New entry of approval

[newinsingapore123]

Hi All,

Is anyone here impacted by the new change on the entry of approval to Singapore? (https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-r ... escheduled)

I received my work pass, and followed by entry of approval to Singapore on May 23rd. But, I just saw the news (link above) posted on May 7th. So, it seems that plan is going down the drain. (I am coming to Singapore from one of the "higher" risk countries/regions.

I am wondering if anyone is also affected by this new change, and what do you do? It seems that there is no settled date on when Singapore will issue entry of approval again to the "higher" risk countries/regions.

Thank you!

[mpnyp]

Yes, my husband and I received our EP/DP several weeks ago and had been approved to arrive in Singapore from the US at the end of June. We are devastated--we had already given notice to our landlords, our jobs here in the US. Our contacts at (what was supposed to be) my husband's job in Singapore aren't giving us any additional information or reassurance and don't really seem to realize what a desperate situation this is for us.

On top of all that, I'm a US citizen and my husband is not, and his US visa runs out in August, so we're even less able to just sit tight here than we would be if we were both citizens. Can we reasonably expect MOM to get things sorted out in time, or should we give up on Singapore and start scrambling to find jobs elsewhere? If anyone has any information on when they might start letting previously-approved EPs in again, we would deeply appreciate it.

[newinsingapore123]

Sorry to hear that mpnyp. I hope things will be sorted out soon, or at least more information will come out.

I am also following if there are anyone know any information on this.

Thank you!

[mpnyp]

Thanks--fingers crossed for us all! (editing to add: if your workplace gives you any guidance about how to move forward, newinsingapore123, and you're willing to update us here, please do! I'm so sorry you're getting cut off when your flights were so soon. Hopefully your future workplace is able to help you sort things out.)

[newinsingapore123]

Yes, will do!

So far, the HR of my workplace can only suggest cancel/reschedule my flight.

[mpnyp]

That's so frustrating; our HR has not been able to tell us much either. Really, really hoping that MOM will give more information on probable timelines at some point so we can all start to make Plans B. I hope your flights are at least not too difficult to reschedule!

We are in a slightly unusual situation in that my husband is actually a NZ citizen, and we are considering leaving the US when his visa runs out to go to NZ, instead, for the 21 days necessary to be allowed in to SG. But it would be extremely expensive, and of course there's always a chance that MOM tightens things even further to the point where even coming from a low-risk country won't be enough.

Such a stressful and uncertain situation!

[newinsingapore123]

Oh wow, that is pretty unusual haha. Would your husband be able to bring you to NZ as well?

I would say that would be a good plan B. I am not sure what your situation is, but I heard rumor that some companies may not want to wait for their new and/or current employees that are stuck outside Singapore, and they could just terminate the employment agreement. Not sure how true this information is though.

It is quiet stressful. I really hope some information will come out soon from MOM.

[nelyanne]

If you have an option to go to NZ with your husband, I would definitely try this. It may be your cheapest AND fastest option in the long-term run.
Last year, after Singapore closed borders for the work pass holders in March, it took ~3 months before things started slowly moving forward. During this time, it was super hard to get approval. Still, some people had to wait 6 months or even more.

[mpnyp]

Thank you for the insights, nelyanne; we're strongly leaning towards the NZ escape plan. (And if things don't open back up by August, we'll have no choice anyway!) Newinsingapore123, we were very scared of just getting dropped from my husband's contract, but our company at least has indicated a willingness to try and make this work--I hope that most other people going through this find themselves being treated with the same degree of generosity and flexibility that we are.