Relocating from UK with partner

[Highlandspring92]

Hi there,

Looking for a bit of advice if possible. My partner is a qualified primary school teacher and is consdering a job in Singapore for one of the Brittish International Schools. I work in Cyber Security/Software Engineering in the UK with 10+ years expierience.

Looking through this forum it seems unlikely many Singapore companies will hire candidates direct from the UK. If my partner were to have a job there would it better my chances?

Any advice would be appreciated, would like to be able to make this move together with my partner just want to know how realistic that is.

[Myasis Dragon]

When you say "partner", I assume that you do not have a spouse or you have a civil union which is not recognized by Singapore. If correct, then both of you will require an employment pass to live and work in Singapore. No dependent pass available.

Second, des your partner actually have a job with an International School lined up? With the school applying for an employment pass? Because right now, and because of Covid, getting new employment passes is very difficult.

Third, it will make no difference to you whether or not your partner has an employment pass. You must get your own employment pass on your own merits.

And that brings us to fourth... that is going to be extremely difficult to do. Maybe your cyber security credentials might get you in, but the fact is, almost nobody applying as a foreigner gets a job in Singapore. Add to that the fact that IT is a sector that the gahmen reserves for local graduates and you are facing a double whammy. Your chances of getting hired are close to zero.

But, find out for yourself. Do a search of MNC's with offices in Singapore. Forget the local firms... you'll never get hired there. For each of the MNC's in Singapore that you select, check out the Singapore jobs. Apply for some of them. See what happens.

[Sunjackal]

As has been said, you’d have to be able to get an employment pass independently if you are looking to follow your girlfriend. The process is a little easier if you are married, but there’s still a lot of hurdles to overcome.

My wife is Singaporean, and we have a son, and it was quite the process for me to get over here from the U.K.

[Wong_Jnr]

Working in cyber security with 10 years experience I say you've got a good chance.
It's an industry the government are promoting and need expertise.
I know a couple of people in cyber security who came here in a similar position to you. They say it's a real struggle to hire locally and even within the region.