Singapore Expats

Employment pass in Feb 2021

Relocating, travelling or planning to make Singapore home? Discuss the criterias, passes or visa that is required.
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JVW1985
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Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by JVW1985 » Wed, 27 Jan 2021 4:56 pm

Hoping for some input from those with experience and knowledge in the area of gaining and employment pass, in the current environment.

Hoping to relocate (myself, partner, 3yo son) to Singapore from New Zealand. I am NZ citizen and partner is UK citizen. However i have family living in Singapore which are Singapore PRs and citizens.

My proposed role is at a large foreign financial institution and salary would be min $18K sgd monthly.

Partner would also be in a similar situation, same field.

What is the current situation with foreigners gaining employment passes? Has it changed because of covid? Are our chances ok?

I expect I’ll have job lined up first before moving / applying, but partner may need to be in Singapore first before being appointed a role.

Thanks in advance for any input

the observer
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Re: Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by the observer » Wed, 27 Jan 2021 7:33 pm

Harder than before but not impossible.

Worth reading. In a nutshell, if a qualified local is bypassed, and someone internally whistle blows...

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore ... -most-from

SingaporeEP
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Re: Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by SingaporeEP » Thu, 28 Jan 2021 7:33 pm

Hi,

I understand your situation as I was there just a few months ago. To answer your questions - Yes, EP are difficult to get approved compared to earlier, yet people are getting approval provides you add a skill that local can't, and it is up to your employer to justify why they are hiring you. I would say at 15-18k SGD, you would be bringing a significant value for your employer, they should highlight it.

MoM stipulates that employers can hire foreigners only if they find a right local candidate after advertising a post for 28 days, so your employer must try and find a local candidate first and then only they can hire you (if no local candidate is finalized) and then proceed for your EP and your family's DP.

Im hoping to make a move and my EP application isunder process, along with my wife's DP applied concurrently by my new employer in Singapore. Once, and if, it's approved we will have to apply for a Entry Approval (covid-19 measure) as you can't just fly down with a visa these days, need a special permit and that might take additional days post EP approval.

Once we get there and I start my job, wife who's on DP will try and find a local job with some employer willing to hire her on an LOC (Addendum to DP), or process a fresh EP for her.

Hope this helps, cheers!

JVW1985
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Re: Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by JVW1985 » Fri, 29 Jan 2021 7:43 am

Fantastic info, thanks so much that really helps.

Would be hard to fill this specific role with a local, but I’ll leave that part up to the company to work through.

How long has your application taken so far?

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shunkwugga
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Re: Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by shunkwugga » Sat, 30 Jan 2021 12:21 am

My wife and I had our EP and DP go through without any issues. The EP/DP process was really painless for us. I don't remember the timelines offhand but it was in line with our expectations which would have been set around what the websites told us. Coordinating pets and SHN and entry PCR tests on the other hand...

Hopefully your company helps out with that stuff, I'll just leave it at that. EP/DP was one of the easier parts of the move.
Who is this 'General Failure' and why is he reading my hard drive?

JVW1985
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Re: Employment pass in Feb 2021

Post by JVW1985 » Sun, 31 Jan 2021 7:58 am

Thanks for the informative reply, sounds like in terms of EP I may not have much to worry about!

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