Singapore Expats

need your advise please...

Moving to Singapore? Ask our regular expats in Singapore questions on relocation and their experience here. Ask about banking, employment pass, insurance, visa, work permit, citizenship or immigration issues.
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aikido
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need your advise please...

Post by aikido » Sat, 26 May 2007 12:43 am

My warmest greetings to all who go through this post.
I'm a father of 2 kind and married with a singaporean, we have been living for more than 6 years overseas.we are thinking to settle dawn in Singapore mostly for the sake of the children, they are also singaporeans.Myself am not a PR yet.
We are thinking to start up some bussiness in singapore and we already have some ideas in mind and also the financial sources.
I wanted to know from you people or those who have similar experiences how can i get an employment pass in the best possible way?
I have been told that since my wife is from sg she can open a bussiness( a company) and i may be a co- partner or co- director ect ect....
i'm not very sure which ways are best in my case.
I kindly request any coments and clues from anyone.
Till then wish everyone health,harmony and prosperity.

sincerely
aikido

porsche2121
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Post by porsche2121 » Wed, 30 May 2007 11:38 pm

Hi Aikido,
My sis is a singaporean as well as her kids but her hubby is not. But when they got married, my bro-in-law applied for a pr and within a week or so, he receive his pr status. If your wife is singaporean, she can apply to register for biz over the net or she can go directly to International Plaza to apply for her biz registration. Im sure if she is the owner of the intended company, she can choose who her directors are & if you are already in the company as one of the directors, your wife needs to write an employment letter under the company's name and apply for you an employment pass as you would be working for the company. But to be safe, you can always make the call to be sure. All you need to do is go to this website www.acra.gov.sg to register her company and go to any CPF board branch to ask regards the employent pass and the rest is up to you. As for being a pr, it is not difficult to apply for it. One thing why im proud to be a singaporean is because of the system and it works. Our government makes things easy for us to do almost anything. All you need to do is ask.
Hope this helps and good luck in migrating and hope your future biz will bloom.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 31 May 2007 12:01 am

porsche2121,

Ask your sis how the government has been treating her husband. Or her for that matter. Seeing as how the government is now taking away her husbands benefits of being a PR. You should walk a mile in his shoes before praising the government. Especially since most foreign husbands earn considerably more than the average local doing the same job, therefore he pays more taxes and then gets his benefits cut drastically like his medical benefits and so forth. But! he still has to contribute the same amount of CPF into his medisave account just like a Singaporean. He also doesn't get the benefit of the GST top-ups or any of the other goodies passed out be the government even thought the economy is doing good partially because of his efforts. As a reward the government penalizes him (and your sister as well). If he buys bigger flat because he earns more, he pays more conversancy charges and taxes but again, then they take away your sister's top-up amounts because of his purchasing power and the fact that she may live in a larger flat. And you think the government is fair? Then they threaten all the voter with not lift upgrading unless they vote for the PAP. The government is supposed to be for all the citizens not just PAP supporters! Ha!

How do I know this? I am also a PR who has been here 25 years with a local wife and two local children (one of which will be doing his NS even though I could have gotten him out of it years ago. Now that they have GOT HIM they are penalizing me for not getting him out of the country!
One thing why im proud to be a singaporean is because of the system and it works. Our government makes things easy for us to do almost anything. All you need to do is ask. But after you get it they will screw you forever!
Sorry, but I got to disagree with you. :mad:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by jumping_gene » Fri, 01 Jun 2007 7:44 pm

sms, not having arrived in Singapore yet, i find your reply above really interesting as we have also entertained the idea of applying for a PR, should we like living in Singapore. does this mean you advise NOT getting the PR? surely there are benefits as well. looking back, would you say that the cons outweigh the pros?

you said: " (one of which will be doing his NS even though I could have gotten him out of it years ago."

as I have a 5 year-old son, i'm interested to find out how the NS could be circumvented, should we decide to get the PR.

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Post by jpatokal » Fri, 01 Jun 2007 8:05 pm

jumping_gene wrote:sms, not having arrived in Singapore yet, i find your reply above really interesting as we have also entertained the idea of applying for a PR, should we like living in Singapore. does this mean you advise NOT getting the PR? surely there are benefits as well. looking back, would you say that the cons outweigh the pros?
The only con to PR is the requirement that your children must serve NS. If you're not going to be in Singapore forever, that's easily disposed of by moving out before they reach the age where they're liable -- and if you are staying here for good, then might as well do it.

SMS, I'm afraid that as a PR holder myself, I don't really understand your rant -- you're still enjoying a host of subsidies that ordinary EP holders don't get, and cutting back on the benefits is the government's (IMHO) rather understandable way of saying that, if you're going to stick around for 25 years, then it's about time to go whole hog and get citizenship.
Vaguely heretical thoughts on travel technology at Gyrovague

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 01 Jun 2007 9:55 pm

JP,

Aside from the fact that I get lesser subsidies on the medical front after my most healthy years as a younger man are gone, now that I may need it they take it away? Minor concern considering the costs of medical services in my home country but what next. Oh yeah, while is doesn't concern me anymore, they have taken away the childcare benefits as well. And as most PR were EP's who probably made more than the average local, when they roll out the means testing, guess who is going to pay even more if they have to be hospitalized!

