Work permit holder > Expat ?

[rookie]

Hi there,

I have a friend who has worked in Singapore for 2 years. She is a work permit holder & Myanmar national. She has completed high school & possesses an Arts degree, but I suppose it is not recognised in Singapore.

She wishes to apply to be an expatriate. But, is that possible? I am a local & have limited knowledge of such issues, but I would like to offer her a helping hand.

If it is possible, how can she go about in becoming a Singapore expat? Please offer some guidance, and if there are any agents to recommend, please do.

Warm regards,
rookie

[Saint]

She's already is an expat

[jpatokal]

By "becoming an expat", I presume you mean converting the Work Permit into an S-Pass or Employment Pass? Start with a visit to MOM's site to check the requirements:

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal ... _pass.html

Basically, she'll need to have a salary of at least $1800/mo for S Pass or $2500/mo for EP, plus an employer willing to sponsor her application. Assuming she meets the salary requirements, convincing the employer to help should not be too hard, since they won't have to pay WP levies anymore if she gets S/EP. (S has a small levy, EP has none.)

[rookie]

Saint, I apologise as I have very limited knowledge of such matters.

jpatokal, thanks a lot for all that info, & thanks for the website. So, basically, she first has to secure a job that meets the salary requirement of $1800/mo (S pass) or $2500/mo (EP) in order to be eligible for the application...am I right?

Speaking of which, if anybody has any job offers or recommendations of job agencies, please PM me...thanks.