Returning after a decade and question about same sex partner

brottare · Post by **brottare** » Sat, 04 Jun 2016 1:33 pm

Hi all.

I lived in Singapore for 2 years between 2004 and 2006. I've now been offered a temporary role back in Singapore. I've a couple of questions:

1. From my research, the price of a 1 bed unti doesn't appear to have changed much. If anything, it has decreased. I paid just shy of $4000 SGD for a 1 bedder in Amaryllis Ville, at Newton. Are my findings matching reality that I'd expect to pay between $3500 and $4000?

2. I now have a civil partner. We're from the UK but live in Australia currently. It seems unlikely my partner would be gratned a long-term stay pass so the only option is for him to fly in and fly out after 30/60/90 days. Is this feasible though? I'd expect immigration to question why he is coming in and out. I could imagine he would come for 3/4 weeks then maybe return to Oz for the same amount of time and then return. Does anyone have any direct experience with doing that or an alternative option?

A bit of a hard question to answer but how have things changed in a decade in Singapore? I imagine the population has grown and the price of everyday stuff has increased. Anything in particular stand out as a major difference?

Thanks in advance!
Brottare

BBCWatcher · Post by **BBCWatcher** » Sat, 04 Jun 2016 2:53 pm

brottare wrote:Are my findings matching reality that I'd expect to pay between $3500 and $4000?

I don't see any one bedroom apartments currently listed in that particular condo, but if/when one comes up you might even be on the high side. Of course you are allowed to live somewhere else.

It seems unlikely my partner would be gratned a long-term stay pass so the only option is for him to fly in and fly out after 30/60/90 days.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Make the applications, see what happens, then decide whether to take the assignment.

ICA is unlikely to tolerate repeated, long visits.

PNGMK · Post by **PNGMK** » Sat, 04 Jun 2016 4:31 pm

Both Australia and the UK recognize long term same sex relationships. Hence ICA most likely will (maybe with some paperwork from either the UK or Australia to show that you are in a defacto relationship).

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Sat, 04 Jun 2016 5:45 pm

brottare wrote:1. From my research, the price of a 1 bed unti doesn't appear to have changed much. If anything, it has decreased.

Yep, I'd agree that's pretty much what's happened. For various reasons (mainly political) there has been something of a pogrom of the expats in recent years, so rents broadly are lower.

brottare wrote:2. I now have a civil partner. We're from the UK but live in Australia currently. It seems unlikely my partner would be gratned a long-term stay pass so the only option is for him to fly in and fly out after 30/60/90 days. Is this feasible though? I'd expect immigration to question why he is coming in and out. I could imagine he would come for 3/4 weeks then maybe return to Oz for the same amount of time and then return.

Some same-sex partners have been issued dependent passes in recent years. The government introduced it more through necessity than broad-minded 'altruism' so it's not something you'll find being broadcast from the roof-tops. Do a search on things like civil partner, civil marriage, de facto marriage, same-sex, and so on and you should find those previous discussions.

brottare wrote:A bit of a hard question to answer but how have things changed in a decade in Singapore? I imagine the population has grown and the price of everyday stuff has increased. Anything in particular stand out as a major difference?

The biggest thing you might notice is less 'expats'. In parallel the govt publicly made a show pre the last election of making it much harder for expats to move to SG. That tied in with some of the pre-existing local xenophobia, so [IME] the anti-foreigner vibe in the background has grown a little stronger and easier to spot these days.

ps. Welcome to the forum

rajagainstthemachine · Post by **rajagainstthemachine** » Sun, 05 Jun 2016 4:55 am

related: an article on prop guru "search keywords: gay-short-term-rentals-gaining-popularity-in-singapore

brottare · Post by **brottare** » Mon, 20 Jun 2016 7:10 am

Just thought I'd update the forum in case it's of any use to someone else. The company's HR dept told me that dependent passes are only for heterosexual couples, long-term passes are only for (grand)parents and so the only way for us both to come and go freely is for us both to have our own employment passes. The recruiter contradicted this by saying dependent passes are indeed issued to same-sex couples, long-term passes are not exclusively for (grand)parents and there are other ways of being in Singapore such as on an entrepreneurs visa. I don't have much info on this option yet other than you have to invest $50,000 into a Singaporean bank.

It appears that the recruiter and the forum are more aligned (hopefully with reality) than the company's HR dept who I think are just 'toeing the line'. I've not yet received a firm job offer so I won't pursue any further until/if that happens.

Thanks again to all the replies.

Post by **x9200** » Mon, 20 Jun 2016 7:40 am

The problem is, for either DP or LTVP you need a sponsorship of the company, so they have to be willing. What you quoted is probably their view or their internal regulation. Many local people could be very conservative. It changes, but slowly. Ca 15y I faced the same problem with my wife, just because we were not married at that time, I was initially refused the sponsorship, with the explanation (roughly) that they didn't approve unmarried couples in this society.

PNGMK · Post by **PNGMK** » Mon, 20 Jun 2016 8:04 am

Yes I hadn't thought of the bloody HR dept going homophobe. Come work with us; we got an official scolding in the paper for supporting Pink Dot and have been officially told to stay out of 'domestic affairs'.

Post by **x9200** » Mon, 20 Jun 2016 8:48 am

OP, so if you like the job, you may decide to take the plunge and try to resolve the issues only when you are already here, knew your bosses, they know you etc. Note that, any new company you approach may have the same problems. No guaranty. Probably smaller company, worse. But also don't start with the assumption they are the homophobes, likely they may be, but give them some credit of being just incompetent. It is also a very likely scenario and a typical HR clerk or even a low level HR manager may well be incompetent, inflexible, and only going by some internal SOPs (and be a homophobe at the same time).

Alternatively, what you could still try to do at this point is to talk to you direct (future) boss - perhaps s/he will be willing to help.

brottare · Post by **brottare** » Mon, 20 Jun 2016 11:21 am

Thanks all. It's actually a large, global company that I'd be working for that I have worked for previously in another country. The person who recommended me for the role is quite high up in the company and actually in a same-sex relationship, living in Singapore. I'm not reading too much into the comments of the HR person although my guess is that it's as x9200 said that it's a lower-level HR person who informed me. They actually approached me about the role too so they will have to decide if sponsoring a same-sex couple is worth it. Thanks for yoiur comments!