Sabbatical year scenario

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.
Post Reply
Crido
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:16 pm
Location: Romania

Post by Crido » Tue, 25 Oct 2011 5:09 pm

Hi all,

Long time, but I at least read you regularly :)

As our move to Sg is close enough (early December) I thought of giving an update to our plan:
- our daughter took the AEIS test to enter Govt. School. She said it was easier than what I had tortured her with the entire summer :lol: (that would be actual tests Singaporean students take as end of year examination....). So we keep our fingers crossed for her to pass the test and enter P3 in Jan.
- we realised "sabatical" year is not something you want to do in Singapore of all places at the moment, given the cost of living :shock: . So, I started applying for teaching jobs and interviewed for 2 such jobs on our look&search trip a couple of weeks ago.

One of these meetings seems to conclude in a job offer and...here go my questions. I would really appreciate if you could clarify just one major aspect at this point :

the HR guy stated in the detailed offer that" the company only offers the above benefits (plane ticket, medical insurance, etc) for its employers. We do not offer any benefits nor sponsor any visa applications for your family".

Does it mean they are not willing to sponsor DPs for my kids and husband? Romanians do not need visas to enter Singapore, so I am not sure what it refers to.

thanks a lot!

User avatar
Strong Eagle
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11504
Joined: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 12:13 am
Location: Off The Red Dot
Contact:

Post by Strong Eagle » Tue, 25 Oct 2011 9:20 pm

Crido wrote:Hi all,

Long time, but I at least read you regularly :)

As our move to Sg is close enough (early December) I thought of giving an update to our plan:
- our daughter took the AEIS test to enter Govt. School. She said it was easier than what I had tortured her with the entire summer :lol: (that would be actual tests Singaporean students take as end of year examination....). So we keep our fingers crossed for her to pass the test and enter P3 in Jan.
- we realised "sabatical" year is not something you want to do in Singapore of all places at the moment, given the cost of living :shock: . So, I started applying for teaching jobs and interviewed for 2 such jobs on our look&search trip a couple of weeks ago.

One of these meetings seems to conclude in a job offer and...here go my questions. I would really appreciate if you could clarify just one major aspect at this point :

the HR guy stated in the detailed offer that" the company only offers the above benefits (plane ticket, medical insurance, etc) for its employers. We do not offer any benefits nor sponsor any visa applications for your family".

Does it mean they are not willing to sponsor DPs for my kids and husband? Romanians do not need visas to enter Singapore, so I am not sure what it refers to.

thanks a lot!
It means that you will need to be a personal guarantor for your family by posting a bond or cash to guarantee repatriation should your family run afoul of the authorities.

Seems like a pretty cheap employer to me. Sponsorship for a company requires no outlay of cash, only an agreement to pay repatriation and the concurrent carrying of a footnoted contingent liability on the books.

Crido
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:16 pm
Location: Romania

Post by Crido » Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:32 pm

Thank you, SE :(. I don't know if this is usually a bargaining tool, but I will bring it up as a keen issue for me in my next discussion with them....After all, salary offered seems at the law end as well, at 4k :( , even if I am not a native speaker...
I wanted the DPs just to be stress free while my husband applies for Entrepass and ...I know that can take a while and is iffy enough :?

I didn't know about the possibility to guarantee your own DP/repatriation, though. I'll look it up soon, thanks again!

x9200
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9931
Joined: Mon, 07 Sep 2009 4:06 pm
Location: Singapore

Post by x9200 » Wed, 26 Oct 2011 7:52 am

Crido wrote:Thank you, SE :(. I don't know if this is usually a bargaining tool, but I will bring it up as a keen issue for me in my next discussion with them....After all, salary offered seems at the law end as well, at 4k :( , even if I am not a native speaker...
I wanted the DPs just to be stress free while my husband applies for Entrepass and ...I know that can take a while and is iffy enough :?

I didn't know about the possibility to guarantee your own DP/repatriation, though. I'll look it up soon, thanks again!
This is not the usual bargaining tool among any decent employers so this sends out a clear warning signal.
You mentioned Entrepass... are you sure you know the requirements to get it?

Crido
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:16 pm
Location: Romania

Post by Crido » Fri, 04 Nov 2011 7:00 pm

X 9200, I tried to read as much as possible here, in "business in Sg and the entrepass (many thanks to SE) and the MoM site. I don't have a mind for business :oops:, nor am I very experienced with requirements for visas applications. I admit I have a lot to learn about Singapore and appreciate any word of advice.

To be on the safe side, I think we will contact a consultant to help us with starting the business and applying for the right pass.

x9200
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9931
Joined: Mon, 07 Sep 2009 4:06 pm
Location: Singapore

Post by x9200 » Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:12 am

I meant something rather straight forward - you seem maybe not on a very tight but still rather carefully balanced budget while the current requirement for entrepass may involve paid up capital of $S50k and hiring a number of local staff.

Crido
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed, 04 May 2011 7:16 pm
Location: Romania

Post by Crido » Sat, 05 Nov 2011 3:32 pm

x9200 wrote:I meant something rather straight forward - you seem maybe not on a very tight but still rather carefully balanced budget while the current requirement for entrepass may involve paid up capital of $S50k and hiring a number of local staff.
I obviously took some unintented hints :lol: :oops: . Yes, we know and planned for the 50k and local staff requirements. Just wish that was enough :?

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Relocating, Moving to Singapore”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests