Employment Pass Status Pending

[ayemgeorgia]

Hi Guys,

This is re my application for EPass that has been pending for almost two months.

First, the application was made on July 01, 2016. Tried the SAT Application and it showed that I am eligible for both Epass and Spass.

Secondly, on July 10, 2016 they requested set of documents from the company:

1. My Employment Contract with them.

2. My Previous Payslip, Bank Statement (under previous employer in Singapore also in EPass)

3. Job Description

4. Dataflow Verification of University Degree ***

5. Resume of Locals who applied for the same position but did not pass criteria.

6. Comparison Letter why those locals did not qualify for the job.

7. University Degree Certificate

8. Justification Letter of Why Do You need this Foreigner (Skills that Cannot be Found Locally)

9. Company Financial Statements

All of the letters and documents were provided and available by July 12 except for Dataflow Verification (since it needs 2-3 weeks to accomplish process and provide certificate). So, all documents should be sent all together.

By August 02, 2016 around 5:00 in the afternoon, all of the documents including Dataflow Certificate were sent to MOM.

August 17- HR was able to talk to the officer who handles my application. He said that "He needs time to go through" (OFFICER).

August 18 (Today) - Application is still Pending.

Can you give me any idea for my situation if its likely to be approved? I need enlightenment. Please help. Thanks in advance!

Gracias.

[sundaymorningstaple]

They are probably comparing CV's and trying to find a way to reject your EP.

As an aside, the SAT online only tell you if you are eligible to apply for a pass. It does NOT indicate that it will be approved or not. So all you can do is wait. How long? Anybody's guess at this point as EP/S and PR applications see be be held up since April/May.

[ayemgeorgia]

They are probably comparing CV's and trying to find a way to reject your EP.

As an aside, the SAT online only tell you if you are eligible to apply for a pass. It does NOT indicate that it will be approved or not. So all you can do is wait. How long? Anybody's guess at this point as EP/S and PR applications see be be held up since April/May.

They asked for CV of other local candidates and why did the company did not choose them. Attached together with it is the comparison letter - what happened in the interview, offer and the reason why they did not qualify the said position. Point of View of HR

Why do you say that they are finding ways to reject my EP Approval?

Also, if they want to reject my application then why not reject in the first place before asking too many requirements?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Obviously, you have been hiding under a rock the whole time you were previously working here, yeah? doG knows it's been in the news enough about how the government is trying to find ways to reduce the dependency on foreign talent. They are not telling companies to terminate those employees but upon renewals they have been finding ways do tweak criteria so that people, even though they pass the SAT, will still find themselves on the short end of the stick. It's not personal, it the fact the the government knows that if they don't reduce foreigners they will know about it big time at the ballot box at the next GE. They are walking a fine line between reducing staff and keeping GDP up (which they aren't any more). If they stall long enough, you pass expires and the new employer has found somebody else and withdraws the offer. And you? You have no recourse at all. That's about the way it's starting to look. Read some of the thread here and see how long they have been waiting. You are not alone.

[ayemgeorgia]

Obviously, you have been hiding under a rock the whole time you were previously working here, yeah? doG knows it's been in the news enough about how the government is trying to find ways to reduce the dependency on foreign talent. They are not telling companies to terminate those employees but upon renewals they have been finding ways do tweak criteria so that people, even though they pass the SAT, will still find themselves on the short end of the stick. It's not personal, it the fact the the government knows that if they don't reduce foreigners they will know about it big time at the ballot box at the next GE. They are walking a fine line between reducing staff and keeping GDP up (which they aren't any more). If they stall long enough, you pass expires and the new employer has found somebody else and withdraws the offer. And you? You have no recourse at all. That's about the way it's starting to look. Read some of the thread here and see how long they have been waiting. You are not alone.

Okay.

[Strong Eagle]

Why do you say that they are finding ways to reject my EP Approval?

Because, rightly or wrongly the government is operating under the assumption that local talent is at least as qualified as foreign talent, and they are committed to squeezing foreign talent out of the work force.

They do want to give at least the appearance of being "fair" in the process by asking for the documentation but I judge that this massive slowdown in the granting of work passes has nothing to do with workloads at MoM, and everything to do with trying to force companies to hire locals by making them wait for incessantly long periods of time until they simply have to give up on hiring foreign talent.

The company that has applied for your EP may already be on MoM's radar as well, for potentially all sorts of violations, including salary kickbacks, expanding the credentials of the foreign talent, or creating job descriptions that exclude locals... you just don't know.

[ayemgeorgia]

Noted

[yc8775]

You are not alone. My application was on June 28, then pending from vetting agencies... since July 5. Now still the same status...

[vjysankr]

I'm also facing same problem bro. My employer applied ep on Jun 02 and yet no answer. All I see is the pending status.

[ayemgeorgia]

I'm also facing same problem bro. My employer applied ep on Jun 02 and yet no answer. All I see is the pending status.

what did your HR said? any documents requested from you? if yes when did you submit those?

[vjysankr]

No, they didn't request any documents. All the required documents were submitted at the time of applying ep. As per inputs from my employer, some hundreds of companies are actually facing same issue with their employees passes. So, all we can do is waiting for it.

[ayemgeorgia]

i see. for you almost 3 months right?

[vjysankr]

Yes. As I heard from some people, MOM also insisting employers to apply ep 90 days prior. Not sure if it's true or not.

[ayemgeorgia]

what is the reason behind?

[ayemgeorgia]

that is for renewal not for new applications