Singapore Expats

Hi everyone

I´m a Spanish citizen that just got his EP denied. My potential employer has appealed immediately, but I would like to ask for your advice on possible reasons for the denial in order to improve my chances of getting the appeal approved.

Here are some more details:

- 36 year old chef with 14 years of experience and professional qualification. (Went to culinary institute in Barcelona, although this might not be recognised as a "prestigious" institution by MOM, who knows)
- EP requested for a Head Chef position, salary being 6k
- Single, no kids
- Professional proficiency in 3 languages.
- Potential employer has a job listing posted on job database open to everyone.

Other details that may or may not be relevant:

- My sister and her husband both live and work in SG since 2014. I have stayed with them for long periods of time for the last year, spending about 10 months in the country in total. Have flown back home in between these visits. Never had any trouble through customs. Have travelled to other Asean countries using SG as a base.

I´m a bit at a loss when it comes to the EP denial, as my qualifications and experience should be sufficient for the job. My employer said there was no specified reasons in the denial message. Do you guys have any ideas about the reasons for the negative? Is the salary too low?

Will keep reading the forum and looking for answers, thanks in advance for any feedback!

Best

Walter

My guess is that the occupation is not one deemed to require a foreigner (by the establishment applying).

PNGMK wrote:My guess is that the occupation is not one deemed to require a foreigner (by the establishment applying).

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Any way to work around that? Would a higher salary help? How to persuade MOM that I´m a valuable addition to SG´s workforce? There´s plenty of western chefs here from what I know.

What degree did you get from that culinary institute?

Hi,

Your potential employer should be able to address the rejection reason(s) before attempting an appeal. Generally, if initial self-assessment checklist qualifies, the application should "normally" be approved.

Wusthof wrote: - EP requested for a Head Chef position, salary being 6k
- Single, no kids
- Professional proficiency in 3 languages.
- Potential employer has a job listing posted on job database open to everyone.

what restaurant were you joining ?

I feel 6k is border line low in today's conditions, for a head chef

x9200 wrote:What degree did you get from that culinary institute?

It is listed under "Other professional certificates" on the online self assessment tool.

ecureilx wrote:

Wusthof wrote: - EP requested for a Head Chef position, salary being 6k
- Single, no kids
- Professional proficiency in 3 languages.
- Potential employer has a job listing posted on job database open to everyone.

what restaurant were you joining ?

I feel 6k is border line low in today's conditions, for a head chef

Thanks for taking the time to answer. The position is for a new business, it is a cafe, not a restaurant. I also think 6k would be low for a restaurant head chef, but a cafe has a lighter workload. I don't know if MOM consider these subtleties tho.

When it comes to the denial reason, is this always included in the rejection form? My employer says it only said "find a more suitable candidate" or something along those lines.

Wusthof wrote:

ecureilx wrote:

Wusthof wrote: - EP requested for a Head Chef position, salary being 6k
- Single, no kids
- Professional proficiency in 3 languages.
- Potential employer has a job listing posted on job database open to everyone.

what restaurant were you joining ?

I feel 6k is border line low in today's conditions, for a head chef

Thanks for taking the time to answer. The position is for a new business, it is a cafe, not a restaurant. I also think 6k would be low for a restaurant head chef, but a cafe has a lighter workload. I don't know if MOM consider these subtleties tho.

When it comes to the denial reason, is this always included in the rejection form? My employer says it only said "find a more suitable candidate" or something along those lines.

Whats the cuisine of the cafe?

Or is it just standard cafe fayre?

If its standard , ask the owner to put some Spanish/Catalan specialities on the menu and say that they need you in order to create an authentic experience.

Wusthof wrote:

ecureilx wrote:

Wusthof wrote:
When it comes to the denial reason, is this always included in the rejection form? My employer says it only said "find a more suitable candidate" or something along those lines.

@Wusthof

It is difficult to know specific reason unless your potential employer is willing to show you the rejection letter from MOM.
Text from MOM website, "You can check the rejection advisory in EP Online to view the reasons for rejection and advice on what to do next. If you applied manually, check the rejection letter."

Alternatively, try the self-assessment tool yourself if you qualify https://services.mom.gov.sg/sat/satservlet

There's probably 100,000 cafe chef's in Malaysia alone. You need a specific skill set and the qualifications/experience to back it up. Tapas etc might work but I've eaten at plenty of 'foreign' restaurants in Singapore where the cook/chef is a local or a Malaysian chinese.

PNGMK wrote:There's probably 100,000 cafe chef's in Malaysia alone. You need a specific skill set and the qualifications/experience to back it up. ...

And his employer should declare and pay a much higher pay ...

Agree with the above. For such a position, the OP should stick out with his head far above the average crowd and based on the info posted, it doesn't seem to be the case. Or in other words, if the OP's skill set is so special he should be paid accordingly, but then, nobody expects this in a cafe (assuming a middle range and the standard).

Thank you all for the answers. You make an excellent point about how the job listing should be tailored to my specific skills and knowledge.

My employer will be modifying this accordingly. Let´s hope that it´s enough for the appeal to get approved!

Cheers!

Walter

Wusthof wrote:Thank you all for the answers. You make an excellent point about how the job listing should be tailored to my specific skills and knowledge.

My employer will be modifying this accordingly. Let´s hope that it´s enough for the appeal to get approved!

Cheers!

Walter

No, not just the listing, but a high pay ..