PR chances after staying half my life in SG

[vnclongstay]

Hi all,

So the day finally came when I started to wonder if Singapore is a place where I can continue to live and it saddens me greatly. I really like it here and I am grateful for the chances I received here but honestly I would have never imagined to live in a country half my life and still being treated as a complete foreigner... My Singlish is certainly better than my native language now.

I am Vietnamese but I have lived in Singapore since I was 14, now I am 28. I got here on a full board government scholarship (from Singapore) to study at one of the top secondary schools and then JC. Then I got another government scholarship to study Bachelors at NUS (which came with 3 year bond that requires me to work in Singapore). Then I got another full board scholarship to do my PhD at NUS. Currently I am working to "pay off" this 3 year bond. I tried applying for PR once and got rejected 2 years ago. But before that I received an invitation to apply for PR when I was doing my PhD back in 2019. However, I was on PhD exchange in US for a year and when I went back the invitation was already expired...

It seems that I am stuck in limbo but it kind of shocks me to think that SG government would just want to let me go after paying for my education for more than 10 years. I think of starting a family and having kids in the future but its impossible and stressful to do that considering I am just here on EP now...

My backgroud:
Age : 28
Race : Asian
National: Vietnamese
Gender : Female
Marital Status : Married to EU citizen for a year (we got married after my last PR application rejection).
Education : PhD from NUS
Job : Research scientist
Length of stay in SG: 13 years +
Salary : 80k
Pass : EP

Do you think my race is the only thing that makes me undesirable here? I wonder if marrying an European put my chances even lower now since he is not Chinese? He stays with me on DP but he has decent business in Europe that he manages remotely and he is okay with relocating to Singapore given I decide to stay here permanently - but its not up to me...
I am just wondering why I got rejected 2 years ago, is it because I just started the job?

Thanks for reading my Singapore life story and really appreciate your responses.

[Ignorant1]

Hi all,

So the day finally came when I started to wonder if Singapore is a place where I can continue to live and it saddens me greatly. I really like it here and I am grateful for the chances I received here but honestly I would have never imagined to live in a country half my life and still being treated as a complete foreigner... My Singlish is certainly better than my native language now.

I am Vietnamese but I have lived in Singapore since I was 14, now I am 28. I got here on a full board government scholarship (from Singapore) to study at one of the top secondary schools and then JC. Then I got another government scholarship to study Bachelors at NUS (which came with 3 year bond that requires me to work in Singapore). Then I got another full board scholarship to do my PhD at NUS. Currently I am working to "pay off" this 3 year bond. I tried applying for PR once and got rejected 2 years ago. But before that I received an invitation to apply for PR when I was doing my PhD back in 2019. However, I was on PhD exchange in US for a year and when I went back the invitation was already expired...

It seems that I am stuck in limbo but it kind of shocks me to think that SG government would just want to let me go after paying for my education for more than 10 years. I think of starting a family and having kids in the future but its impossible and stressful to do that considering I am just here on EP now...

My backgroud:
Age : 28
Race : Asian
National: Vietnamese
Gender : Female
Marital Status : Married to EU citizen for a year (we got married after my last PR application rejection).
Education : PhD from NUS
Job : Research scientist
Length of stay in SG: 13 years +
Salary : 80k
Pass : EP

Do you think my race is the only thing that makes me undesirable here? I wonder if marrying an European put my chances even lower now since he is not Chinese? He stays with me on DP but he has decent business in Europe that he manages remotely and he is okay with relocating to Singapore given I decide to stay here permanently - but its not up to me...
I am just wondering why I got rejected 2 years ago, is it because I just started the job?

Thanks for reading my Singapore life story and really appreciate your responses.

No one would actually no why you got rejected.

I know of 2 cases (first hand) who were invited to becomes Pr after they graduated in 2007 and they dint respond to it.
Applied few times there after and rejected .

You are young. You can apply few times and then take a call ?

[vnclongstay]

Does this mean if you dont reply for PR invitation once then you are blacklisted forever?

[smoulder]

You declined the invitation. High chance that you won't get it now and the reason is quite likely because you declined it earlier.

[NYY1]

Hi all,

So the day finally came when I started to wonder if Singapore is a place where I can continue to live and it saddens me greatly. I really like it here and I am grateful for the chances I received here but honestly I would have never imagined to live in a country half my life and still being treated as a complete foreigner... My Singlish is certainly better than my native language now.

