Singapore Citizenship Rejected

[Lisafuller]

Volunteering does absolutely NOTHING. It has been abused to death by a certain nationality in the past. Many of them stop volunteering after they get PR/SC so ICA has stopped caring about volunteer contributions. Only volunteer because you WANT to, not because you want to get PR/SC.

Same with testimonials, blood donation, investing into stocks/bonds, property/car/insurance, etc. It only benefits yourself, not the country.

Honestly, it might have been easier if you studied in local schools and married a local or PR instead of going overseas.

Exactly, it comes across as disingenuous so unless you want to be perceived as a phony, don't bother, including in the application.

[Lisafuller]

The fact that you attended an International School in Singapore and studied abroad probably won't work in your favour.

Maybe getting married and having kids would increase your chances. Singapore prefers families.

I don't think attending international school is necessarily a red flag, as there are many reasons why an Expat may choose the international route that has nothing to do with intention to stay in SG.

I can think of 4 possible reasons why expats are choosing International Schools:

A) a relatively small cost difference between a local school for the foreigner VS international school (N/A, author of the thread was a PR)
B) low quota for foreigners (N/A, same as above)
C) preparing the kid for further education/work/life abroad
D) thinking that the local schools are worse than international schools

A) & B) are not so relevant to PRs, so C) & D) remain.
C) is closely related to an intention to move away from Singapore, D) - not so strictly. But on the contrary, choosing a local school as the best possible choice for a kid is somehow a sign of accepting the Singaporean education system. So might be seen as a step towards integration. Of course, that's just my guess.

With singapore widely regarded as the education capital of the world, I doubt anyone looks down on local schools. The more likely reason would be C, which I believe would also be the reason why the ICA may not take to it too kindly.

[Lisafuller]

I don't think attending International School is necessarily a red flag, as there are many reasons why an Expat may choose the international route that has nothing to do with intention to stay in SG.

I can think of 4 possible reasons why expats are choosing International Schools:

A) a relatively small cost difference between a local school for the foreigner VS international school (N/A, author of the thread was a PR)
B) low quota for foreigners (N/A, same as above)
C) preparing the kid for further education/work/life abroad
D) thinking that the local schools are worse than international schools

A) & B) are not so relevant to PRs, so C) & D) remain.
C) is closely related to an intention to move away from Singapore, D) - not so strictly. But on the contrary, choosing a local school as the best possible choice for a kid is somehow a sign of accepting the Singaporean education system. So might be seen as a step towards integration. Of course, that's just my guess.

c) is one of the main reasons ICA is not to give long term residency status. If they move away why give PR or SC to them?

Right. But then again, it's very difficult to discern the exact reason behind sending kids to an international school, so I doubt they would make any concrete decision on the basis of schooling.

[nelyanne]

I don't think attending International School is necessarily a red flag, as there are many reasons why an Expat may choose the international route that has nothing to do with intention to stay in SG.

I can think of 4 possible reasons why expats are choosing International Schools:

A) a relatively small cost difference between a local school for the foreigner VS international school (N/A, author of the thread was a PR)
B) low quota for foreigners (N/A, same as above)
C) preparing the kid for further education/work/life abroad
D) thinking that the local schools are worse than international schools

A) & B) are not so relevant to PRs, so C) & D) remain.
C) is closely related to an intention to move away from Singapore, D) - not so strictly. But on the contrary, choosing a local school as the best possible choice for a kid is somehow a sign of accepting the Singaporean education system. So might be seen as a step towards integration. Of course, that's just my guess.

With singapore widely regarded as the education capital of the world, I doubt anyone looks down on local schools. The more likely reason would be C, which I believe would also be the reason why the ICA may not take to it too kindly.

The local system is not perfect and I am sure that many foreigners can see that (not very flexible when comes to students with different needs, very high student-teacher ratio, the way how studying an additional foreign language is organized, etc). Hopefully, it will change for the better (I am just being naive here ). I have some PR friends who studied in international schools and remain in Singapore during their adult life, but I guess it's rare and ICA knows that.

[Mad Scientist]

This thread is getting off the rails
OP; simple truth, your nationality stick out like a sore thumb. period
Go and marry a Sg lady, procreate. boys better, they come running to you
Or else look for other place to live
I cannot teach you how to play the game. Talk to bangla boys they are very creative on these issues

[Lisafuller]

I can think of 4 possible reasons why expats are choosing International Schools:

A) a relatively small cost difference between a local school for the foreigner VS International School (N/A, author of the thread was a PR)
B) low quota for foreigners (N/A, same as above)
C) preparing the kid for further education/work/life abroad
D) thinking that the local schools are worse than international schools

A) & B) are not so relevant to PRs, so C) & D) remain.
C) is closely related to an intention to move away from Singapore, D) - not so strictly. But on the contrary, choosing a local school as the best possible choice for a kid is somehow a sign of accepting the Singaporean education system. So might be seen as a step towards integration. Of course, that's just my guess.

With singapore widely regarded as the education capital of the world, I doubt anyone looks down on local schools. The more likely reason would be C, which I believe would also be the reason why the ICA may not take to it too kindly.

The local system is not perfect and I am sure that many foreigners can see that (not very flexible when comes to students with different needs, very high student-teacher ratio, the way how studying an additional foreign language is organized, etc). Hopefully, it will change for the better (I am just being naive here ). I have some PR friends who studied in international schools and remain in Singapore during their adult life, but I guess it's rare and ICA knows that.

Fair enough, there are definitely flaws in the system, like any other country in the world. Still, I believe it's better than 99% of them and that's clear to most.