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options for partner with a LTVP

Relocating, travelling or planning to make Singapore home? Discuss the criterias, passes or visa that is required.
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variable
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options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Tue, 23 Dec 2014 5:30 pm

good afternoon. im am a P1 EP holder, my partner(common law wife) will be relocating to Singapore in the next 2mos. i have a couple of questions, i hope the experienced folks can help us out. my partner will be looking for something productive to occupy her time...

1. i know LTVP holders cannot work unless a prospective employer secures a work permit for them, is it difficult for LTVP holders to look for employment? would anyone have any recommendations how to go about this? ive been scanning the job sites and there are very few options available. do we need to engage a recruiter for help?
2. are there communities she can join or activities she can volunteer for?

any and all feedback are most welcome.

TYVM!

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by JR8 » Tue, 23 Dec 2014 9:04 pm

variable wrote:good afternoon. im am a P1 EP holder, my partner(common law wife) will be relocating to Singapore in the next 2mos. i have a couple of questions, i hope the experienced folks can help us out. my partner will be looking for something productive to occupy her time...
1. i know LTVP holders cannot work unless a prospective employer secures a work permit for them, is it difficult for LTVP holders to look for employment? would anyone have any recommendations how to go about this? ive been scanning the job sites and there are very few options available. do we need to engage a recruiter for help?
2. are there communities she can join or activities she can volunteer for?
any and all feedback are most welcome.
TYVM!
Top hole Variable, and welcome to the forum!
1) It is no harder than not having any status, that's my impression. In other words I don't think a lot of employees here know what an LTVP is, or how to go about hiring a person who is on one. I think the situation would be that she would be job-hunting the same as if she had no status here at all. I say that as she is not entitled to an LTVP+.
1a) Without wishing to come over all gloomy but, to what extent have you established that she will get an LTVP, and on what basis? I've heard of proving a 'common law marriage' for a Dependent's pass, but not an LTVP [see/search for many previous discussions on say 'de facto marriage', or 'common law wife', and so on...].
1b) The usual advice is that recruiters are a waste of time and money. I'd suggest sorting out her status, ensuring you're 100% ready to go on that, then later consider any job-hunt.
2) Yes absolutely. It can also tie quite neatly into a social side of life too, which is no bad thing.

Good luck.
'Do it or do not do it: You will regret both' - Kierkegaard

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 9:02 am

JR8,

thank you for your response. she already has the LTVP, you are right she doesnt qualify for the LTVP+. once she settles in our next objective is to find something productive for her to do. taking language classes is an option. employment is another

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 9:38 am

Does she have a degree? This will be of primary importance as because she is not from a "traditional source" country (I'm assuming here that she is of the same nationality as you are - if she is from a select number of Asian countries she could possibly work on an WP). If my assumption is correct, then, with the stricter criteria in place now for obtaining a Letter of Consent (LoC) she will probably need to have either a degree or already have experience in the position she is attempting to obtain. For her obtaining an EP she will have to meet the same qualifications as any other potential employee. This would also allow her to continue to work, should you find yourself, for some reason, "retrenched" and losing your EP. The LoC is tied to your EP so if you lose your pass/job she also loses hers, so the EP is definitely superior in that regard.

I've know lot's of trailing partners/spouses who have taken up to 6 months to find a position. She will probably have to work for bare bones salary without perks if on the LoC as the employer will know she is a trailing spouse and that the EP holder will already have the perks for living here. (in theory). Be prepared for a lot of frustration on her part - it could be a long, slow, frustrating slog for her. Good Luck.
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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 10:42 am

good am SMS, yes she is a degree holder with extensive management experience in her field. i understand the search for employment will be challenging, thats why is one of a few options we were thinking of to keep her pre-occupied. i read that recruiters may be a waste of time so i think we may try the networking and linkedin routes. TYVM for your help

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by JR8 » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 11:43 am

variable wrote:JR8, thank you for your response. she already has the LTVP, you are right she doesnt qualify for the LTVP+. once she settles in our next objective is to find something productive for her to do. taking language classes is an option. employment is another
'Ohhh-IC' - Apologies it had gone over my head that she'd been here and already already got the LTVP, and was now back home again.

