PEP and EP Issue

[DrewT]

I was due to fly to Australia for work commitments for one week. Then I realized that my PEP will expire while I am away, I never checked the expiry date.

I went to HR and and was told because I no longer qualify for a PEP I need to move over to an EP and therefore need to do the whole application process all over again.

Then I found out that MOM had screwed up my name and had my surname and first name reversed.

So it is going to take 1 week to fix the name issue and at least another week for the new EP application to be processed.

I guess my question is two fold.

Can I leave Singapore and return with an expired PEP? What will happen if anything?

If I wait until the PEP is cancelled can I travel outside Singapore and return a week later?

Is there any way around this?

HR has advised me to stay in Singapore and the worse thing is that they are going to remove me from the payroll until my new pass is completed. Then I have to sign a new contract with them. This is a nightmare. No salary for a few weeks.

[Barnsley]

This had me looking at my pass.

My first name and surname are the opposite to what I expected.

I have surname first.

Its not caused me any issues in 6 years.

Is it likely to?

[DrewT]

I have been in Singapore for 10 years and this has only just come up.
My company is using an agent to renew the EP and he picked it up.

On my PEP my surname is first , it should be the other way around.
I takes at least a week to sort that out.

[gailwynand]

Surname is first on both my pass, and my wife's pass.

MOM asked for the name as in passport, and on my passport (US passport) the surname comes first, so that's what they got.

I really doubt it matters to anyone considering the wide variance in naming practices in these parts..

[the lynx]

If I were you, I wouldn't be so worried about the order of the name. Having Asian surname, mine get mixed up between MOM, ICA and other government agencies anyway.

You should concentrate on having your transfer from PEP and EP done.

If you're able to get the application approved before you're due to come back to Singapore, have the agent to e-mail you the IPA so that you can show it to the immigration when you return. Then proceed to the normal EP procedures (medical, thumb print etc).