PR Good time to Apply?

[Godmode]

HI,
I have been in here for last 6 months and now thinking of applying for a PR. However, i am wondering if this is the right time since its almost end of the year and the PR quota might just be over?

I might be wrong...can someone throw some light on this?

[jpatokal]

Nobody knows and the ICA ain't telling. But I'll give you an interesting personal data point: my friend and I applied for PR at the same time in November. We both had similar salaries, similar qualifications, similar jobs, similar industries, and race "Other". She comes from a country with many PR applications, I come from a country with very few. Mine took under a month to be approved; hers took over two months, and only came in Jan next year. So was there a quota being rolled over here? Your guess is as good as mine.

[Bonbon]

didn't even know there's a quota!!!!

I'm still pondering whether I should apply or not....currently getting CPF paid in cash...good money, but if with CPF......well.can't see the money, not like i need the CPF for housing or whatever???

Any thoughts?/advice?

guess this is a bit off tracked ....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Bonbon,

I guess the easy answer that would be are you saving all that they are giving you extra? Are you getting the same returns on that money you are saving? If you can answer yes to both than, what with them taking more and more of our PR subsidies away (or cutting them like the hospitalization that the PM just cut when adding the extra 2% to the GST - @$$hole!)

If there are not plans to purchase property here or put you kids in Local Schools, then I don't see the need at all.

Least that's my take.

sms

NB: I've been told my by Immigration Officer who gave me PR many years ago that there is a quota but it isn't published (and won't be published - no more than the government will admit to being the driving force behinda certain investment arm).

[Bonbon]

SMS, I've already bought a property so CPF is well useless for me. The reason I thougth about PR, is for job security reason, currently what I earned here is supporting my mortgage payment......(well kind of......so if i get kicked out from my job, then I only have one month to leave this country, AND it would be harder to find a job without a PR in a short time frame I think...Purely for security reason.

CPF money currently when I said it's good, it's not, it's the cap amount...so if I get CPF, I think the CAP is $5,000??? monthly salary, so if you compare CAP CPF in cash, to CAP at $5k * what's the rate 5% or something, or 15%? I dont know, no difference, except I'm what is it $750 worse off in Cash...as CPF stays somewhere I can't see....

[yahoo]

CPF is a saving plan for the locals.. its kinda force saving... for expats hard cash is better. Do your own investment..

[shuriken]

The reason I thougth about PR, is for job security reason, currently what I earned here is supporting my mortgage payment......(well kind of......so if i get kicked out from my job, then I only have one month to leave this country, AND it would be harder to find a job without a PR in a short time frame I think...Purely for security reason.
.

Funny you should mention this.

After 1 yr of working here in Singapore, my company informs me that another colleague and myself are being laid off.
They've given me 2 months to look for another job and after that, i need to surrender my s-pass to m.o.m.
after which i will be given 2 weeks social visit pass.

for the next 2 months, i've handed out my resume to at least 30 companies and only got 2 replies.
I went through the job interview which turned out well; almost as close as nailing the job but got dismayed
when they said they needed me to start work right away. Filing a new s-pass takes 2-3 weeks to process and
this company didn't have the resources to wait that long. I haven't heard from that company again.
I guess i ultimately lost the spot to someone who was Singaporean/ a PR. With only a few weeks left before
my last day at work, my mind was racing; trying to decide what to do..wether to just throw in the towel and leave singapore. *sigh*

Thankfully, this colleague of mine who was being laid off as well (whom i also consider to be a close buddy at work),
found a job at a big IT company.. and somehow managed to squeeze me in along with him!

After a few phonecalls and paperwork, he told me that i got the job!
a few days after that, he informed me that my work pass has been approved! It looks like I'm here to stay. yeah baby!
......................

needless to say, a heavy weight has been lifted of my shoulders.
i'm just grateful and lucky! this time, i'm definitely going for PR because i dont think i can go through that ordeal again and
the next time it happens, i probably wont be as lucky. Thank you, Jesus!

[sundaymorningstaple]

CPF is a saving plan for the locals.. its kinda force saving... for expats hard cash is better. Do your own investment..

Yahoo,

I don't want to be the one to burst your bubble, but the average investment professional hasn't been able to beat the interest rates of return on a "SAME LEVEL OF RISK" investment for over 7 years. What makes you think the average person without any professional investment training will be able to do better at the SAME RISK LEVEL.

Having said that, I do agree that it would be more fun to have the money in hand to let Joe Average Expat blow it on some risky high payout investment and let them lose it all but we are talking about the average person who is basically somewhat risk adverse when talking about their own funds. I not saying you are wrong, but you do need to keep it apples and apples and not apples and oranges.

SMS, I've already bought a property so CPF is well useless for me. The reason I thougth about PR, is for job security reason, currently what I earned here is supporting my mortgage payment......(well kind of......so if i get kicked out from my job, then I only have one month to leave this country, AND it would be harder to find a job without a PR in a short time frame I think...Purely for security reason.

CPF money currently when I said it's good, it's not, it's the cap amount...so if I get CPF, I think the CAP is $5,000??? monthly salary, so if you compare CAP CPF in cash, to CAP at $5k * what's the rate 5% or something, or 15%? I dont know, no difference, except I'm what is it $750 worse off in Cash...as CPF stays somewhere I can't see....

Bonbon,

Two things. If you bought a property here I hope it was after Jan '99 when the property market crashed (shouldn't be in negative equity if you did). If you are socking away the cap amount every month, while the cap is now 4500/mo isn't that much, it's always good to have an amount of your portfolio in relatively low risk investment so in the event of other cataclysmic events you don't get totally wiped out. Also, should you decide to lock it up in CPF, should something happen and you need to exit Singapore & give up your PR, you can always draw all of it out plus ALL interest both in the Ordinary, Special, Retirement and Medisave accounts and they will deposit it within 10 working days to any bank world wide.

As far as the ability to stay here longer without a job? I won't go into that as it's a sore point for me as I feel it's an abuse of the system and due to the fact there is an unwritten quota based on the racial makeup of the population, I feel it deprives someone who actually wants to make Singapore their home. (Not all have purchased properties here like yourself and myself as well - although I've been here for over 24 years now). I've been through 3 recessions now, guess you could say I'm not a quitter!

sms

[Grim Reaper]

As far as the ability to stay here longer without a job? I won't go into that as it's a sore point for me as I feel it's an abuse of the system and due to the fact there is an unwritten quota based on the racial makeup of the population, I feel it deprives someone who actually wants to make Singapore their home. (Not all have purchased properties here like yourself and myself as well - although I've been here for over 24 years now). I've been through 3 recessions now, guess you could say I'm not a quitter!

sms

Sms,

You were a PR when you lost your job and you needed quite a bit of time finding a new one?

Same for myself, I was happy I was a PR when having to find a new challenge...

Nobody knows and the ICA ain't telling. But I'll give you an interesting personal data point: my friend and I applied for PR at the same time in November. We both had similar salaries, similar qualifications, similar jobs, similar industries, and race "Other". She comes from a country with many PR applications, I come from a country with very few. Mine took under a month to be approved; hers took over two months, and only came in Jan next year. So was there a quota being rolled over here? Your guess is as good as mine.

Could it be your application was handled by a hardworking officer, whereas your friend was so unlucky to have a lazy one?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Sms,

You were a PR when you lost your job and you needed quite a bit of time finding a new one?

Same for myself, I was happy I was a PR when having to find a new challenge...

And damned happy that I was. Just like you. But that was Not the Primary reason that I took up PR.