Visiting Singapore short-term!

[chan909]

Hey all!

So, a friend of mine from the U.S wants to visit Singapore for a few weeks/months (max. 6 months) just to see how it's like and he's hoping to, while he's here, find a job and rent out a small apartment ROOM/unit/condo instead of living out a hotel the entire time.

He'll have some savings, but generally he's hoping to rent within the budget of about $1000/mth preferably including utilities. So..yeah, a basic room alone is fine (to keep the budget goal realistic) but a unit/condo would be better.

He's 22 with like, 6 years of work experience in the deli back in the States; doesn't have any technical certification though, he just has this thing, a "liberal arts degree", and he's hoping to find a job here that will allow him to pay the rent and also still have leftovers to save!


Anyway, I'm a Singapore Citizen myself and I can put him up for a few days but I don't think it's feasible for me to do that long-term so anyway, my two questions for now are:

1) Is the budget realistic? $1000/mth for a room should be no issue, right? But how about a unit- are there any options that specifically cater to expats?

2) What jobs do you think would be applicable for his situation? Is there any good place for an unskilled worker like him to start that also pays decently?


The main concern though is the living arrangements since it's his first time visiting Singapore and I've lived here all my life so I'm not too sure what the process is for him coming over here (with regards to the living arrangements).
I won't bother you with asking for the visa requirements etc. but if there are any expats here who did a similar move here to Singapore or who can give any insight into this it would be most appreciated

Thanks in advance!


Nick

[nakatago]

You're putting the cart before the horse.

Your friend won't qualify for the lower-tier visas and the only thing he could go for is:

http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/ ... fault.aspx

[chan909]

Mmmm, I get what you mean :S

Well, alright, thanks very much, understood on the visa application but how about living arrangements?

I've searched through the classifieds and directed him to them as well but neither of us have any experience actually going through the process.

Assuming he prefers to live alone during his stay here, would it be better for him to go through an agent to find a place?
And would it be possible for him to book a unit or at least a viewing of a unit from the States, prior to coming here?

[sundaymorningstaple]

He cannot legally rent unless he hold a residency visa of one type or another. If he's here on an SVP, he can only stay in commercial properties.

[the lynx]

He cannot legally rent unless he hold a residency visa of one type or another. If he's here on an SVP, he can only stay in commercial properties.

And the commercial properties are hotels, dorms and motels. No Air BnB or couch surfing.

[chan909]

Ahh alright, I see..

Well thank you for your help everyone, so from what I can gather...the visa status is pretty important, huh.

I mean, could put him up at my place or another friend's and he can just pay for some basic amenities as a friendly favour but it says in the link that the Work Holiday Visa can last him for up to 6 months.

He probably won't stay the 6 months but yeah..would even short-term rent count as "non-commercial"?
Or alternatively, could I, as a Singapore Citizen (I'm 20 this year) short-term rent a unit for him under my name or would that be illegal if I'm not found to be staying there? Because if so I can probably bunk there with him for the duration of the rent


Also, what if he wants to backpack through Asia and Singapore is just one of the stops along the way?
Does he still need a return ticket back to the U.S to apply for the Work Holiday Pass? Because in the link it says he'll need "proof of return in the form of air, rail, ferry or coach ticket"..but a return ticket would cost almost twice as much

Thanks!

[x9200]

Ahh alright, I see..

Well thank you for your help everyone, so from what I can gather...the visa status is pretty important, huh.

I mean, could put him up at my place or another friend's and he can just pay for some basic amenities as a friendly favour but it says in the link that the Work Holiday Visa can last him for up to 6 months.

He probably won't stay the 6 months but yeah..would even short-term rent count as "non-commercial"?
Or alternatively, could I, as a Singapore Citizen (I'm 20 this year) short-term rent a unit for him under my name or would that be illegal if I'm not found to be staying there? Because if so I can probably bunk there with him for the duration of the rent


Also, what if he wants to backpack through Asia and Singapore is just one of the stops along the way?
Does he still need a return ticket back to the U.S to apply for the Work Holiday Pass? Because in the link it says he'll need "proof of return in the form of air, rail, ferry or coach ticket"..but a return ticket would cost almost twice as much

Thanks!

If he gets this WHP then you don't need to worry about legality of his accommodation. If not, I think anything exceeding 3 month in one go will put yourself (if you are involved) in more risky position. On top of this, if he, while on SVP, is involved in any work, you may be in more serious trouble.

There should be no problem in buying a ticket that can be later rebooked. It is a safer and also I think cheaper option than 2 one way tickets.
The idea with backpacking around looks fine if this will take him away from Singapore for a few weeks. Probably the best approach would be him arriving hopefully with the 90 days visa granted, staying with you for less then 3 months, leaving the country to explore this part of the world, and getting back to Singapore (he may be granted 3-90 day visa at this point).

