Care 360 is included: a named HR manager in Jakarta, monthly check-in calls with the employee and with you, engagement and dispute resolution, and performance and attendance monitoring. Dedicated desks in our own Jakarta office, managed devices and Flex Benefits are published add-ons. We do not sponsor Singapore work passes; if the role has to be in Singapore, that is a conversation with MOM and your corporate secretary, not with us.
General information current as at 11 September 2026. Singapore pass thresholds, levies and quotas are as published and reported at the time of writing and change; confirm on mom.gov.sg. Indonesian employment figures should be confirmed with qualified Indonesian counsel before you rely on them.
