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by Myasis Dragon » Thu, 25 Feb 2021 6:11 am
Choosing between a DP/LOC and an EP is a red herring here. Either one will work for you, and both will require nearly the exact same circumstances for you to be issued one or the other.
First, you say that you are on a DP. This means that your husband must be on an EP. Is that correct? And if he is on an EP, then he is one of a fortunate few who was able to form his own company and then have the company apply for an EP for himself. Is that correct? In this case, it would mean that your husband is also the director of his company, correct? And he is the sole director, correct?
About “freelancing”: By definition, it means that a self-employed individual is working on a series of short term projects of varying duration, from anywhere from a few hours a week to full time. Such people report their income to IRAS as a sole proprietor. In Singapore, only citizens and permanent residents can freelance in this manner. Up until a few years ago, a fair number of people on DP posted in our forums that they had successfully setup a sole proprietorship and had successfully applied for a EP from their SP. However, I do not think this is possible any more, given the new language on the ACRA and MoM websites. Bottom line: You can’t “freelance”, you can only work for a Singapore registered company.
In my view, the gahmen clamped down on DP’s working as freelancers because it cannot control what they are doing, no matter what their business activity codes say they were doing. I recall that one woman formed a SP, and went to work for it… cleaning houses. The gahmen is very protective of low end jobs and DP’s with an SP was a big hole in the game.
I’d say that you’re not going to be able to get any kind of a work permit through your husband’s company. As SMS pointed out, you must be paid a minimum monthly salary as an EP. If you think you can make that much each month “freelancing”, then the possibility exists, at least in theory, that you could be granted an EP in your husband’s company.
I see your LOC as being soemwhat more problematic. True, there are no salary requirements for a LOC, but on the other hand, there is no telling what kind of work a LOC might be doing. And here’s the rub for you: If your husband’s company applied for a LOC for you to be a bookkeeping assistant, it just might be granted by MoM since it’s related to the company functions. But, if it’s not related to company functions, and counselling/teaching doesn’t sound like it is, then MoM doesn’t know if you’re taking a Singaporean job. I don’t think that the chances are good at all. The problem is not the business activities that you have registered with IRAS (those are informational only), the problem is that the LOC specifies exactly the work to be performed.
As a side note, since you have specified counselling/teaching, you may run into issues with MoM asking for registrations/certifications for your work, for either type of pass. Your husband’s company may have to advertise on the job board.
Here’s another thing: If you were to get a work permit through your husband’s company (EP or LOC), then you must invoice on his company invoices. Your earnings must be recorded on the company books, deposited in the company bank account, and reported to IRAS. You must be issued a paycheck from the company bank account, and issued an IR8A. If the company is GST registered, then you must charge GST as well.
Having said that, the worst that can happen is that you are rejected. So, I’d start with the easy one. Have your husband’s company apply for a LOC for you. If that fails, and you can earn enough money, then have your husband’s company apply for an EP. If that fails, your only choice is to form a private limited, and that is a lot of work, with significant risk that you won’t be approved for the EP.