The circumstances that you describe are more common than you might imagine. I.e. the non-working spouse who had a career back home, moving here and wanting to find something productive to do with their time (employment, volunteering, education etc). You will find clubs/social circles for such activities. I expect the British/American Clubs have such groups, though those clubs are $$$ to join. But with a bit of research I'm sure you could track something down. The Salvation Army are also quite prominent here...
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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 3:18 pm

another question... sorry, they trickle in... will it make sense to secure private medical insurance for her? im not worried about myself since my company will cover my health insurance. and is medical insurance expensive? can we do without it?

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by JR8 » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 3:36 pm

variable wrote:another question... sorry, they trickle in... will it make sense to secure private medical insurance for her? im not worried about myself since my company will cover my health insurance. and is medical insurance expensive? can we do without it?
In an ideal world your employer would be providing medical coverage for your family. Do you have similar coverage back home? - then why not here where bills can be extortionate (similar to the US in scale)?

I was writing elsewhere here recently about a simple ear infection I had. I was referred to a specialist and the bill was over $500 within 15 minutes just to flush one ear. It was headed to $1,000 before I declined the further laundry list of possible further treatments. I rather dread to think what the bills might be if I suffered anything serious here; my wife's health insurance does not cover me.

I forget your age profiles but if maternity/childbirth might be in the equation, that can also be excruciatingly expensive here.
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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 4:28 pm

His company would probably cover her IF it were a legalized union as opposed to a common law one. That said, yes it would be advisable, but depending on the depth of coverage could be from somewhere under 500/year of upwards of 4,500 or more (like BUPA, for instance). Medical costs here, while expensive are cheap when looking at costs in the US. Of course if you come from a commonwealth country with free government medical, you might be aghast at the costs. Using the Government hospitals will cut out a considerable chunk of the costs as the private hospitals run or inflated senses of egos and charge accordingly. Their actual worth, in my opinion alone, is that they are not worth the differential. Most of the private hospital's specialist doctors also do rounds at the government hospitals as well. The only difference in procedures is how deep the docs dive's into your wallet.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Wed, 24 Dec 2014 5:36 pm

the comany will cover emergency and maternity services but those non emergency things like your example, and those annual physical exams, they wont cover. i guess with the expensive health care medical insurance is a must. im no familiar with the service providers in Singapore, is there a link i can check out?

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Thu, 25 Dec 2014 1:47 pm

just to update the medical coverage, there is good news. i double checked my benefits and i can reallocate some of my benefits to cover her, not just for emergency procedures but for regular out patient consultations. so thats good news for us.

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by JR8 » Fri, 26 Dec 2014 1:15 pm

variable wrote:just to update the medical coverage, there is good news. i double checked my benefits and i can reallocate some of my benefits to cover her, not just for emergency procedures but for regular out patient consultations. so thats good news for us.
I think that is a good thing. If you have no medical cover, a simple trip to the local doctor/'GP' probably averages $100-150 for basic ailments; allergies, athlete's foot, a bad cold, etc. Part of this is down to them seemingly over-prescribing, including stuff you don't need. Now before I get up from the doctors chair, and go and collect my prescription, I ask him what he intends to prescribe. It's not uncommon to be prescribed stuff like Vitamin C and Paracetamol, together with the 'serious meds'. These days I politely decline the former and explain I already have supplies of those at home. Otherwise it is standard to leave a GP with 3-4 different 'medicines'.

p.s. Be aware that a GPs time is billed per the clock; much like a lawyer back in the West.


