Strong Eagle wrote:b) no worries about being immediately kicked out of the country when you lose your job.
The Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) provides a substantially similar benefit to some, for a time. If you forecast a possible job loss in the near future, if you haven't had a PEP already, if you want to stay in Singapore for up to 6 months after loss of employment, and if you qualify, then you could apply for a PEP to solve this particular problem. PR expands on that PEP envelope since PR doesn't have the PEP's income and 6 month restrictions, and PR status is indefinite (not limited to 3 years once per lifetime). Even so, PEP can fit the bill for some -- it's like a "day pass" to the PR club on this score.
Unless you are very well off, with sufficient resources to live in high cost Singapore over the long term, PR really doesn't seem that useful.
Well, it's really only the housing costs that are well above developed country averages/means, with the assumption that you don't do something silly like get a private automobile. If you can manage housing costs well -- e.g. choose a modest home you can live in a good long time, buy it at a less than unreasonable price, and get the mortgage finished off -- the rest usually works out just fine. That's really what HDB is all about for Singaporeans: managing what would otherwise be extraordinary housing costs, the big ticket item in the household budget.
If you want a 40 acre farm (with or without the mule) -- if you have a strong personal preference for lots of residential space -- then that's not Singapore.
Unlike USA PR, which is really PERMANENT, Singapore PR is really just one more variety of temporary work permit, albeit with better conditions.
Conceptually they're quite similar; they only have different enforcement mechanisms. In both countries if you spend too much time "outside" you can lose your status. For the U.S. if you're outside 12 months or longer you put your green card at least at serious risk unless you've provided advance notice of your long absence. Once you hit the 24 month mark your PR status is nearly always lost. (But not necessarily your U.S. tax status. That's a separate matter.) Singapore has re-entry permits (REPs) to manage, but hypothetically you can stay "outside" as long as 4.99 years and still hang onto PR status. You just have to get back in before curfew, and you have to stay in until you're quite sure your mother will let you back into her home the next time you venture out.
It's the same basic idea, though. The U.S. places greater emphasis on
frequency of physical presence within its borders, while Singapore is more concerned about recent
duration.
There is another major benefit to Singapore PR status that applies to many: improved "chain" immigration options. That is, Singapore PRs enjoy some pretty generous privileges to bring family members into Singapore to stay indefinitely. U.S. PRs get almost nothing in that respect.
