Australian relocating to Singapore without work visa

[biggles]

Hi all,

I've done a bit of googling and searching through this forum but still unclear on the visa rules for my situation. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

My situation: I'm an Australian citizen currently residing in Australia and would like to relocate to Singapore to work. I don't have a job so would like to enter Singapore on a tourist visa, network and apply for jobs once I arrive. And ideally want to give myself ~6 months to find work.

My understanding of the visa process:
It sounds like the visa process for me would be to obtain a Visit Pass upon entry. Valid for up to 14/30/90 days? (Different websites tell me different things...?)

After being granted the initial Visit pass it seems I have two options:
1) If I leave and re-enter within that the duration of the Visit Pass, I'll be granted another Visit Pass. Supposedly this can be done multiple times? Is there a limit or is it at the discretion of the immigration officer?
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic ... apore.html

2) Alternatively, I can apply for an extension for up to 89 days. But then to stay further than this would need to leave the country for more than 5 days before re-entering.
http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=180


So my questions are:
1) Where can I look up this stuff? All of the official Singaporean websites are NOT clear at all...
2) Does everything above sound correct?
3) How long is the Visit Pass valid for? Is there a limit to the number of times it will be granted?
4) Will there be any issues if I state I'm entering the country to look for work?

Thanks heaps

[nakatago]

Both are at the discretion of the immigration officer manning the counter.

[bgd]

In my experience Australians generally get 90 days, but I suspect that varies on the whim of the guy stamping your passport.

The websites are purposely vague to prevent gaming of the system.

There will be a limit on the number of renewals but it won't be defined anywhere. Also if you get 90 days first time round that won't guarantee you the same or even a renewal the next time round. I think the average tourist duration is something like 3 days so you will stand out.

[wanderlust12]

Hi biggles,

I got australian friend who came and visit singapore last 2010, stayed for 3 weeks and got 90 days visit pass. Another friend which is american citizen got 90 days visit pass and he tried to extend his visit pass online for another 89 days but it was refused for no reason.

On the other hand, my ex-colleague which is chinese descent and a permanent residence in singapore applied online for 90 days visit pass for his mom and it was refused as well, but then again he tried to apply direct to ICA (meaning manual submission) and got successful application but only good for 30 days.

And I don't think it's a good idea, stating to immigration officer that you are looking for job, Hope this helps.

Cheers!

[komatineni]

AFAIK people holding passports from US/AU/EU will get 90 days with a justification. i.e. making singapore base for exploring south east asia. For Social Visit Pass with justification as family visit do get 30 days but renewable online for another 30 days or (physical visit 30+online 30 days so total 3 months) 90 days. The tricky part is the renewal. It used to be a simple trip to BKK or CGK to get extension but understood that ICA is discouraging that behavior by giving 14/28 days VISA without an option for extension.
My 2c on job search. Market is tough due to restrictions on EP quota & priority to residents. Ofcourse it all depends on your skills and demand in the market. Probably good to start making some connections before you land to asses the situation yourself.