@SMS. 'Of course if you come from a commonwealth country with free government medical'
'Free, at the point of use'. But very much not free, since you've already paid for it, and much much more via taxation. That comes into focus after a few years paying 'UK National Insurance' (a parallel collected with Income Tax) at 9-10% of your salary, especially if you say haven't needed to go to the doctor at all. Do the maths, someone of say an average UK middle manager's salary might indirectly pay S$25k equivalent over perhaps 3 years, just to go to his GP once and get a prescription for a 5 day course of S$1 Amoxcylin. 'Free' it's not.
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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 26 Dec 2014 1:26 pm

JR8 wrote:
variable wrote:just to update the medical coverage, there is good news. i double checked my benefits and i can reallocate some of my benefits to cover her, not just for emergency procedures but for regular out patient consultations. so thats good news for us.
I think that is a good thing. If you have no medical cover, a simple trip to the local doctor/'GP' probably averages $100-150 for basic ailments; allergies, athlete's foot, a bad cold, etc. Part of this is down to them seemingly over-prescribing, including stuff you don't need. Now before I get up from the doctors chair, and go and collect my prescription, I ask him what he intends to prescribe. It's not uncommon to be prescribed stuff like Vitamin C and Paracetamol, together with the 'serious meds'. These days I politely decline the former and explain I already have supplies of those at home. Otherwise it is standard to leave a GP with 3-4 different 'medicines'.

p.s. Be aware that a GPs time is billed per the clock; much like a lawyer back in the West.


@SMS. 'Of course if you come from a commonwealth country with free government medical'
'Free, at the point of use'. But very much not free, since you've already paid for it, and much much more via taxation. That comes into focus after a few years paying 'UK National Insurance' (a parallel collected with Income Tax) at 9-10% of your salary, especially if you say haven't needed to go to the doctor at all. Do the maths, someone of say an average UK middle manager's salary might indirectly pay S$25k equivalent over perhaps 3 years, just to go to his GP once and get a prescription for a 5 day course of S$1 Amoxcylin. 'Free' it's not.
True, too true, but on the flip side. Let's assume that the guy is a lower end manager and found himself needing a triple bypass. I know in the US it costs around $250/K all in if you are without comprehensive medical insurance. I reckon for him it is rather worth it, isn't it? Assuming he lives long enough to get the appoints before he buys the farm. Much the same way as what happened to ksl.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by JR8 » Fri, 26 Dec 2014 1:45 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:True, too true, but on the flip side. Let's assume that the guy is a lower end manager and found himself needing a triple bypass. I know in the US it costs around $250/K all in if you are without comprehensive medical insurance. I reckon for him it is rather worth it, isn't it? Assuming he lives long enough to get the appoints before he buys the farm. Much the same way as what happened to ksl.
This is where it gets complicated. Maybe it also comes down to amortisation of costs. A healthy young person might rarely need to visit his GP before middle-age, and by the time he does need help for something more serious he might well have funded any future treatment many times over. Of course there is a possibility that you might need very expensive treatment earlier in life, but that is rationed via budgets; hence you can wait a long time for treatment, even 'urgent' treatment, quite possibly many months. As you can imagine 'NHS waiting lists and care rationing' are major political hot-potatoes. Not least as person A and his health authority might have the budget to fund his immediate care, whereas his twin brother 10 miles down the road has a different health authority that has no budget left...

If you have private health insurance then it's another matter, they can jump the public queues (many doctors in the UK combine NHS and private work). Those that do usually have it as a perk via employment. But most don't have it.

The materially expensive treatments tend to come at the stage of life after retirement (no more insurance). That's the kicker for many. Just when you need it most, you find yourself at the back of the very long queue.
'Do it or do not do it: You will regret both' - Kierkegaard

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Re: options for partner with a LTVP

Post by variable » Sat, 27 Dec 2014 11:35 am

The materially expensive treatments tend to come at the stage of life after retirement (no more insurance). That's the kicker for many. Just when you need it most, you find yourself at the back of the very long queue. >> that is what actually sometimes keeps me up at night. im a relatively healthy 40yr old. but im creeping up to just that scenario

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