I just want people to see all sides of the coin. I am still pro PR even as I rant about the fact that like their own citizens, they screw us as well. They have been screwing my wife for years because we take care of her parents. Because of that we bought a 5 room flat instead of a four room one so the parents could have their own room. So not only does my wife get screwed every time there is a goodie givaway because she lives in a five room flat, so does her mother & father as well. Because I pay the same taxes but am not allowed the same subsidies (yes I enjoy more than an EP holder.- I get to contribute 20% of my income to CPF, I get to give up my housing allowances, care allowances, etc.). Oh, sure, I can withdraw my CPF when I give up my PR so yes that's a benefit. Granted with the right financial guru, I could possibly make more investing my money elsewhere as opposed to it sitting in a non-liquid form (without giving up PR) drawing 2.6 or 4% interest. But that's doubtful isn't it. At least at an equal risk on risk level that is (must keep it apples & apples right?) Over the past 8 years nobody has been able to do better over the long haul. Oh yes, I almost forgot, when buying landed property, PR's are limited regardless of their incomes, while locals are not. On a slightly different note, wait till you want to buy an HDB flat (but you seem the condo type to me), but because you're Scandinavian, you are considered "Others" so are only allowed a choice of 2 out of every 100 flats due the the HDB/PAP's racial profiling (that is a different kettle of fish however and nothing at all to do with PR vrs citizenship as it applies equally to both).

It just gripes my butt that after giving this country 25 years of my time and efforts now they are going to start to penalize me for paying taxes, letting my son keep his Sing Citizenship, taking care of my in-Laws (using the much vaunted by LKY, 3-tier family structure) and generally assimilating a much as possible into this country. Now they are going to penalize me for doing so? Sorry, maybe if you spend a quarter of a century as a PR paying taxes to this government while you watch them screw your local family because of it, you just might see it my way.

I actually am pro-PR even as I sound otherwise. I don't advise taking up PR unless you ARE willing to stay for the long haul and not just use PR as a means to secure more than 2 weeks after a local takes your high paying job. This gripes my butt more than what the govenment is doing because it is the abusers of the system that make it hard for the ones like myself who have spent the long haul here and are now paying the price for the short-term abusers of the system. The term PR means PERMANENT RESIDENT. Permanent usually means for a long duration. not 2 to 5 years.

JP, I don't expect you to understand, PR or otherwise. After you have as many years here and raised a family here then and only then would I expect you not necessarily agree but at least understand where I am coming from. I have stuck out 4 recessions (included the one here in '84 as well (I'm less of a quitter than a lot of citizens!)

Okay, rant over. :wink:

jumping_gene,

That's exactly the attitude that I am referring to. You want the benefits but not the negatives. I can almost bet you have never done any military service for your home country. Am I right?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by jumping_gene » Sat, 02 Jun 2007 9:46 pm

what attitude? i am merely weighing the pros and cons, which is why i asked your opinion, being in singapore the longest, it seems. i have no problem with military service (altho i wished there was the option of doing civil service instead), but it would make me feel tons better if i knew my son could still have a way out should he decide that he doesn't want to do military service when the time comes. afterall it's a decision he should make.

and you're absolutely right; this is an issue that needs serious deliberation.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 02 Jun 2007 10:35 pm

jumping_gene,

You have a PM and my apologies if I offended.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

aikido
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Thank you all.

Post by aikido » Sun, 03 Jun 2007 6:32 am

Hi all.
I'm sorry for joining so late the forum due to some reasons...
Thank you Porsche for your information shared in here and for the advise on the matter.
Right now we are overseas and plann to settle by the end of the year.i know one can register via online with acra,
but must before registering and paying the fees one must rent a location for his/her bussiness or simply not necessary?if you know about this something i would apprecaitte.
I appreciatte the comments of all of you.
Thank you Sunday moring for your coments,i tried to understand your points,personally i live in 2nd world country and i prefere Singapore to grow my children above all for security which Singapore provides and we plann to stay in Singapore permanently.
I quite understood from your comments abt the pros and coins of PR status which i wish i get it asap.
I wish everyone S'porean and non s'porean a peacful life in Singapore and abroad.
Thank you to everyone and hope to get some clues from those who are aware of and experinced similar case with mine.
Wish to everyone a nice weekend.
sincerely
Aikido

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Shankar
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no bed of roses

Post by Shankar » Sun, 03 Jun 2007 7:31 am

I truly agree with SMS for all his views on the governement. Agreed that the government is effecient and makes things easy and has highways and tunnels everywhere. Catches your eye as soon as anyone lands in Singapore.

But it takes few years of living to get to know where the roads are leading to. Having "lift upgrade" as an election manifesto & Bribing people in the name of "progressive package" before elections, showed a lot about PAP this election. Shows that they have either become extremely arrongant OR have lost their confidence due to their own guilt in their ulteriror.

however, it is no bed of roses for PRs .. not much different for Singaproeans either for just the bribes they get often in the name of some package, that always comes with a catch.

So weigh yourself well from the place you are living before unsettling.

Getting a PR or settling here should not be a problem. There are also people who just keep extending their SVP and usually get a PR only to stay away from this SVP reapplication and extensions.

Cheers..
recently attained my Nirvaana and became a Budha.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 03 Jun 2007 10:59 am

This thread and it's links may give more insite on the PR question:

Benefits of Singaporean PR?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

jumping_gene
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Post by jumping_gene » Sun, 03 Jun 2007 5:04 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:jumping_gene,

You have a PM and my apologies if I offended.
no offense taken, sms. and thanks for the extra info you sent.

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