Singapore PR application 2019

[SGNewbie88]

Hi there,

I have moved to Singapore 8 months ago, and am interested in applying for PR
Does anyone have any experiences on what they feel my chances may be? or should i wait longer before applying?

- Australian citizen
- salary 9k SGD/month
- 30 yo male
- Self employed
- Single
- non smoker no health issues
- EP holder valid for 2 years
Please feel free to query whatever
Thanks in advance

[sundaymorningstaple]

Hi there,

I have moved to Singapore 8 months ago, and am interested in applying for PR
Does anyone have any experiences on what they feel my chances may be? or should i wait longer before applying?

- Australian citizen
- salary 9k SGD/month
- 30 yo male
- Self employed
- Single
- non smoker no health issues
- EP holder valid for 2 years
Please feel free to query whatever
Thanks in advance

Absolutely zero. (at the moment)

The % of slots for Caucasians/Other Races is less than 2% of the 20 to 30,000 PR's they grant annually so at the max, you are looking at competing with who knows how many "others" from around the world for 400 to 600 slots. (This is for everybody who isn't Chinese, Malay or Indian). The recommended time is a minimum of two consecutive years/three tax assessments before making your first application. The application, when submitted will likely take upwards of 12~18 or more months to be approved/rejected.

My advice, frankly, unless you are a self-employed rocket scientist or neurosurgeon is to wait a minimum of two years (wait until you have renewed your EP one time). Or, if you feel like gambling, have at it, mate!

[SGNewbie88]

Thanks for your detailed response and reasoning!
Any reason why they have reduced Caucasians/other Races to less than 2%?

I can appreciate they would like to see i'm fulfilling taxation obligations,

If i were to apply after my first taxation year, and was then subsequently rejected,
Would being rejected have any negative impact on future applications?

my apologies if i seem out of depth

[sundaymorningstaple]

Thanks for your detailed response and reasoning!
Any reason why they have reduced Caucasians/other Races to less than 2%?

I can appreciate they would like to see i'm fulfilling taxation obligations,

If i were to apply after my first taxation year, and was then subsequently rejected,
Would being rejected have any negative impact on future applications?

my apologies if i seem out of depth

They haven't reduced caucasians/other. It's always been around 2%. The demographics of Singapore is used control immigration, generally speaking. That is around 74% Chinese, 14% Malay, 9~12% Indian & 2% others (Includes Eruasians, Caucasians and African and other ethnically mixed). During the 2000~2010 time period there was a strong IT push here and Indian Programmers were brought over and it got out of hand and the 9% normal demographic got inflated to 11-12%. For the past 8 years it's been very hard for Indian Nationals to get PR here because the government used immigration to balance the demographics to where they like it. The local low TFR (Total fertility rate) is also taken into consideration (e.g., it's only 1.13 among the lowest in the world) To make up the numbers (Chinese are the lowest TFR in Singapore, Malays the highest and Indian in the middle somewhere). So they use immigration to offset the numbers to keep the demographics the same.

If you apply now, you will probably be rejected, as noted before. They may even tell you to reapply when you have been here over two years, although it's been a while since we've seen those kind of letters. Now it usually just tells you that you are welcome to stay here on you current Employment Pass as long as it is valid. They don't really give a specific reason for the rejections as this prevents getting tailor made applications (One ethnic group here is famous for it).

Maybe you can help us out a little bit as there is a bit of confusion in your original post. You say you are self employed but are on an Employment Pass. What industry are you in? Is it a sole proprietorship? A pte ltd company? do you have employees (local?) if so, how many? This may or may not change the coloring here but I'm trying to see something positive but need more info.

sms

[singaporeflyer]

Maybe you can help us out a little bit as there is a bit of confusion in your original post. You say you are self employed but are on an Employment Pass. What industry are you in? Is it a sole proprietorship? A pte ltd company? do you have employees (local?) if so, how many? This may or may not change the coloring here but I'm trying to see something positive but need more info.
sms

Even if he is self employed or owns a PTE LTD and hires 5 local employees, it wont be easy for him to get PR until he stays in Singapore for atleast 3 years and proves that he can stay and also employ/expand the company operations in Singapore with local staff. ICA would surely like to see his track record in Singapore and 8 months is too less or close to nothing.

[bcheng74]

Being a non-smoker has nothing to do with PR application


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[sundaymorningstaple]

Maybe you can help us out a little bit as there is a bit of confusion in your original post. You say you are self employed but are on an Employment Pass. What industry are you in? Is it a sole proprietorship? A pte ltd company? do you have employees (local?) if so, how many? This may or may not change the coloring here but I'm trying to see something positive but need more info.
sms

Even if he is self employed or owns a PTE LTD and hires 5 local employees, it wont be easy for him to get PR until he stays in Singapore for atleast 3 years and proves that he can stay and also employ/expand the company operations in Singapore with local staff. ICA would surely like to see his track record in Singapore and 8 months is too less or close to nothing.

That is exactly WHY I'm trying to get more information. To see IF there are any extenuating circumstances.