I am Vietnamese but I have lived in Singapore since I was 14, now I am 28. I got here on a full board government scholarship (from Singapore) to study at one of the top secondary schools and then JC. Then I got another government scholarship to study Bachelors at NUS (which came with 3 year bond that requires me to work in Singapore). Then I got another full board scholarship to do my PhD at NUS. Currently I am working to "pay off" this 3 year bond. I tried applying for PR once and got rejected 2 years ago. But before that I received an invitation to apply for PR when I was doing my PhD back in 2019. However, I was on PhD exchange in US for a year and when I went back the invitation was already expired...

It seems that I am stuck in limbo but it kind of shocks me to think that SG government would just want to let me go after paying for my education for more than 10 years. I think of starting a family and having kids in the future but its impossible and stressful to do that considering I am just here on EP now...

My backgroud:
Age : 28
Race : Asian
National: Vietnamese
Gender : Female
Marital Status : Married to EU citizen for a year (we got married after my last PR application rejection).
Education : PhD from NUS
Job : Research scientist
Length of stay in SG: 13 years +
Salary : 80k
Pass : EP

Do you think my race is the only thing that makes me undesirable here? I wonder if marrying an European put my chances even lower now since he is not Chinese? He stays with me on DP but he has decent business in Europe that he manages remotely and he is okay with relocating to Singapore given I decide to stay here permanently - but its not up to me...
I am just wondering why I got rejected 2 years ago, is it because I just started the job?

Thanks for reading my Singapore life story and really appreciate your responses.

Hi and sorry to hear of the situation. Just curious, was the invitation mailed to an address you were using here but you did not see it until you returned (and it had expired)? Or, you just weren't thinking about it as you were still in the US at the time for studies? Either way, I'm not sure if it is possible to clarify with ICA what the situation was then. If not, I guess one can apply again and see what happens. As you mention, you spent a lot of your schooling years here, which is usually a plus. On the other hand, the O category for race is very small (assuming you are not of Chinese descent) and others have commented on previously passing up the opportunity.

Do you have a strong circle of VN friends here and know who has received PR and who is still trying? My impression was that some have while others are still trying, although not everyone was educated here from such a young age (I'm assuming you came at Secondary 3 as one of the scholars).

Anyways, hope you can figure something out here. You could also try to move forward with other family/life choices (understand the add'l stress), but just know you may need to activate a plan B on short notice (not sure if VN or your husband's home country is more suitable if necessary).

Out of curiosity, how long was your last application pending and when are you done paying off the uni bond? Based on the dates above, I assume you are about done paying off the bond (not sure if it is better to apply again once this is completed).

Best of luck. Hope others can provide more clarity.

[Lisafuller]

Does this mean if you dont reply for PR invitation once then you are blacklisted forever?

The ICA never forgets

[Lisafuller]

Hi all,

So the day finally came when I started to wonder if Singapore is a place where I can continue to live and it saddens me greatly. I really like it here and I am grateful for the chances I received here but honestly I would have never imagined to live in a country half my life and still being treated as a complete foreigner... My Singlish is certainly better than my native language now.

I am Vietnamese but I have lived in Singapore since I was 14, now I am 28. I got here on a full board government scholarship (from Singapore) to study at one of the top secondary schools and then JC. Then I got another government scholarship to study Bachelors at NUS (which came with 3 year bond that requires me to work in Singapore). Then I got another full board scholarship to do my PhD at NUS. Currently I am working to "pay off" this 3 year bond. I tried applying for PR once and got rejected 2 years ago. But before that I received an invitation to apply for PR when I was doing my PhD back in 2019. However, I was on PhD exchange in US for a year and when I went back the invitation was already expired...

It seems that I am stuck in limbo but it kind of shocks me to think that SG government would just want to let me go after paying for my education for more than 10 years. I think of starting a family and having kids in the future but its impossible and stressful to do that considering I am just here on EP now...

