I had posted here a few months ago regarding my situation - ex-PR who moved abroad for graduate studies and was unable to secure a job in Singapore last year because of the recession.
I had applied for the In Principle PR in April. There have been some developments since then, and I wanted to get some advice from the forum regulars:
1. Have job offer, but LPR still under review
I've received an offer from a reputable firm in Singapore, and I am waiting to hear from them on a start date etc. I expect it will be at least November before I start with them. Meanwhile I received an interim letter from ICA last week stating that they are reviewing my application. There was no further information in the letter.
What should I do at this point? Should I inform ICA about my job offer so that they expedite the review and give me a yes/no on the PR? Or do I ask the company to process an EP for me? What happens to the PR application once I am on EP?
2. Visa for spouse?
I'm getting married in November 2010, and my partner intends to move to Singapore earliest by March 2011. I wanted to get your thoughts on what visa category he should apply under.
A bit of information about him - he was an ex-Singapore PR, was sent overseas by one of the local GLCs on a scholarship for graduate studies. However the GLC eliminated his role by the time he returned (this was shortly after the recession began in early 2008), and they also relieved him of his bond obligations (he was initially expected to serve a 3 years bond). He is currently not bonded to any organization.
He spent almost 6 months in Singapore searching for another role, but was unable to secure a suitable position, and eventually moved overseas once he found a good role (since mid 2008).
He has still maintained his CPF funds in Singapore (unlike me who withdrew the funds).
He was waiting for me to secure a position in Singapore before moving over, and now that it looks likely, we want to know how to process with his case.
I have a couple of questions regarding this:
- Will ours be considered a 'marriage of convenience', given that we get married in November 2010, and he is looking to move by Mar / April 2011? I keep reading a lot about this on the boards lately - what should we do to address this, if any?
- What visa category should he best apply under? In Principle PR, or as a Dependent? Or should we just wait till he secures an offer and for his future employer to sponsor his EP?
Hopefully the forum regulars will be able to provide some advice
It would seem like people try to make their lives harder and harder. And for us? Working with anecdotal evidence and assumptions, well, sometimes I feel like Don Quixote tilting at windmills! 
