Probability of getting a PR after 2 years of living overseas

[genuineexpat]

Thank You for your kind attention. I am Indian national who have lived in Singapore for 6 years on an EP, applied for PR together for myselves and my wife (Indian national with S-Pass, worked in SG for 2 years). This application was done 1 year ago. Our application was rejected (result came 5 months ago: We are both engineering graduates from top schools in India and working in good companies in Singapore). Today I have a job opportunity in San Francisco. We are really not sure whether we will settle down for long-term in the US. In case we want to come back, our plan is to come back after 2 years to SIN and really settle down. One of the major considerations for us to accept the job in SFO is lowering our probability of getting a PR if we come back.

In case our probability of getting a PR goes down drastically or we will be back to square one where we are expected to stay at least for 4-5 years to show credibility, we might as well not move to SFO. Could anyone who has a good knowledge of the situation or has gone through such a situation guide us please. Thank You so much in advance.

[Strong Eagle]

Thank You for your kind attention. I am Indian national who have lived in Singapore for 6 years on an EP, applied for PR together for myselves and my wife (Indian national with S-Pass, worked in SG for 2 years). This application was done 1 year ago. Our application was rejected (result came 5 months ago: We are both engineering graduates from top schools in India and working in good companies in Singapore). Today I have a job opportunity in San Francisco. We are really not sure whether we will settle down for long-term in the US. In case we want to come back, our plan is to come back after 2 years to SIN and really settle down. One of the major consideration for us to accept the job in SFO is lowering our probability of getting a PR if we come back.

In case our probability of getting a PR goes down drastically or we will be back to square one where we are expected to stay at least for 4-5 years to show credibility, we might as well not move to SFO. Could anyone who has a good knowledge of the situation or has gone through such a situation guide us please. Thank You so much in advance.

Nobody knows for sure exactly what criteria ICA will use in determining PR acceptance or rejection. However, it would appear that those people who have left and returned (particularly Indian nationals) seem to have their PR applications rejected.

Again, it is only conjecture on my part, and I judge that the thinking of the ICA is that you don't have any staying power. You will stay in Singapore until a better opportunity arises, then leave. And by your own words, you "have a job opportunity in San Francisco", you seem to give credence to this line of thought.

Thus, if you do take that job in SF then you will go to the back of the line when it comes to PR, and you will again need to build that 5 to 7 years of "proof" that you are serious about living permanently in Singapore. The fact that you were rejected after five years is not helpful to you... they apparently see something in you that makes them believe you will be transient or otherwise not a good candidate. Leaving the country for two or more years won't help that viewpoint.

Adding an afterthought: PR in Singapore is not really permanent... sure, if you never ever leave the country, you'll be able to stay for ever. But, you're REP needs to be renewed every five years, and your circumstances and the vagaries of the gahmen mean that this renewal is not guaranteed.

Thus, if you are able to achieve permanent residence in the USA, then you have something that is really permanent... you can only be tossed for criminal activity or moving out of the country for extended periods of time. Even with the orange pendejo Trump in the oval office (now the offal office), I judge US PR to be superior to anything Singapore offers. Of course, if you're planning on being in the USA on a H1B, then your ability to stay long term becomes much more shaky.

[PNGMK]

Go to SFO (just be aware of the costs of housing). I truly, truly regret not moving to the USA when I was younger. The scale of opportunities is so much larger than we will ever see out here.

[genuineexpat]

Thank You Strong Eagle for your detailed thoughts. Glad that you touched upon transience of PR applicants being the major criterion and the fact that you are evaluated once every 5 years, which I think is very fair!

Thank You PNGMK for sharing your experience and the cautuon on COL in SFO. The costs are a bit scary and I am analyzing the options.