My backgroud:
Age : 28
Race : Asian
National: Vietnamese
Gender : Female
Marital Status : Married to EU citizen for a year (we got married after my last PR application rejection).
Education : PhD from NUS
Job : Research scientist
Length of stay in SG: 13 years +
Salary : 80k
Pass : EP

Do you think my race is the only thing that makes me undesirable here? I wonder if marrying an European put my chances even lower now since he is not Chinese? He stays with me on DP but he has decent business in Europe that he manages remotely and he is okay with relocating to Singapore given I decide to stay here permanently - but its not up to me...
I am just wondering why I got rejected 2 years ago, is it because I just started the job?

Thanks for reading my Singapore life story and really appreciate your responses.

Hi and sorry to hear of the situation. Just curious, was the invitation mailed to an address you were using here but you did not see it until you returned (and it had expired)? Or, you just weren't thinking about it as you were still in the US at the time for studies? Either way, I'm not sure if it is possible to clarify with ICA what the situation was then. If not, I guess one can apply again and see what happens. As you mention, you spent a lot of your schooling years here, which is usually a plus. On the other hand, the O category for race is very small (assuming you are not of Chinese descent) and others have commented on previously passing up the opportunity.

Do you have a strong circle of VN friends here and know who has received PR and who is still trying? My impression was that some have while others are still trying, although not everyone was educated here from such a young age (I'm assuming you came at Secondary 3 as one of the scholars).

Anyways, hope you can figure something out here. You could also try to move forward with other family/life choices (understand the add'l stress), but just know you may need to activate a plan B on short notice (not sure if VN or your husband's home country is more suitable if necessary).

Out of curiosity, how long was your last application pending and when are you done paying off the uni bond? Based on the dates above, I assume you are about done paying off the bond (not sure if it is better to apply again once this is completed).

Best of luck. Hope others can provide more clarity.

Yes, though the emotional ties can be strong, it's always good to have a Plan B. One thing that's nice is that since her partner is European, she might want to consider settling there, most of the countries have pretty liberal immigration laws, so she might be able to become a PR there/citizen easily.

[Lisafuller]

You declined the invitation. High chance that you won't get it now and the reason is quite likely because you declined it earlier.

Though the ICA can be petty and vindictive, I do believe they would want to reap the ROI after investing so much into her education and continued growth in SG. It would be a shame for them to let her go.

[Lisafuller]

Hi all,

So the day finally came when I started to wonder if Singapore is a place where I can continue to live and it saddens me greatly. I really like it here and I am grateful for the chances I received here but honestly I would have never imagined to live in a country half my life and still being treated as a complete foreigner... My Singlish is certainly better than my native language now.

I am Vietnamese but I have lived in Singapore since I was 14, now I am 28. I got here on a full board government scholarship (from Singapore) to study at one of the top secondary schools and then JC. Then I got another government scholarship to study Bachelors at NUS (which came with 3 year bond that requires me to work in Singapore). Then I got another full board scholarship to do my PhD at NUS. Currently I am working to "pay off" this 3 year bond. I tried applying for PR once and got rejected 2 years ago. But before that I received an invitation to apply for PR when I was doing my PhD back in 2019. However, I was on PhD exchange in US for a year and when I went back the invitation was already expired...

It seems that I am stuck in limbo but it kind of shocks me to think that SG government would just want to let me go after paying for my education for more than 10 years. I think of starting a family and having kids in the future but its impossible and stressful to do that considering I am just here on EP now...

My backgroud:
Age : 28
Race : Asian
National: Vietnamese
Gender : Female
Marital Status : Married to EU citizen for a year (we got married after my last PR application rejection).
Education : PhD from NUS
Job : Research scientist
Length of stay in SG: 13 years +
Salary : 80k
Pass : EP

Do you think my race is the only thing that makes me undesirable here? I wonder if marrying an European put my chances even lower now since he is not Chinese? He stays with me on DP but he has decent business in Europe that he manages remotely and he is okay with relocating to Singapore given I decide to stay here permanently - but its not up to me...
I am just wondering why I got rejected 2 years ago, is it because I just started the job?

Thanks for reading my Singapore life story and really appreciate your responses.

There's nothing wrong, per se, with your profile. The biggest red flag is the fact that you passed up the opportunity to apply for PR when it was offered to you. That is a clear sign of disinterest, one that the ICA will not forget.

On the other hand, I imagine you have a better shot than others who passed up the opportunity with less history in Singapore. The government has put so much into you that I find it hard to believe that they would just let you go without a second thought.

So, could go either way.

[malcontent]

You declined the invitation. High chance that you won't get it now and the reason is quite likely because you declined it earlier.

I am not convinced that her PR would be rejected simply because she didn’t respond to earlier invitation to apply for PR. But there is one way to find out — go speak to an officer.

When our daughter’s PR was rejected at age 5 for no apparent reason, my wife promptly marched down to speak with an officer. She addressed each of their questions and doubts, and about a month later, her PR was approved. Sometimes you need to be a little aggressive to show you are serious about it. I remember writing a nice letter outlining our family’s long history in Singapore and our daughter’s future contributions to Singapore.

[Lisafuller]

You declined the invitation. High chance that you won't get it now and the reason is quite likely because you declined it earlier.

I am not convinced that her PR would be rejected simply because she didn’t respond to earlier invitation to apply for PR. But there is one way to find out — go speak to an officer.

When our daughter’s PR was rejected at age 5 for no apparent reason, my wife promptly marched down to speak with an officer. She addressed each of their questions and doubts, and about a month later, her PR was approved. Sometimes you need to be a little aggressive to show you are serious about it. I remember writing a nice letter outlining our family’s long history in Singapore and our daughter’s future contributions to Singapore.

What doubts did they have exactly? She was five.

[malcontent]

You declined the invitation. High chance that you won't get it now and the reason is quite likely because you declined it earlier.

I am not convinced that her PR would be rejected simply because she didn’t respond to earlier invitation to apply for PR. But there is one way to find out — go speak to an officer.

When our daughter’s PR was rejected at age 5 for no apparent reason, my wife promptly marched down to speak with an officer. She addressed each of their questions and doubts, and about a month later, her PR was approved. Sometimes you need to be a little aggressive to show you are serious about it. I remember writing a nice letter outlining our family’s long history in Singapore and our daughter’s future contributions to Singapore.

What doubts did they have exactly? She was five.

That is a great question. All of the questions were aimed at my wife — whether she was pulling her weight and meeting their expectations as a PR. They wanted to know about her business, her income and even residential property she owned (I suspect because granting my daughter PR would open access to HDB, and they are trying to moderate the demand for HDB flats).

[Lisafuller]

I am not convinced that her PR would be rejected simply because she didn’t respond to earlier invitation to apply for PR. But there is one way to find out — go speak to an officer.

When our daughter’s PR was rejected at age 5 for no apparent reason, my wife promptly marched down to speak with an officer. She addressed each of their questions and doubts, and about a month later, her PR was approved. Sometimes you need to be a little aggressive to show you are serious about it. I remember writing a nice letter outlining our family’s long history in Singapore and our daughter’s future contributions to Singapore.

What doubts did they have exactly? She was five.

That is a great question. All of the questions were aimed at my wife — whether she was pulling her weight and meeting their expectations as a PR. They wanted to know about her business, her income and even residential property she owned (I suspect because granting my daughter PR would open access to HDB, and they are trying to moderate the demand for HDB flats).

Wow, they were thinking so far ahead.

[vnclongstay]

There's nothing wrong, per se, with your profile. The biggest red flag is the fact that you passed up the opportunity to apply for PR when it was offered to you. That is a clear sign of disinterest, one that the ICA will not forget.

So you think that in my profile the only potential red flag could be that I missed the time window to apply the when they sent PR invitation? So not marrying Singaporean does not hinder the chances? I thought it could be viewed negatively by ICA, since if I really wanted to stay in Singapore I should have married Singaporean or at least a PR? I mean love does not choose based on nationality, but I feel like reality might be different... Actually I am wondering if there is anyone else in the country who has stayed longer than me permanently in Singapore but is not even PR. I have seen some cases of people in the forum that tried for 13 years, but for 16 years I seem to be in a really small minority. This year will be the year after which I lived in Singapore longer than in my native country

[vnclongstay]

That is a great question. All of the questions were aimed at my wife — whether she was pulling her weight and meeting their expectations as a PR. They wanted to know about her business, her income and even residential property she owned (I suspect because granting my daughter PR would open access to HDB, and they are trying to moderate the demand for HDB flats).

This is quite interesting, I didnt even know you can contact ICA directly regarding your application. Do they actually allow you to ask questions why you were rejected and discuss what might be potentially missing? I thought No is a No, end of story, better luck next time.