[SGNewbie88]

Thanks for your prompt and in-depth responses
I am a shareholder and a director of the company
Industry: Mechanical equipment
The company has chosen Singapore as a base to expand throughout the region
My motivation to apply for PR stems from my admiration for the city and the country. As i do wish to lay down some roots and start a family some day.
I mentioned non smoker, as generally it lowers my liability to burden the health system.

given that the numbers haven't changed, over the years too much for applicants of european/caucasian descent, then i wouldn't mind applying aslong as it didnt hurt my chances later on to reapply again

I have skimmed through some of the posts on this forum, and found varying situations and responses. however it looks likes a rule of thumb doesnt apply to this process (as it would in other countries like oz)

In any case, i do appreciate your feedback

(excuse my poor grammar and spelling, its a friday after all)

[singaporeflyer]

Thanks for your prompt and in-depth responses
I am a shareholder and a director of the company
Industry: Mechanical equipment
The company has chosen Singapore as a base to expand throughout the region
My motivation to apply for PR stems from my admiration for the city and the country. As i do wish to lay down some roots and start a family some day.
I mentioned non smoker, as generally it lowers my liability to burden the health system.

given that the numbers haven't changed, over the years too much for applicants of european/caucasian descent, then i wouldn't mind applying aslong as it didnt hurt my chances later on to reapply again

I have skimmed through some of the posts on this forum, and found varying situations and responses. however it looks likes a rule of thumb doesnt apply to this process (as it would in other countries like oz)

In any case, i do appreciate your feedback

(excuse my poor grammar and spelling, its a friday after all)

How many locals (Singaporean and PR) do you employ in this company?

[sundaymorningstaple]

You are absolutely correct. They do use a point system (i.e., Oz) but the difference is that they system here is not entirely transparent, but more opaque where you can only see shadows (trends) but not hard values. The whole government is built on side doors. You can come in the front door according to what is printed but somebody else, if they have something the government wants or needs, they are not adverse to using a side door. The government always leaves themselves a way out/around what is published. The vast majority however DO come in via the front door.

Now, we have more information. Another question. As you are a director, are you a working director, e.g., work for a salary or are drawing a combination of Salary and Director's fees. If you apply for PR, i do not think Director's Fee are considered on the application, but only salary. So that is something you need to think about. Also, was the business started under the Entrepreneurship Program? As asked previously by SF, what is your local headcount or as you mentioned, you are actually here alone on behalf of the company but are a one-man show. If my last comment is fair dinkum, you are not likely to get PR at this point in time. As already noted, you really need a minimum of 24 months here (the time of your initial EP) and after it is renewed, then apply. Applying early won't help and it could hinder due to abuses in the past where early PR was given and then they ran out, bought a property, held it the minimum length of time and flipped it for a large profit. The government here, once burned, gets back, not just gets even.

[SGNewbie88]

Thanks for your response,
Interesting that they are quite fluid/flexible in their PR approvals..
As director i work for a salary. Current headcount is 0, however this is due to change in the short term.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I think, honestly, I'd wait until you have a local headcount (>4 Singaporeans). Otherwise, the question they are surely going to ask themselves is what is he contributing to the country (taxes don't count - contributions to GDP does). Working for yourself doesn't really contribute. Buying private property doesn't contribute (except to you when you sell). However, employing Singaporeans is what will get you in. Racism exists here, in answer to you first comment. The chinese are very particular that they maintain a 75% or better majority. And the other percentages has remained pretty consistent over the past 37 years that I've been here. The only anomaly was during the period say 1999~2009 during the IT push as I've already noted and they are in the process of correcting it in their own special way using immigration and naturalization.

[SGNewbie88]

Hi There,
I have decided to move ahead with my application, as I feel it is my wish to put down some roots here, both professionally and personally,

I am currently completing the application, however i do not see any area where i can make a statement of sorts etc.

Is it advisable to attach a separate cover letter or equivelant, stating my direct motivations and personal thoughts on becoming PR?- or would this be seen as attention grabbing/time-wasting/unusual?

I understand from skimming the forums that it was somewhat common practice in the past. however i don't wish to make the reviewers job more tedious unnecessarily

[singaporeflyer]

Hi There,
I have decided to move ahead with my application, as I feel it is my wish to put down some roots here, both professionally and personally,

I am currently completing the application, however i do not see any area where i can make a statement of sorts etc.

Is it advisable to attach a separate cover letter or equivelant, stating my direct motivations and personal thoughts on becoming PR?- or would this be seen as attention grabbing/time-wasting/unusual?

I understand from skimming the forums that it was somewhat common practice in the past. however i don't wish to make the reviewers job more tedious unnecessarily

It is not needed. If they didnt ask for it, dont worry too much about it. If they need more info from you they will write in to you asking for it.

But did you realize that you are applying too early for PR? Not even 2 years completed in SG

[SGNewbie88]

Hi There,
I have decided to move ahead with my application, as I feel it is my wish to put down some roots here, both professionally and personally,

I am currently completing the application, however i do not see any area where i can make a statement of sorts etc.

Is it advisable to attach a separate cover letter or equivelant, stating my direct motivations and personal thoughts on becoming PR?- or would this be seen as attention grabbing/time-wasting/unusual?

I understand from skimming the forums that it was somewhat common practice in the past. however i don't wish to make the reviewers job more tedious unnecessarily

It is not needed. If they didnt ask for it, dont worry too much about it. If they need more info from you they will write in to you asking for it.

But did you realize that you are applying too early for PR? Not even 2 years completed in SG

Thanks for the info!
Yes i understand that my time has been some what short (by the time i apply it will be 16 months living in Singapore).

However i have heard from others, that some people have applied directly after 6 months, and were approved - i am sure their circumstances are completely different to mine.

Also, i would imagine it takes several months (of backlog) to review my application etc. pushing it close to the 2 year mark?

I suppose from an overall view, if i am viewed as a good candidate in the eyes of the government/reviewer, would 8 odd months make a world of difference

I welcome any thoughts as to the repercussions/advantages of doing so