Finding a job

[Lucky13]

Hi. I am a seasoned professional in an in house talent role. I am a British citizen and my husband (also British) and I have recently decided to relocate to Singapore. We are looking at this as a long term if not permanent move. My company isn't based in Singapore although I have a global role and my husband works for a global bank but no jobs open at the moment. I would line any advice on how we can move out there and whether it is at all possible without current companies sending us out there?

[sundaymorningstaple]

You either need to have your current company transfer you there (and they must have a presence in Singapore before that can happen) or your husband needs to be able to find employment with a company that is registered here. Otherwise, I afraid you are limited to a bog standard tourist visa (as your are British you will be allow a 90 days stay. It might be able to be extended for a month but after that, you will have to leave the country for at least a week or better a month. IF you manage to stay here for 183 days, then you will not be allow to return to Singapore until a minimum of 6 months have elapsed (this is variable and could be up to one year - like immigration officers, they are doGs with almost unlimited capabilities and hot & cold temperaments. Having said that, Singapore is expensive and you cannot rent a flat here on a tourist visa as you visa has to be for at least 6 months duration 'at the time of leasing the flat'. This means either hotels or full Service Apartments (which like hotels here, are rather expensive). Singapore is a small, a bit overcrowded, Island and therefore pretty strict on immigration matters. It's difficult to find a position from overseas and yes, the recommended method is to have a foreign employer transfer an employee to the Singapore office. Any other way will get expensive rapidly and may well not be fruitful at the end of it all. Good Luck. Try to establish a network in linkedIn, this is probably the best method.

[Lucky13]

Hi thanks for your reply. Already aware of the points you made but good to get second opinion. I am sure there are times when finding a job for non company transfers is possible but few and far between. I shall keep looking and already growing my LinkedIn network on a daily basis. As I said it’s not a dreamy idea to move it is a serious consideration for me and my husband.

[smoulder]

You would probably be better off staying where you are, not quitting your job and attempting to be hired while you are overseas. It's not going to guarantee you success, but at least you will avoid burning through your savings and end up with no job at the end of it.

[Wong_Jnr]

You say you're looking at this long term.... to put it bluntly it could take a long time.
Best bet is to position yourselves as well as you can job wise in the UK to open those opportunities to get a transfer here.
You say you husband works for a global bank, he should perhaps re position himself to one of the banks with large Singapore presence such as Standard Chartered or Bank of America. Obviously depends on what field he's in though....

[Lucky13]

Thank you for your posts smoulder and Wong_Jnr. I know any move from one country to another is never going to be easy and certainly somewhere as popular as Singapore. However, where there is a will there is a way. I will continue looking and also husband is doing the same. I am ready to do this slowly and so yes you are right in saying that it may well take a long time. There is no rush and I am in a good position in my work at the moment too. I will keep you posted if I need further advice.

[smoulder]

Out of curiosity, why Singapore? What attracts you to the country? I'm not saying that there aren't good reasons to be here (I personally love it here so that's a good reason to be here), but I suppose folks here might be able to help you better if they understand what your reasons are.