PR Letter

[jimmybb]

Hi All,

Read some conflicting information regarding the PR cover letter and I am hoping someone here could assist me.

I have heard sometimes ICA doesnt accept a cover letter and in my case I find it necessary to getting the PR, since the application form does not highlight a number of factors - namely the fact my parents and sibling are PRs. The family background section in the application only states Nationality and Present Whereabouts.

Is the letter acceptance up to the discretion of the ICA agent? and if so, can we explain the merits of keeping it if they dont accept it?

Please let me know your thoughts on acceptance as well, as I know the acceptance rate is very low these days. Background below-

Lived in Singapore for a total of 15 years
Parents have been here for a total of 20/21 years
First moved here at the age of 13/14 in Aug. 2008 (went to an International School)
Went to university abroad and returned in 2006 to work here
Parents and sister are PRs (I believe since 2002)
Applied in 2008 for a PR under PTS and got rejected (did not have cover letter)
Salary base 10-14k/m over the past 2yrs

The obvious question is why are the rest of my family PRs and not I. The answer - they applied while I was abroad studying and assumed (wrongly) I could just return and get it easily whenever I wanted. I am too old to apply for family ties (states up to 21yrs old in the app) so I have no choice but to go via PTS.

What do you guys think with regards to accceptance of the app and the letter?


Thanks for the help

[Barnsley]

Hi All,

Read some conflicting information regarding the PR cover letter and I am hoping someone here could assist me.

I have heard sometimes ICA doesnt accept a cover letter and in my case I find it necessary to getting the PR, since the application form does not highlight a number of factors - namely the fact my parents and sibling are PRs. The family background section in the application only states Nationality and Present Whereabouts.

Is the letter acceptance up to the discretion of the ICA agent? and if so, can we explain the merits of keeping it if they dont accept it?

Please let me know your thoughts on acceptance as well, as I know the acceptance rate is very low these days. Background below-

Lived in Singapore for a total of 15 years
Parents have been here for a total of 20/21 years
First moved here at the age of 13/14 in Aug. 2008 (went to an International School)
Went to university abroad and returned in 2006 to work here
Parents and sister are PRs (I believe since 2002)
Applied in 2008 for a PR under PTS and got rejected (did not have cover letter)
Salary base 10-14k/m over the past 2yrs

The obvious question is why are the rest of my family PRs and not I. The answer - they applied while I was abroad studying and assumed (wrongly) I could just return and get it easily whenever I wanted. I am too old to apply for family ties (states up to 21yrs old in the app) so I have no choice but to go via PTS.

What do you guys think with regards to accceptance of the app and the letter?


Thanks for the help

Maybe they think your actions were to dodge doing NS ... so by keeping you on Employment Pass have more control over your actions and give you cause to think about your past actions.

Who knows .... its the Government , their house , their rules.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Hi All,

Read some conflicting information regarding the PR cover letter and I am hoping someone here could assist me.

I have heard sometimes ICA doesnt accept a cover letter and in my case I find it necessary to getting the PR, since the application form does not highlight a number of factors - namely the fact my parents and sibling are PRs. The family background section in the application only states Nationality and Present Whereabouts.

Is the letter acceptance up to the discretion of the ICA agent? and if so, can we explain the merits of keeping it if they dont accept it?

Please let me know your thoughts on acceptance as well, as I know the acceptance rate is very low these days. Background below-

Lived in Singapore for a total of 15 years
Parents have been here for a total of 20/21 years
First moved here at the age of 13/14 in Aug. 2008 (went to an International School)
Went to university abroad and returned in 2006 to work here
Parents and sister are PRs (I believe since 2002)
Applied in 2008 for a PR under PTS and got rejected (did not have cover letter)
Salary base 10-14k/m over the past 2yrs

The obvious question is why are the rest of my family PRs and not I. The answer - they applied while I was abroad studying and assumed (wrongly) I could just return and get it easily whenever I wanted. I am too old to apply for family ties (states up to 21yrs old in the app) so I have no choice but to go via PTS.

What do you guys think with regards to accceptance of the app and the letter?


Thanks for the help

Nothing but a classic case of parents thinking they are smarter than the government. Your parents screwed you. You will NOT get PR. That I can almost 100% assure you of. I know a similar case very close to me. The father a card-carrying PAP member, the Mother a European SG PR. The daughter a PR but the son was kept on a Student's visa and also went to the International Schools and then went back to europe to get his BSc & Msc and returned here to work in his father's company (SME - 200+ employees). We tried several times, to no avail. That's been for the last three years. We've since opened up a company in a neighbouring country where the son has been made the MD and stay there and comes to Singapore where he gets a standard SVP and then he goes back to the neighbouring country. He also has to watch how long and how many trips as ICA will get curious and could ban him from coming for 6~12 months. Every Application for EP was rejected with the note included that he has unfinished business with the CMPB before he can be considered for an EP. His case is slight more onerous as one parent is a SG citizen but the mother is still a PR after 20+ years. If I were an ICA officer I'd wonder why the parents didn't apply for your PR as well (being abroad in school shouldn't have mattered on the application for PR) so you are going to have a bit of a hard time trying to explain away the obvious. You neglected to tell us where you are from originally as that could also have a bit of bearing on the situation.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Curious, did your sister go to an International School as well or did she graduate from a local school?

