TO GO OR NOT TO GO FOR PR

[wadou]

Hello to you all

A friend forwarded this forum to me after i asked him his opinion on PR in singapore. I would be grateful if someone can speculate on my case.

Nationality: Moroccan (ethnic arab)

Job: researcher (chemical engineering), salary ~ 6000$

PhD from NUS

been here for 5 years, been working for 2 years.

not married

PR would encourage me to stay in singapore and perhaps set up a family here. I am already engaged in the social life, i volunteer teaching french and arabic classes to the kids. the kids are wonderful.

i had decided to go back after i finished my phd, however a good research position opened up for me, and my girlfriend (a singaporean chinese) isn't keen on leaving singapore at all, and frankly morocco won't do her good. she's doing her masters right now.

i know i can just apply, but i'd rather not do that if i stand very low chances, or if i know i will be leaving the country some time in the near future. might as well give the chance to someone else. however there are many good things about the city, and research opportunities and partnerships are way better than i can dream of in maroc, and that makes me wanna stay and contribute to it.


thanks for any input.

[katbh]

I would have thought you would have been a suitable candidate, and there are many financial advantages to being PR - access to health care, CPF etc. It also gives you more flexibility with employment and you start your own company. You are more employable for prospective employers.

But the main question is more of a philosophical one. If this is a place you would like to settle, then go for it. I believe that the G'ment see PR as the prelude to becoming a citizen.

So if you seriously do not see yourself here long term, avoid the hassle and stay on employment pass.

Also consider any NS liability that you may have

[x9200]

I would wait till you fulfill the minimum requirement of 3 years tax assessment slips and then apply.

[wadou]

hey thanks for the responses katbh and x9200, you are right those questions are the ones i m grappling with, if i wanna settle in this place, whether i wanna live with the people and be at the government's expectation.

however they seem less real at this stage given that i might not even qualify at the first place for PR. I know a lot of factors play in, hence if someone could tell me what they think my chances are, that would be helpful. I do not think I contribute to the racial balance in singapore, that's perhaps a negative.


thnx

[x9200]

Based on the data people post here you seem in a neutral position. You are not an Indian (negative) or Malaysian/Indonesian Chinese (positive), your salary is about right for your area, degree (positive) and work experience (shortish, slight negative), total stay period is also neutral (just long enough not to be considered too short). The only thing weighting towards the negative side is the 3y tax assessment notices that you can not have at this point. Still this is all neutral probably meaning you have 40-60% chances to get it granted.
What typically boosts the chances is a male offspring but this is kind of radical solution, especially that you are not even married yet. That's why I suggested to wait a bit and give it a try. You will also have more time to make up your mind.

PS. As of the race, I would expect SG gov to be very pragmatic as with almost everything they do: if your race is hardly represented here then it is just a noise meaning it does not go to the equation.

[PNGMK]

Based on the data people post here you seem in a neutral position. You are not an Indian (negative) or Malaysian/Indonesian Chinese (positive), your salary is about right for your area, degree (positive) and work experience (shortish, slight negative), total stay period is also neutral (just long enough not to be considered too short). The only thing weighting towards the negative side is the 3y tax assessment notices that you can not have at this point. Still this is all neutral probably meaning you have 40-60% chances to get it granted.
What typically boosts the chances is a male offspring but this is kind of radical solution, especially that you are not even married yet. That's why I suggested to wait a bit and give it a try. You will also have more time to make up your mind.

PS. As of the race, I would expect SG gov to be very pragmatic as with almost everything they do: if your race is hardly represented here then it is just a noise meaning it does not go to the equation.

WRT race OP will end up in the 'other' or 'Malay' bucket - both of which are oversubscribed I believe.

(I should add that there have obviously been Arabs here since before independence - but they are a tiny proportion of the population and I believe are put into the 'Others/Eurasian' category and don't have their own racial group officially recognized as a separate and legitimate racial group in Singapore').

[x9200]

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/Publications ... on2012.pdf

p.13 (absolute No)

Malay fraction is steadily declining over the past 2 decades. "Other" is rising but IMO its is the least significant population for 2 reasons: it is a multi-racial, multiculture mix and it is only 3.3% at present, meaning it has zero impact on the socio-political balance.
I believe both categories are within "neutral"

[PNGMK]

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/Publications/publications_and_papers/population_and_population_structure/population2012.pdf

p.13 (absolute No)

Malay fraction is steadily declining over the past 2 decades. "Other" is rising but IMO its is the least significant population for 2 reasons: it is a multi-racial, multiculture mix and it is only 3.3% at present, meaning it has zero impact on the socio-political balance.
I believe both categories are within "neutral"

The problem with the Malay category is the ICA is allowing Flips to fill it which is my reason to state it is an oversubscribed categorhy. (Btw I adamantly disagree with this practice - a modern Filipino is less like a Malay than a Muslim Indian).... they won't allow mass migration of Javanese or Sumatrans (the Malay cousins) but happily accept Flips as 'Malays'. No wonder the locals get wound up sometimes.

[katbh]

^ ICA has debunked this and have stated 'categorically' that they are not listing those from the Philippines as Malay. There was an outcry about it a few months ago and they said they are not doing it. So this means that they were doing it until it was noted and there was a protest OR that they were not doing it at all and it was just another Filipino rumour.

[PNGMK]

^ ICA has debunked this and have stated 'categorically' that they are not listing those from the Philippines as Malay. There was an outcry about it a few months ago and they said they are not doing it. So this means that they were doing it until it was noted and there was a protest OR that they were not doing it at all and it was just another Filipino rumour.

No it means they're doing it and obfuscating what they actually doing with misinformation. There are a lot of Flip SC/PR and I suspect the 'otthers' category would be full if they were all going into that category. Perhaps there is a subcategory of 'South East Asians of Catholic Religion similar to Malays'" that we don't know about it.

[bro75]

^ ICA has debunked this and have stated 'categorically' that they are not listing those from the Philippines as Malay. There was an outcry about it a few months ago and they said they are not doing it. So this means that they were doing it until it was noted and there was a protest OR that they were not doing it at all and it was just another Filipino rumour.

When we fill up forms where race must be indicated, we are instructed to put it as Filipino. I have always assumed that we are put in the "Others" category. Without being instructed, some of us would put Malay as it is taught to us in school that our race is Malay. But ICA would correct them if this is caught. If you are Filipino and Muslim (esp from the South), I am not sure if you can officially state that you are Malay.

[nakatago]

Just for fun, I once put "Pacific Islander."

It was a form to go kayaking. Why the hell would they need to know my race for that?

[PNGMK]

^ ICA has debunked this and have stated 'categorically' that they are not listing those from the Philippines as Malay. There was an outcry about it a few months ago and they said they are not doing it. So this means that they were doing it until it was noted and there was a protest OR that they were not doing it at all and it was just another Filipino rumour.

When we fill up forms where race must be indicated, we are instructed to put it as Filipino. I have always assumed that we are put in the "Others" category. Without being instructed, some of us would put Malay as it is taught to us in school that our race is Malay. But ICA would correct them if this is caught. If you are Filipino and Muslim (esp from the South), I am not sure if you can officially state that you are Malay.

We don't know what massaging goes on in ICA though once those forms are submitted. Thanks for the feedback.

[beppi]

I always enter my race as "Human".