AngMoG wrote:From an immigration (ICA) perspective, there is nothing wrong with this, in fact it is what quite a few people are doing I think. Though if I remember correctly, you would only get a 30-day visa on arrival. You can apply for 90-day SVPs or similar, not too sure, check ICA website
You should be able to find a room for short-term rental if you can get a 90-day visa, probably upwards of $1000 per month rental. Note that Singapore is expensive, and the networking you should do will add to that, as booze is especially pricey. So I would safely assume that you would likely spend another $1500 - $2000 per month at least on top of the rental.
If your visa is 30 days only, I am not too sure what your options are outside hotel/serviced apartment.
While here temporarily, you will probably not be able to open a bank account, nor will it make sense for you to do so. If you are able to secure a position AND an EP/S-Pass, THEN you should look into longer-term rental and opening bank account as soon as possible (after IPA letter and medical check-up are completed).
Note that due to the recent adjustments in immigration policy, finding a job without a visa can be quite difficult, and there is no guarantee that once you secure a job, you will get a visa.
It would be good to share with us your industry, functional area, experience, education, ethnicity, country of residence, expected salary. Then there can maybe be more targeted advice, including whether it is worth it at all to come here.
Technically, return within 2 days is a bit short, though, based on your passport, you may not be asked too many questions !!!econstudent wrote:Also, I've read mixed responses on whether one should buy an "onward" ticket or not, in order to corroborate the "visitor" status. It sounds kind of ridiculous to me, but I do not wish to disrespect any customs or break any laws.
So, hypothetically, If I buy an onward ticket to Malaysia, which I don't mind, could I fly back in to Singapore within 1-2 business days and begin my visitor status anew in Singapore? Would I need to work doubly hard to convince ICA that I am, in fact, "visiting" again?
Thanks.
Isn't it for 5 days that one has to leave Singapore & not return? In the case of getting a 30 day social pass plus another 30 days extension?ecureilx wrote: Technically, return within 2 days is a bit short, though, based on your passport, you may not be asked too many questions !!!
Leo99 wrote:Isn't it for 5 days that one has to leave Singapore & not return? In the case of getting a 30 day social pass plus another 30 days extension?
Nope. Not without a valid residency visa / employment pass of some kind. The immigration folks here are pretty smart, and they have sophisticated, integrated computer systems to back them up. So they would cotton onto these kinds of ruses pretty quickly.Leo99 wrote:Could someone almost live continuously in Singapore on such a basis? Two months in, 5 days out, another 2 months in, etc.
I expect you'd probably get away with it the first one or two times, but I would think it unlikely that you could do that indefinitely; I certainly wouldn't want to risk relying on that.Leo99 wrote:Presently i'm on my virgin trip into Singapore with a US passport & 90 day social visit pass. Could i thereafter go to Thailand for a month or two, then return to Singapore & get another 90 days, then repeat the process indefinitely, as a retired non working individual?
You might have more success with that approach, but you may still end up getting more and more awkward questions after a few trips. As to the tax situation for such a scenario, that's a whole 'nother discussion (it's been discussed elsewhere on the board in detail in the past, so I'd use the search function above to seek out the relevant threads).Leo99 wrote:Or similarly split my time each year 50-50 between LOS & SG, thereby avoiding income taxes in both?
Yes, generally citizens of the USA, UK and some other nations can get 90 day SVPs. But it's not guaranteed. Some people ask for them if they are about to be given a 30 day SVP - do a search of this board and you'll find various threads with other peoples' experiences in this area. However if you were to try to do a number of short 'visa runs' to other countries, you'd be very unlikely to keep getting 90 days - there have been cases where people have over-stepped the mark and have just been given a day or two to collect their belongings and get the hell out of Dodge.Leo99 wrote:Do US passport holders get special advantages, like 90 day passes, while other nationalities are limited to 30 days or less upon entering SG?
Well generally it would be considered a return ticket to the place from whence you came. If it were me I would do that (and make it changeable / refundable if need be to allow for changing circumstances).Leo99 wrote:A "return ticket back home"? What if i have no "home", consider myself a free man, a wanderer, an expat or a citizen of earth?
yeah, technically it is not written down per-se, but when you seek online extension for upto 90 days, a confirmation that goes on like "I will not seek any further extension .. followed by something like "you should leave the country for 5 days .. " appears at the ICA site ..Mi Amigo wrote: Well there is no hard and fast rule written down anywhere (at least not in the public domain) about this. 5 days is a minimum that people often quote, but the results can vary depending on many factors (nationality of the person doing it, how many times they've done it in the past, etc.).
