Tricky situation in which visa to activate in SG

[snayak21]

I am in 7th month of pregnancy and got laid off from my job with redundancy paid.

So my EP will be cancelled by NOV end and a 90 day short term visa will be issued.
I have applied for PEP and it’s approved with IPA valid till April2025.

I am due to deliver the baby by jan/feb 2025.. so intend to have a maternity leave / not be employed at least for 5-6 mths due to recovery and baby care.

My questions are
What are my options to maximise my without job period to focus on baby in this situation ?
1. Can I be in Singapore with approved IPA letter till April 2025 and then activate PEP only in April and be jobless for 6months ? ( as PEP allows job gap of 6mths)
When they review my case in 2026 Jan. Would they expect me to have a earning of /salary of 200k in 3 mths ( assuming I start the work in October 2025 and income prorated from April25)
2. Is there a way I can request MOM to review my case as gap from April-oct is due to pregnancy related ? and hence to be lenient with the income for the yr ?
3. Is it not worth considering PEP at all in my case or better to look at DP option ? - start a company with DP LOC and start a company and have flexibility on the gap / break during pregnancy?
4. Any other option I can think off ? Pls guide

[keisuke]

I am in 7th month of pregnancy and got laid off from my job with redundancy paid.

So my EP will be cancelled by NOV end and a 90 day short term visa will be issued.
I have applied for PEP and it’s approved with IPA valid till April2025.

I am due to deliver the baby by jan/feb 2025.. so intend to have a maternity leave / not be employed at least for 5-6 mths due to recovery and baby care.

My questions are
What are my options to maximise my without job period to focus on baby in this situation ?
1. Can I be in Singapore with approved IPA letter till April 2025 and then activate PEP only in April and be jobless for 6months ? ( as PEP allows job gap of 6mths)
When they review my case in 2026 Jan. Would they expect me to have a earning of /salary of 200k in 3 mths ( assuming I start the work in October 2025 and income prorated from April25)
2. Is there a way I can request MOM to review my case as gap from April-oct is due to pregnancy related ? and hence to be lenient with the income for the yr ?
3. Is it not worth considering PEP at all in my case or better to look at DP option ? - start a company with DP LOC and start a company and have flexibility on the gap / break during pregnancy?
4. Any other option I can think off ? Pls guide

Hello, I'm sorry for your difficult situation, getting laid off just a few months before the due date is unfortunate. Here're my thoughts regarding your questions:

1. I think you cannot, you need a valid pass to stay in SG, so you need to issue the PEP right after the 90 day short term visa expired. However, there's no harm trying to ask them to extend your short term visa when it's about to be expired. Last time it took me 1 day to issue the valid PEP in SingPass.
2. Yes, you need to make 200k in those 3 months, income prorated from April 2025.
3. I would recommend DP if you can, but I don't understand the need for starting a company here. One more thing to consider is that, they only issue PEP once. In your case, you applied and got the IPA, not sure they would approve for you again in the future, the other member may have better ideas.
4. Does your spouse have an EP and can sponsor a DP for you?

[kenny666]

You should be able to stay in Singapore with the IPA letter until April 2025 without any issues. The PEP does allow for a 6-month break, so you can use that time for maternity and recovery. However, when it comes to the review in 2026, the MOM may expect you to meet the income requirement, so starting work in October 2025 could still mean you need to hit that target by then.

[malcontent]

With PEP already approved, I would definitely try and stick with that and activate it as late as possible, since it’s a much stronger status than LOC under DP (for example, if your EP spouse loses their job, you’d still be good).

Are you sure you will get 90 days after your EP is cancelled? I’m from a 90 day SVP country, but 30 days is still the default in this situation. However, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting extended. You should also be eligible for an LTVP for giving birth in Singapore, however, it would be good to know whether they would extend your PEP eligibility in consideration of your pregnancy. You might want to call them up and ask.

[NYY1]

With PEP already approved, I would definitely try and stick with that and activate it as late as possible, since it’s a much stronger status than LOC under DP (for example, if your EP spouse loses their job, you’d still be good).

Are you sure you will get 90 days after your EP is cancelled? I’m from a 90 day SVP country, but 30 days is still the default in this situation. However, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting extended. You should also be eligible for an LTVP for giving birth in Singapore, however, it would be good to know whether they would extend your PEP eligibility in consideration of your pregnancy. You might want to call them up and ask.

Unless they changed it back, the standard was moved to 90 days (regardless of passport) a while back.

[NYY1]

If you are just trying to stay in Singapore to give birth/recover and then look for a new job mid-late next year, just go on a straight DP (if you can get one from your spouse? no need to do DP LOC with some company unless you are trying to work for yourself). It avoids the hassle of these other questions.

On the back end, I don't think having a PEP is worth that much. If someone wants to hire you, they will figure out a way to hire you. Also, you can certainly ask, but I don't think you will get many concessions from MOM on the PEP terms.

Congrats on the pregnancy, good luck, and regards.

[malcontent]

Unless they changed it back, the standard was moved to 90 days (regardless of passport) a while back.

My HR just confirmed to me that I’d only get 30 days… maybe they aren’t up to date?

[gold.spot]

If i understand it correctly, the HR person can apply for a 90 day SVP upon EP cancellation. So you have to have a word with the appropriate person from your HR. If they disagree and insist only on 30 days, there is still scope for you to extend your SVP. That said, easiest is to get it done from the get go.