You have two issues to deal with, and of the two, legal residency is the more pressing issue for you.
You have the following choices to be able to legally reside in Singapore.
- Be a citizen (aint gonna happen for you)
- Be a permanent resident (PR - very likely will never happen for you)
- Be working in Singapore on an employment pass (EP - means that you must be working for a Singapore registered business with a legal and physical presence in Singapore).
- Be on a dependents pass (DP - you can legally reside in Singapore because you are the spouse or a child of a person holding an EP)
- Be on a long term visit pass (LTVP - you can legally reside in Singapore because you are the spouse or a child of a Singapore citizen or PR)
Leaving out citizen or PR for the moment, because that is most definitely not going to be your status, your choices are to work for a Singapore company, or be a dependent of someone else who has legal authority to reside in the country.
You can probably see that you have a large hole in your plan. As stated, you don't have any legal right to reside in Singapore, and therefore, any and all other plans are meaningless. Solutions:
- Your UK company forms a Singapore legal entity (most likely a wholly owned private limited), and you go to work for that Singapore entity. Now you get your EP and live and work in the country legally.
- Get married to someone who already has legal authority to live in Singapore, get a DP or LTVP, and now you can work in Singapore, subject to the restrictions I note below. Permit me to parenthetically add that you used the word "partner" and not "spouse" in describing your SO. Please note the the UK does not recognize common law marriage; hence, Singapore will not recognize a UK common law marriage; hence, even if your partner gets an EP on her/his own, it's not going to do you any good... you cannot get a corresponding dependents pass because you are not legally married.
Now, here is the deal about working for a foreign company while legally resident in Singapore.
IF the foreign company has no legal presence in Singapore, and IF the foreign company provides no goods or services in Singapore, then you can work for that foreign company, get paid into your Singapore bank account, pay Singapore personal income taxes, and not require any kind of a Singapore work permit (EP or LOC - letter of consent - while on DP or LTVP).
A great example would be if your were an accountant for the company... you could process transactions, produce financial reports and returns, all from the comfort of your Singapore home.
IF you are living in Singapore, and you were drumming up business for the company in other countries through travel, you might qualify per the above. Touch anything in Singapore (and that includes holding yourself out as the Singapore "branch" of the company), however, and you'll need to be working for a legally resident business in Singapore and you'll need that EP.