Contract help! Applying for a work pass

[Henryhunter]

Hi all,

I'm moving to Singapore in September to work as an architect. I have already signed a contract and have my work pass that has been issued by MOM.

Another company has just got back to me and have offered me a position that I would much rather take over the other job offer. The new company do not know that I hold a work pass for the existing job offer. Naturally I have a few questions about this and really hope that one of you could help me:

1. Can I reject the existing company's contract after signing?

2. Can MOM process a work pass form if they have already issued one to me under a different company? Surely this must be an option as people might want to switch jobs during their time in Singapore.

I really appreciate any help that you could give.

Thanks

Henry

[sundaymorningstaple]

Your greed has put you in a bind. Typically. If you have you work visa, you have to give and work out your notice OR pay whatever salary in lieu of notice is required by the term of the contract with the first company. Providing the Work Visa has been physically issued (not just an IPA) the second company can apply for an In Principle Approval but cannot get the work visa issued until the old work visa is cancelled by the first employer. Only then can you have the new visa issued. If you tick off the 1st employer (I'd be ticked off) he may well hold the visa open until the required notice has expired before cancelling it. If he does it would serve you right. If the work visa has not been issued (in your hands) but is only an IPA then the first employer must "withdraw" the application before the 2nd employer can apply. This is where it get dicey. If the 2nd employer applies while the first employer is still holding an IPA (visa not yet received by employee) it will throw a monkey-wrench in the works and it may well take several months to get sorted out (I've seen it happen several times). In the process, often the job seeker, trying to be greedy, ends up with no job at all. Again, just deserts.

[sundaymorningstaple]

As a footnote to the above, if you end up trying and then decide to stay with employer number one, at the first sign of trouble you will probably be the first out the door as the employer already knows you cannot be trusted. Also, as the second employer will have to know about the first, they will also know you cannot be trusted. Greed comes back to bite you in the arse. This especially so in a tight economy.

[Henryhunter]

Thank you for your response, however judgmental it may have been. Considering you do not know the reasons for my switching jobs your tone was a little harsh. I ask you if a person searching for a job that is more suited to them and searching for a happier and better quality of life in a different job is necessarily "greed", or rather an entirely normal and justifiable human thing to do? Nevertheless thank you for your advice anyway.

As I have not been physically issued the employment pass, as I have not yet arrived in Singapore, so presumably I have the AIP not an EP, does this change things? I have not actually worked for the company at all yet. I can't imagine this is an unusual position for job seekers in a foreign country, who will undoubtedly apply for multiple jobs and cannot simply afford to hold out to hear a response from all of them before making a decision - that could be months without earnings, which far from being "greed" is not feasible by any means. What would you advise I do in my position, given that I have signed a contract and hold an AIP with one employer but am not yet working for them, and am planning to accept a job offer with a different company before moving to Singapore?

[the lynx]

Hi all,

I'm moving to Singapore in September to work as an architect. I have already signed a contract and have my work pass that has been issued by MOM.

Another company has just got back to me and have offered me a position that I would much rather take over the other job offer. The new company do not know that I hold a work pass for the existing job offer. Naturally I have a few questions about this and really hope that one of you could help me:

1. Can I reject the existing company's contract after signing?

2. Can MOM process a work pass form if they have already issued one to me under a different company? Surely this must be an option as people might want to switch jobs during their time in Singapore.

I really appreciate any help that you could give.

Thanks

Henry

As what SMS already said, the new employer can only apply for new AIP for you AFTER the current one withdraws the AIP already issued to you. There is no other painless way you can do about it. If the current one is so bad that you have to leave right now, you have to be prepared to have none in Singapore - for a long period of time, probably until your current AIP expires. But then again, the current employer would have to indicate to MOM on reasons for that lapse, which could put a black mark in your profile.

We have seen many people who tried to jump ship in AIP stage. So far no happy ending here. Usually they would just ride it out and fulfill their obligation to the current employer, as it is better to have a job than none at all.

Yup not easy.

[Henryhunter]

http://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/employment-pa ... ass-holder

The MOM website seems to suggest that there is no problem applying for EP when you already have one?

From what you're saying it's almost impossible for anyone to change jobs whilst in Singapore?

[the lynx]

http://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/employment-pa ... ass-holder

The MOM website seems to suggest that there is no problem applying for EP when you already have one?

From what you're saying it's almost impossible for anyone to change jobs whilst in Singapore?

Please read once again what the other poster said.

1. If you already have EP issued (not just AIP but the actual photocard visa), a new employer (B) can apply for new AIP for you while you are still under the current employer's (A), BUT B can only finalise the procedure after A terminates your visa effectively.

2. You are now talking about AIP level, not the final photocard level in your current situation. It is a DIFFERENT gameplay. No two AIPs are allowed per applicant at the same time. Just as no two EPs are allowed per foreigner at the same time. One person can have one EP and one AIP but that's just that - current employer still needs to terminate that one EP you have.

3. By the way, a HR can check into MOM system periodically and find out if any current employee is trying to jump ship by the status of additional AIP on him.

Sounds like you're hell-bent to hear the answers you like, and interpretations you favour, instead of real advice. Sorry, we don't do that, and we don't get paid either way.

[the lynx]

Before I forget, yes a foreign employment visa holder can change job while in Singapore, but each attempt subjects to MOM approval. It will be treated like a new visa application - each at its own merit. In other words, one could smoothly hop from one job to the other, while another person could get rejected for the second.

[sundaymorningstaple]

As I have not been physically issued the employment pass, as I have not yet arrived in Singapore, so presumably I have the AIP not an EP, does this change things?

Which part of the following in the second half of my first post did you not understand?

If the 2nd employer applies while the first employer is still holding an IPA (visa not yet received by employee) it will throw a monkey-wrench in the works and it may well take several months to get sorted out (I've seen it happen several times). In the process, often the job seeker, trying to be greedy, ends up with no job at all. Again, just deserts.