Chances Of Finding Work on Tourist Pass

[Garcipore]

I am new to Singapore. I came with a partner who I've been with for several years. Both of us are from the US and more recently we were living in a country where I could automatically get residency tied to my partner's work visa upon submitting proof of cohabitation (we are not legally married). Obviously, it is a different story in Singapore and I had to enter on a tourist pass.

I have been a mortgage underwriter for several years and working in the mortgage industry for over a decade for major American banks; I have a BA in Finance from the US.

Seasoned expats that have gone through something similar or heard of someone in a similar situation, what are your thoughts on the chances of me finding EP eligible work? What are some tips or ideas? What do you recommend?

Thank you all.

(For personal beliefs we choose not to get married, but we will consider it if there's no other option.)

[JR8]

Hi Garcipore, and welcome to the forum.

Pls bear in mind that I'm not a visa/pass expert and that their rules seem to constantly change every few months; but I have a couple of questions, and perhaps a couple of leads worth looking at.

Is your partner working? Do you know the visa category, and their approx income level?
What 'tourist pass' are you on, a plain-vanilla 'SVP' on arrival? 30 days, 90 days?

Pls excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a 'mortgage underwriter'? Is it more at the institutional securitisation end of things, than the consumer/retail end? Keep in mind that SG (these days), rather like the US, seeks to grant employment visas to those foreigners who have skills that locals don't... i.e. they don't want foreigners putting locals out of jobs. So approach things with that in mind, what you have to offer, that locals perhaps haven't.

It's unclear at the mo if you're effectively a tourist trying to find work before your tourist visa runs out, or whether you want ideas about getting a foot-hold in SG, and then in the slightly longer term considering seeking work. There can be issues trying to land a decent job on tourist status, not least an employee wants you 'to start work tomorrow', so already having legal residency in SG, and ability to work counts for a lot.

Here's one link that *might* be relevant: http://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permit ... ligibility dependent on your other-half. That at least could get you in some form of 'holding pattern' with legal residency and so on. Once in the door, you could then consider going for a work visa (EP etc) in your own right. But first up, your partner's status in SG needs a bit of clarification...

[Garcipore]

Hi JR8,

Thank you for your response. My partner has an EP1 and I have a plain 90 day tourist visa. The plan is to try and secure a job before my visa runs out, but also, to get an idea on how realistic my plan is with my work experience and level of education. I would also like any ideas on how to prolong my stay so I may continue to job hunt and any other recommendations or personal similar experiences (good or bad).

As an underwriter I am more of a risk evaluator/analyst for the bank on the consumer end. I understand how putting locals out of a job would be problematic, however, being that Singapore is a large financial hub I would presume there is also a high turnover rate? Also, from what I read, in order to obtain an EP I would need an offer for a position that pays at least S$3,300 monthly. That amount doesn't sound like a position with specialized skills that locals wouldn't have, and when I search the salary of underwriters in Singapore it is a lot higher than that amount. So, maybe I'm missing something here?

I will look into the link you attached and thanks for the input. I do see how three months would be a short amount of time and how recruiters might not want to deal with me if I'm here on a tourist pass.