[sundaymorningstaple]

This whole paragraph doesn't make any sense at all......

Lived in Singapore for a total of 15 years
Parents have been here for a total of 20/21 years
First moved here at the age of 13/14 in Aug. 2008 (went to an International School)

First moved here at the age of 13/14 in 2008 (that's only 9 years ago) but you claim you lived in Singapore for a total of 15 years. One of those statements is false. Would you mind clarifying this?

[beard1]

If I put myself in ICA's shoes, my first immediate thought when seeing your application + family residency situation would be 'he tried to siam NS' (singlish added for effect).

It'll be tough if not impossible to get PR simply because MINDEF and the govt in general are not forgiving when it comes to the above. Your actual reasons for not being in SG during what should've been your NS years may differ, and you may make efforts to communicate this to ICA. It will nonetheless be hard/impossible to convince them.

As for your cover letter question, it seems to really vary with the mood of the particular officer you deal with. I submitted a cover letter the last time I applied and the (very friendly) officer accepted it. Also saw the letter in my file when they were flipping it during completion of formalities so I know they didn't just toss it in the trash!

[jimmybb]

Hi,

SMS - I meant 1998 not 2008, and yes she went to an International School too.

The key difference I see is the other person’s father was an SC and I have held multiple EPs with different companies as well as a PEP, which makes me hopeful that I can still get a PR seeing as I havent faced the same hostility. In terms of nationality I am Canadian. I was intending to request aproval to join the SAFVC prior to my PR app. although I know its nowhere near the same as doing NS.

I realise it looks like I avoided NS but my parents and I had no idea about this requirement. I did not know what a PR was until I started working in Singapore. Up until now I didnt even realize I would have been required to do NS. I had assumed all the original applicants were not required to do NS. Reading online it seems this is not the case. Had they known of this requirement my family would not have taken a PR in the first place. In fact they would gladly denounce their status for me right now - but I dont think that will help.

Also, I have heard of similar cases as yours from friends as well – father a well known wealthy SC, mom a PR and he was not able to get an EP multiple times. They ended up setting up a company in HK and him having to travel on a SVP as well.

Thanks for all the input

[sundaymorningstaple]

Good Luck. Who knows, maybe persistence will pay off. The money's right, and if you have been getting EP's/PEP with no problem it's also a positive move and while good, neither of those passes today will guarantee PR as you have found out. As noted in a couple of other threads, we have been seeing a relaxing of the stringent 'cleansing' of the ranks over the past two years, it may well be you need to just be persistant, but it does make it hard to plan a family/future around the situation.

If you are in the Financial Industry, it's could be a little rougher as a Canadian the government will likely see you as typical of the genre that will follow the money and give up PR if the right offer comes along. We've seen several cases on here with rejection and incomes well in excess of 250K/pa. This seems to bite the C level staff from most western countries and from the Subcontinent more than from other regions. Hang in there. Persistence is a good thing (it's also how I got my PR a quarter of a century ago) but times have changed a lot since then.

[jimmybb]

Thanks. That put me in a slightly better mood haha.
No harm trying. Will hope for the best.

Also, thanks beard1 regarding the cover letter.

[beard1]

Thanks. That put me in a slightly better mood haha.
No harm trying. Will hope for the best.

Also, thanks beard1 regarding the cover letter.

No worries, and all the best! Persistence is indeed important.

Side note re: SAFVC; I think you can only sign up once you become a PR.

[DrScrumMaster]

...the genre that will follow the money and give up PR if the right offer comes along...

You mean to say that not every PR applicant or holder views it as a stepping stone to Singapore Citizenship? That's inconceivable... to many locals.

[sundaymorningstaple]

...the genre ...

You mean to say that not every PR applicant or holder views it as a stepping stone to Singapore Citizenship? That's inconceivable... to many locals.

[Barnsley]

...the genre that will follow the money and give up PR if the right offer comes along...

You mean to say that not every PR applicant or holder views it as a stepping stone to Singapore Citizenship? That's inconceivable... to many locals.

[dynoto]

...the genre that will follow the money and give up PR if the right offer comes along...

You mean to say that not every PR applicant or holder views it as a stepping stone to Singapore Citizenship? That's inconceivable... to many locals.

i think it depends, generally people coming from less developed countries seeking better life will aim to have a citizenship ... not so much for people who came from country that is already well off from the beginning.

I got a few friends coming from UK who planned to become PR but not citizens.

[sundaymorningstaple]

...the genre that will follow the money and give up PR if the right offer comes along...

You mean to say that not every PR applicant or holder views it as a stepping stone to Singapore Citizenship? That's inconceivable... to many locals.

i think it depends, generally people coming from less developed countries seeking better life will aim to have a citizenship ... not so much for people who came from country that is already well off from the beginning.

I got a few friends coming from UK who planned to become PR but not citizens.

My comment was because of his Nationality, not race. Most (not all) westerner PR types are loath to take up SC but there have been a few (mostly from European countries or Americans trying to escape the draconian US global taxation laws). 3rd world countries definitely are looking for SC eventually with the exception of Indians who always want to leave a bolt hole back to the motherland regardless.