Renewal of S Pass rejected

[polarbear99]

Hey guys,

I have been working in Singapore for 2 years now. My S Pass was renewed last year without any problems. So last week my company applied again for renewal coz soon it will finish. It got rejected. Does it make sense? The appeal was also rejected. They of course do not specify the reason.

Does this make sense? Has it happened to any one of you? The only reason I can think of is because I hold an African passport (though my race is not). My boss said it's coz government is trying to reduce Africans in Singapore. It does not make sense to me. My specialization is quite rare in Singapore , and all job agents said the same. My salary also qualifies me for a Q pass, even though it got rejected as well as S Pass. When I first got a job here, I was a fresh grad, no experience. Now I gained two years experience and they say I dun qualify? And on top of that I attended more courses. This does not make sense. Even if they decide to not recognize my college's educational qualification (Degree from Malaysia awarded by UK university) now, I got it from 2 years ago when it was recognized.

Btw, this is the second company it got rejected. Any possible reason?

As for behaviour, I have never broken the law here. Have always paid all my bills on time. My rented apartment is HDB approved and every thing else is in order.

Am sorry to say, but I think there is a case of discrimination here which is why it cannot be disclosed(I know its policy, but people have been given hints before by the officers). Either my name, or race, religion or nationality. Definitely not my qualifications. Coz my colleague, has a lower salary, 1 year younger, same college, same qualification as me (we both have first class honours), and he has no specialised skill (just .NET developer). And he has been in Singapore 6 months less than me. Now same company, his was accepted, mine rejected. Whats the difference? I am not the same religion and race as him. Full stop.

And it is also stupid to judge people based on a hidden points system. Especially since it is very easy to check if someone is lying about their background nowadays. Singapore might lose on very good talent.

Or is there any other explanation? I am just wondering if this ever happened to anyone else.

Sorry, this is more of a rant actually. I really thank god that I managed to get a very good offer in a nearby country. And even my company still wants to keep me to work remotely. I really had a lot of plans to settle in Singapore and was going to apply for PR yesterday, but I guess now I won't even advise my friends to come here. Am not even bothering to apply again coz I know it will be rejected.

If anyone from MOM is reading this, I hope you make the system more transparent for future applicants (not me of course)

Thanks for reading

[sundaymorningstaple]

That's pretty rough I have to admit. I also don't have any clues or ideas either. It's pretty odd based on the information you have furnished. That's all we have to go on. As far as the point system is concerned, It's best that way frankly as otherwise the degree churning mills would do a booming business. Even now, MOM occasionally get fooled by qualifications but eventually they find out and then people lose their passes. Has happened a couple times this year already.

sms

[polarbear99]

Yup. My HR manager is shocked also. Coz I have been with the same company from day 1 here. The one time I tried to change company it got rejected, so I stuck to my company and then the renewal got rejected.

As for the degree mills, this is why the MOM has a list of recognized universities. If they recognize them, am sure they have a way of verifying authenticity of degrees.

It sucks man, not because it got rejected, but by the fact that it wasn't supposed to, at least by comparison to other applicants.

[polarbear99]

Additional note.

Not Q pass, I in fact qualify for a P2 Pass!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Just a point of reference.

Not all degrees from approved institutions abroad are created equal. The list of approved foreign Uni's is a bit more detailed that that. It also lists the degrees within that University that are approved. There are a lot of Indian Universities that have only one or two courses that are approved. Same with lots of other countries as well. So, while the online assessment tool is of some help, it's only a tool and not the final say. It's too voluminous to try to include all the possible variations as to what degrees are acceptable.

[polarbear99]

Well, as I mentioned, there are two identical qualifications. The only difference on the degree is the name of the graduate, so that point is not relevant

[Strong Eagle]

If I were you I would contact an immigration attorney. From what I read you are being disqualified because you do not qualify for a P1/P2 pass, salary wise, and thus they are rejecting you on educational credentials.

I've got no one to recommend but how about the outfit SMC as a point to start asking questions and for recommendations?

http://www.smcmc.com/

[hk203]

@

[sundaymorningstaple]

If your HR manager contact them to enquire...they will give you the reason, I am 100% certain of this...it seems like your HR did not really do their job or just couldn't be bother?

Are you an HR Manager or MD of a Registered company here in Singapore? Or are you just blowing smoke?

[animationico]

Hi,

polarbear99 i dont think its the race. i'm an indonesian and i have similar problem with u. i'm qualified but i have no experience yet. while my classmates on the same level of expertise could get the job, i couldnt. there are a lot of rejection lately. from different countries also. I still trying to get my s pass with another company now. i dont know if i could get it.

[sundaymorningstaple]

As an update to this problem, it can happen when a company has too many "S" pass holders on their payroll. As "S" passes are controlled by quotas often a company will hire until they max out their quota. Once that happens, if they lose local staff and their local staff strength 3 month running average falls below the level to sustain the current "S" pass strength level when the next "S" pass comes up for renewal it will not be renewed as there is no longer quota to support that.

This I was aware of but didn't think about until this week. I have 2 "S" pass holders we are going to have to release as we are currently understrength on local staff and the passes are up for renewal in October. We have been rejected 2x now and even if we up the local staff strength, it will not show up on the CPF roles (how they track the local strength) until Mid October anyway so will still not do any good for these two staff.

This is probably what has actually happened in the original OP's scenario as he's been here for 2 years already.

sms

[animationico]

Hi sunday morning, do u have any idea on my case ? i just remember last time when my application rejected, my employer got some hint that is not because the quota nor my experience and salary. so got any advice ?

[sundaymorningstaple]

If your rejection was on a renewal with the same employer, then I'm pretty sure that your company had a quota problem. If you try applying from a different company and it is accepted then that will confirm my thoughts. This happens a lot apparently as the local staff strength can fluctuate (which is why they use a 3 months running average to determine the quotas).

sms

[animationico]

Hi Sunday Morning, My pass rejected...again. I have no idea why. But oh well...

[astridante]

hi polarbear, i totally understand ur frustatration regarding the matter. I also have a rejected s-pass and now seek an appeal.. I dunno what r the odds but might as well try. I also think its a matter of race/nationality as I am qualified for the position but still my s-pass is rejected (Im Indonesian).. I hv to admit, ur situation is far more complex than mine with ur 2 years prior work experience and all.. What is your current situation now? I just feel its unfair that good people tryn to make an honest living getting the door slammed in our face..