Moving to Singapore Questions

[Ozzie2007]

I will be taking up a position in Singapore in early 2007 and need answers to the following:
1) As an Australian can I just arrive and start work and commence the employment pass application, or do I need to go to the Singapore Embassy first and get an entry visa to start work, with a letter of sponsorship from my company, etc.?

2) I notice most apartments for rent are furnished, but I want to bring my own furniture, will this limit my rental choices? My target budget is S$3,000 to S$3,500 per month, in preferabley district 1,2,4,6,7,15

3) I have a very cool and rare motorcylce which I am having trouble selling prior to departing US, but cant get it home as the 12 months of ownership is not up yet, is it really that hard to do the import & register process, or should I drop the money and cut my losses now?

Sorry lots of questions, but any advice will be appreciated

[jpatokal]

I will be taking up a position in Singapore in early 2007 and need answers to the following:
1) As an Australian can I just arrive and start work and commence the employment pass application, or do I need to go to the Singapore Embassy first and get an entry visa to start work, with a letter of sponsorship from my company, etc.?

Legally speaking, you need to have an EP before you can work. In practice, many people start working on tourist visas while their EP is being processed, but this is illegal and leaves you open to abuse (eg. if employer sells you to sod off after a month or two, you have no legal recourse to claim unpaid salary). Best of both worlds is to get an EP Approval-in-Principle before arrival, after which converting it to a EP once landed is just a quick formality.