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EP secondary directorship LOC: primary-employer consent pack
Companion to EP / incorporation — when a board seat at a related company needs MOM Letter of Consent, ACRA relatedness checks, primary-employer written consent, and why shareholding alone is not moonlighting clearance.
Parents: Employment Pass · incorporating as a foreigner. Founder fork: EntrePass vs resident director. This companion is the EP employee board-seat layer Reddit collapses into “I’ll just add myself as director of the side Pte Ltd.”
LOC is the product — not the ACRA filing
MOM’s secondary-directorship path is for appointing an EP holder from a related company onto another company’s board — with the primary employer’s consent and a Letter of Consent. ACRA registration alone does not authorise you to work that second entity.
| Folklore | Safer reading |
|---|---|
| “Shareholder = I can direct the co” | Shareholding ≠ work authorisation on EP |
| “Unpaid advisory is always fine” | Unpaid charity boards are a different FAQ; paid commercial seats need the LOC path |
| “Related means same industry WhatsApp” | Relatedness must show in ACRA shareholding / group records MOM can verify |
| “HR nodded on Slack” | Keep written primary-employer consent for the LOC file |
Consent pack before you accept the seat
- Confirm the appointing company is related on ACRA (group / shareholding), not a friend’s startup.
- Get primary employer consent in writing (who, role, paid/unpaid, meeting load).
- File / hold the LOC before you act as director in Singapore.
- Track LOC validity against the underlying EP — EP cancel kills the LOC story.
- Do not invoice Singapore clients through the side co as “director fees” without checking side income.
Decision rule
Primary EP + related ACRA entity + written consent + LOC — miss any one and treat the board seat as blocked, not “pending paperwork vibes.”
Sources & citations
Admin and policy details change. Prefer the official page when making decisions; we cite primary sources for Singapore government and statutory guidance.
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