Now, if he intends to find in Singapore a regular job (WHP is only for students and such) please make him realize this will be virtually impossible. With his educational background / profile he will not get any regular work pass.

[chan909]

Oh, I see.. well alright it's good to know that at least the backpack idea works out rather in his favour in this case :p

So I guess the bottom-line then would be that this Work Holiday Pass is pretty much the best option he's gonna get, right?
I mean don't get me wrong it actually sounds perfect for the cause seeing as how the WHP will allow him to live and work here in Singapore legally for those 6 months

There's one part I didn't quite understand though.. what did you mean by "buying a ticket that can later be rebooked"?

And okay finally just to see if I've got this sequence down correctly..

First, he should download and submit the completed form provided by the Ministry of Manpower via e-mail with all the relevant soft copy documents and wait the approx. 21 days til he gets the In-Principle Approval Letter which basically notifies him of the (successful) outcome of his application.
From there, he has 3 months within which time he must make his way down to Singapore in-person with the physical documents to get his fingerprinting registration done and get his pass issued to a local address- in this case, me.

Do I have that right?

And I'm also now vaguely concerned about something else..
It says on the site that there "can only be 2,000 applicants for any point in time" and a person "cannot hold a WHP within 12 months from the submission of an application."

Does this mean that the spots are very hard-fought and it's unlikely he'll get it? And does that mean that he must wait 12 months before initiating the collection of his WHP and coming down to Singapore?...

That last one is a real stupid question I know but I don't really get the English and I guess it's supposed to mean that he cannot
have held a WHP at any point 12 months prior to this particular application but I don't want to assume if that's not what it means


Thank you very much for your prompt responses, this is helping us a great deal in planning his visit down here

[the lynx]

And I'm also now vaguely concerned about something else..
It says on the site that there "can only be 2,000 applicants for any point in time" and a person "cannot hold a WHP within 12 months from the submission of an application."

Does this mean that the spots are very hard-fought and it's unlikely he'll get it? And does that mean that he must wait 12 months before initiating the collection of his WHP and coming down to Singapore?...

That last one is a real stupid question I know but I don't really get the English and I guess it's supposed to mean that he cannot
have held a WHP at any point 12 months prior to this particular application but I don't want to assume if that's not what it means

Yes you are right. He must not have held a WHP 12 months prior to this application.

And yes it seems to be hard-fought.

[x9200]

Oh, I see.. well alright it's good to know that at
least the backpack idea works out rather in his favour in this case :p

So I guess the bottom-line then would be that this Work Holiday Pass is
pretty much the best option he's gonna get, right?

Right.

I mean don't get me wrong it actually sounds perfect for the cause
seeing as how the WHP will allow him to live and work here in Singapore
legally for those 6 months


There's one part I didn't quite understand though.. what did you mean by
"buying a ticket that can later be rebooked"?

To have a return ticket or a ticket to the next destination is the
immigration requirement. Whether they check it or not is another story
but they may do it and if the requirement is not fulfilled they may
refuse the entry. Your friend is going to go back to the States sooner
or later, why then, not to buy the return ticket? You can buy one where
it will be possible to change the return date (if necessary) so some
flexibility will be provided.

And okay finally just to see if I've got this sequence down correctly..

First, he should download and submit the completed form provided by the
Ministry of Manpower via e-mail with all the relevant soft copy
documents and wait the approx. 21 days til he gets the In-Principle
Approval Letter which basically notifies him of the (successful) outcome
of his application.

From there, he has 3 months within which time he must make his way down to Singapore in-person with the physical documents to get his
fingerprinting registration done and get his pass issued to a local
address- in this case, me.

Do I have that right?

Yep, it looks that way

And I'm also now vaguely concerned about something else..

It says on the site that there "can only be 2,000 applicants for any
point in time" and a person "cannot hold a WHP within 12 months from the
submission of an application."

Does this mean that the spots are very hard-fought and it's unlikely
he'll get it? And does that mean that he must wait 12 months before
initiating the collection of his WHP and coming down to Singapore?...

This (whether hard or not) I don't know, but there seems to be a quota (max 2000 WHPs).
The 12 months => once he has WHP granted, he can not get another one within 12 months from expiration of the previous WHP.

[chan909]

Hey good evening!

Sorry for my late response, haven't had the time recently but thank you very much for all the helpful insight

After going through the options with him and discussing everything it seems he's planning to simply come here on a social visit visa, crash at my place and some hotels and then bounce off to another part of Asia without much else but if plans change again, at least we'll be much more prepared now after spending this short time on this forum.

Thanks a bunch!
Perhaps you'll see me looking in the classifieds/property ads in months to come :p

Nick