I was thinking of 2 months in and then 2 months out, continuously, forever. Or 3 in, 3 out, may work better, as i've never heard of a 60 day SV pass being issued on arrival at the airport, only 90 or 30 days, etc. I'd even consider a 1 month in & 1 month out plan, though not keen on all the extra packing, flying, etc, that would involve. Alternately how about limiting visits to Singapore to 3 months a year, with the other 9 months split between Thailand & Malaysia? I suppose that would be more likely to stay under the SG immigrations' radar than trying to spend 6 months a year in Lion City.Mi Amigo wrote:
You might have more success with that approach, but you may still end up getting more and more awkward questions after a few trips. As to the tax situation for such a scenario, that's a whole 'nother discussion (it's been discussed elsewhere on the board in detail in the past, so I'd use the search function above to seek out the relevant threads).
So next time i come to Singapore, how about if i write on the entry card my home address is in Thailand instead of, say, the USA or UK? Problem solved? I've spent half my time there anyway for years, so LOS has been a home lately. I doubt that i'd return all the way to Europe just so i can visit Singapore again, as nice as it is. So the best plan re visiting SG may be one that decreases the risk of SG immigration requiring a return to "home" in the Western world.Mi Amigo wrote:
Well generally it would be considered a return ticket to the place from whence you came. If it were me I would do that (and make it changeable / refundable if need be to allow for changing circumstances).
That's what the official Singapore immigration website seems to suggest:ecureilx wrote:
yeah, technically it is not written down per-se, but when you seek online extension for upto 90 days, a confirmation that goes on like "I will not seek any further extension .. followed by something like "you should leave the country for 5 days .. " appears at the ICA site ..
Simple to extrapolate right ?
Country of origin? Where you were born? Your passport country? Where you've been living or working? That could be 3 or more different countries.ecureilx wrote:
And that I know people who went for extension were explicitly told they will not get another extension or entry visa, unless they go back to their country of origin. Yes, that also is not written down but .. good luck if your stars are shining pretty bright
The immigration must have enjoyed your scent. Chanel No.5?ecureilx wrote:
years ago, when I was between jobs, I was here on 60 months SVP, every month I head to JB stay one night and come back and I didn't have any issue, nor did I have any flight ticket with me .. it worked.
Then another ASEAN friend did the same, on his first stepping back from JB, he was given 3 Days SVP ..
Leo99 wrote:
No questions or any word at all was said to me on my maiden voyage into SG. Just a ninety day stamp, as per the number of days i indicated on the entry form. Easy peasy.
I'd come to Singapore on a return US ticket... then buy a return ticket (bus/coach is cheapest) for my trip to MY. You're over thinking this.econstudent wrote:Just to selfishly steer this thread back to my case: it sounds to me like buying a "return" ticket to Malaysia is unnecessary and/or implausible in my case. Is this a correct extrapolation?
It sounds like buying a 30 day onward to ticket to Malaysia may prematurely condemn me to a 30 day visitor's pass, rather than the 90 day that I need.
P.S. The point of this is to afford enough time to secure EP, not to avoid [presumably] double taxation as in Leo99's case.
Yeah but if they let Leo99 in for 90 days, it wasn't b/c of his return ticket to the states. On what grounds did they let him have the 90 day pass?PNGMK wrote:I'd come to Singapore on a return US ticket... then buy a return ticket (bus/coach is cheapest) for my trip to MY. You're over thinking this.econstudent wrote:Just to selfishly steer this thread back to my case: it sounds to me like buying a "return" ticket to Malaysia is unnecessary and/or implausible in my case. Is this a correct extrapolation?
It sounds like buying a 30 day onward to ticket to Malaysia may prematurely condemn me to a 30 day visitor's pass, rather than the 90 day that I need.
P.S. The point of this is to afford enough time to secure EP, not to avoid [presumably] double taxation as in Leo99's case.
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