Need Info on EP and LPR

[v_2nas]

Hi All,

Doing some googling i got this forum address and i hope experts would be able to help me out.

I would like to apply for EP, I have over 4.5+ years of experience in IT (Infrastructure management). So far i have i have been applying for jobs thru jobsdb, monster, jobstreet, jobcentral but no success so far.

I have also looked into LPR (Landed Permanent Residency) option. This can be done thru smcmc consultants. Now these ppl would be charging 1500 $ and would take 6 months for outcome..... now

this is what they have replied

Kindly note that the outcome of each application for Landed PR is carefully assessed and considered on its own merits by ICA. Hence, we are unable to assess one's chance of obtaining the approval. We collect a non-refundable processing fee

Since they are unable to assess my chances of approval because it's done by ICA itself so I am wondering what are the charges for....

Does anyone has some idea about the formula ICA uses to approve the application.... any parameters?

Is there a way to submit the documents directly to ICA without a consultant?

Any helpful guidance and advice is welcome... i am quite desperate to move to singapore.

Thank you
v_2nas

[econoMIC]

Hi there,

your chances of getting an EP are 0. That is because you need to have a valid job offer first and then your employer will apply for an EP for you. The reason that many employers are not that keen on foreigners any more is that it has gotten much tougher to obtain an EP in a field where there are plenty of suitable locals to do the job. You have not mentioned being a degree holder so if you are not you can pretty much forget about it unfortunately as there are plenty of locals with degrees and the same kind of experience. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try but you have to be realistic.

LPR, pretty much the same applies. There is a points system by which your application is being assessed, the scoring system itself is not known, so we can all only guess. Education and current income seem to be big point earners, race, marital status, citizenship, number of children etc being other factors we assume. In general the LPR process is very obscure and we do not know as much about the LPR process as we do know about the actual PR process. Fact is though that the LPR process has been outsourced to SMC and there is no way around it. You will have to pay the money and you will have to accept that and pay the money if you want to apply. They will then be sighting the documents and I assume the will do the vetting as well and then forward the finished application to ICA. Reason behind it is that LPR applications often are more complex and have more international references that Skilled PR for EP holders or PR for spouses of Singaporeans.

Bottom line: if you earn over SGD 7k a month or you have exceptionally good education, you have a chance. Otherwise I would not get my hopes up too high as things changed. As mentioned however, this doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

[v_2nas]

Hey There,

Thank you very much for your reply. I have a 3years bachelor's degree in computers Application + Pro MS Certification MCSE 2003 with messaging, and working with Capgemini Consulting India. Salary structure is not bad either. Now if conversion rate of Singapore to inr is 33.50 approx so 7k Singapore$ to inr would be like 2.3 hundred thousand....which means like you are being paid like ceo...

But still i will try with either ep or lpr or both.. lets c what comes out.. you never know. So let's try and be realistic.

Just one more quick question

is this refering to lpr?

For (e) Foreigners Residing Overseas who are Interested in Taking Up In-principle Permanent Residence in Singapore

Thx buddy for your help and time.

v_2nas

[Mike_Naylor]

Hi there,

your chances of getting an EP are 0. That is because you need to have a valid job offer first and then your employer will apply for an EP for you. The reason that many employers are not that keen on foreigners any more is that it has gotten much tougher to obtain an EP in a field where there are plenty of suitable locals to do the job. You have not mentioned being a degree holder so if you are not you can pretty much forget about it unfortunately as there are plenty of locals with degrees and the same kind of experience. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try but you have to be realistic.

LPR, pretty much the same applies. There is a points system by which your application is being assessed, the scoring system itself is not known, so we can all only guess. Education and current income seem to be big point earners, race, marital status, citizenship, number of children etc being other factors we assume. In general the LPR process is very obscure and we do not know as much about the LPR process as we do know about the actual PR process. Fact is though that the LPR process has been outsourced to SMC and there is no way around it. You will have to pay the money and you will have to accept that and pay the money if you want to apply. They will then be sighting the documents and I assume the will do the vetting as well and then forward the finished application to ICA. Reason behind it is that LPR applications often are more complex and have more international references that Skilled PR for EP holders or PR for spouses of Singaporeans.

Bottom line: if you earn over SGD 7k a month or you have exceptionally good education, you have a chance. Otherwise I would not get my hopes up too high as things changed. As mentioned however, this doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

I do think a lot of people sensationalise how difficult it is to get a job offer on here.

OK, I work in maybe a more specialised field than IT, and I can see how it would be hard for you to get a job (Singapore is one of the IT empicentres on the planet, and if there's one thing they don't need, it's IT managers) , but I have got a pretty good job offer, within a few weeks of trying. What's more, the company have assured me that there will be no issue over employment passes.

I have a degree, and about 4 years experience in the field. Granted, the company I may be joining is the ONLY company of this field in the entire country - and hence, there really are no local applicants with my experience, who aren't already working there - but it's not as impossible as a lot of people on here make out.

It's a task, but work at it. Don't just give up on the advice of people on here. Seriously, they told me the exact same thing when I came on a few months ago.

I'd advise approaching companies personally. That's what I did. E-mail companies HR departments direct. Discuss your passion in moving to Singapore, and your career. You may well find (as I did) that someone will reply wanting to help.

[Strong Eagle]

I do think a lot of people sensationalise how difficult it is to get a job offer on here.

Then again, others fail to appreciate the differences between their own circumstances and that of the OP.

The OP faces more of an uphill battle than you do on a couple of fronts. First, it seems clear that he is not going to be paid anywhere near the $7K necessary to get a P1 pass... which can indeed be kind of automatic if you get paid that much coin.

As an Indian, with mostly experience in India, rightly or wrongly, he will be offered far less than $7K. So, that means he is going to have to prove up work experience and education.

When he is at the lower salary level, he is in more direct competition with Singapore locals. And with the populist backlash against foreign workers right now, MOM will be even more hawk eyed about wanting to see evidence that the OP is not 'taking' a local's job.

He has a 3 year degree, not four. We don't know if his uni makes the qualified list for MOM but the chances are against it if not one of the top universities in India. The certifications are a dime a dozen in Singapore. And, he is competing against vast numbers of his Indian counterparts who are also pretty much in the same boat.

'Mike Naylor' doesn't sound Indian to me so I suspect you didn't have the same kind of hurdles to get over that the OP does. As for LPR, it costs $1500 just to file... and he will have the same qualifications issues to overcome.

[ar.eram.ansari]

Hello v_2nas, I am in India and am considering applying for LPR. but I see there is a lot of ambiguity even amongst agents. I have received 3 different feedbacks! I would like to know if you applied for LPR, was it successful? Thnx

[singaporeflyer]

Hello v_2nas, I am in India and am considering applying for LPR. but I see there is a lot of ambiguity even amongst agents. I have received 3 different feedbacks! I would like to know if you applied for LPR, was it successful? Thnx

At this point of time, chances for LPR is very low. Note that based on what you said even though your chance for your EP may be low

your chance for EP > Chance for LPR.


So keep trying if you can get find an employer for EP.

Or else forget 1500 SGD.

if you analyze the facts the number of PR's who were approved this year are from the PTS Scheme ( from EP -> PR) and not from LPR

[beppi]

I would like to know if you applied for LPR, was it successful?

Things are done in this order:

1. You apply through an agent (and pay them).
2. ICA assesses your application and makes a decision.

You know the answer to your question after 2.
Currently you are before 1.

Nobody on this board can predict the future any better than you.

Good luck - you'll need it!