Definition of "expat"

[tiktok]

I was pondering some things...

1. When an expat becomes PR, are they still an expat? They are
2. How about when they get citizenship? Surely they are no longer expat but Singaporean now.
3. Why are Bangladeshi migrant workers not called expats?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Because they are in Singapore. No other reason. Technically they are Expats as well. The problem is the government like to pigeonhole people so they can abuse them. In Singapore you have Foreign Talent (FT = Expat), and regional foreign labour (Bangladeshi, PRC, etc.) Singapore theoretically uses the British form of English, but modified for their own benefit. Good example is a Eurasian. My children are Eruasians (half caucasian, half Asian [South]) as are any children born to mixed parentage of east and west. But not here in Singapore. Eurasian is a "pure" mixture of local and portuguese colonials, therefore there are only a fixed number of them that will disappear with time as long as the fertility rate stays at 1.13 (one of the 3 lowest in the world). My children are, according to their NRICs, Caucasian, but both have kopi-susu skin, but brown hair. You will get used to the anomalies here over time. It's just like the Racist HDB policy (Go to HDB to have a read or do some archive checking here as I've ranted about it off & on) (As a 2%'r here I have few choices where I can buy an HDB resale flat due to the racial quotas).

Technically you are no longer an Expat when you take up citizenship but again, the international meaning of expat is different that the local one. Here, you are no longer considered an expat by the government when you take up PR. Businesses will renegotiate your contract if you take up PR in order to screw you of your Housing, schooling, and transportation allowances and due to then having to pay into the CPF Board. But you can leave any time you like and take all of your CPF with you if you desire by giving up your PR. Westerners are all considered Expats as you cannot stay here without a work visa of at least an S pass (not talking about LTVP or DP as in unemployed trailing spouse or school aged child) even if your are working on a local contract. Prejudices abound here.

[tiktok]

Thanks for the explanation. The government's definitions certainly seem racist and illogical.

But if we disregard that, surely "expat" means anyone living here who's not PR, regardless of ethnicity.

To be honest, these questions occurred to me when I picked up a copy of "Expat Living" and everyone in it was white.

[sundaymorningstaple]

All Singaporeans will tell you that they are not racist (except some of the aunties & uncles over 60). But when you mention the racist policies of the HDB (Government Sanctioned). The first thing they say is "We're Pragmatic". I always tell them, pragmatic or not, if a policy is carried out based on your ethnicity or religious beliefs, it's Racist, whether pragmatic or not. I can understand why but that still doesn't make it any less racist or morally wrong. I have always believed in calling a spade a spade.

[therat]

If dont have such policy.
People will tend to stay together with their own race.
Then will have chinese town, indian town or Malay town which the government dont want it to happen.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[sundaymorningstaple]

Like I said, the policy is racist, but pragmatic. No matter how you cut it, it is still a Racist Policy by definition. It's just like Eurasian here has one meaning, but it difference in the rest of the English speaking world. If you put a wig and a skirt on a brick, it is still a brick.

As Singapore is 75% Chinese they can live damn near anywhere they would like. But the other races, like Indian, or worse, other (like myself) @ 2% cannot often live where they would like regardless of how much money they have if they don't want to blow their money on crappy condos.

Like I said, I call a spade a spade.

[sundaymorningstaple]

therat,

And if that isn't bad enough, by deliberately fracturing the minorities into little bits so they cannot even partake of the priorty schemes afforded by the HDB when you live in close proximity to your parents, etc., You think that sits okay with minorities? Or when they tore down kumpongs and built new towns and scattered certain religious groups willy-nilly all over the island, with them being the poorest and not able to travel as freely to go to their place of worship? These people will never be 100% for Singapore as they have been given short shrift just like the US did to the Native American. It's BS. Sorry, but you been here long enough to know how I feel about this.

[PNGMK]

Wait until you go to sell your flat that you bought from a Chinaman but suddenly HDB decide you can only sell to the minority races.... there goes your market.