Singapore Expats

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well. I want to ask some advice if I apply for PR and what are the chances of getting approval?

About me
Age: 23
Nationality: Myanmar
Race: Burmese
Gender: Male
Education: local polytechnic diploma and local degree holder
Occupation: Engineer in construction industry, started working a few months ago
Basic Salary: S$30k

I have a few concerns and questions. Hope to get some advice and idea on those.

1) My starting pay is relatively low compared to my peers (locals) as it was difficult for me to secure a full time position when Circuit Breaker ended. Will it affect my application significantly if I want to apply for PR?

2) I have been living in Singapore for almost 7 years now (poly+uni) with one year abroad. I haven't paid any income tax yet as I just started my job a few months. When will it be an ideal time for me to apply for PR?

3) I am bonded to MOE for Tuition Grant. Do I finish serving my bond (3 years) first before I apply? or should I just apply after I pay income tax for the first time?

4) Despite being burmese on paper, I grew up in a chinese household and can speak mandarin chinese fluetly. Will it increase my chances of getting approved?

I don't dare to apply yet cause I heard that once you get rejected for the first time, the chances of getting approval in the future might be lower (I'm not sure about it, it might be a myth). I also know a few friends who got rejected recently in 2021. So I want to increase my chances of approval. I welcome any advice! Thank you

The biggest worries are your low pay and your lack of work experience. It helps that you have studied in local institutions and are on a bond. I think it may be best to wait until you finish serving your bond. By then, you would have lived in SG for 10 years, worked for 3, and you may have a higher salary. Good luck.

It's possible but not probable. You will need to have worked for at least 2 years (or three tax assessments) but honestly, your ethnicity is going to be a difficult hurdle to clear. Being raised in a Chinese household has about as much chance as I have becoming ethnically Indian and I've been married to one for 37 years. Will not fly at all. Having said that I do know of one engineer here who is ethnically Burmese and recently gained his SGC. He is a railway engineer with the MRT and is a long time RC member (this is how I know him as I'm also a long time RC member). I believe it was in 2019 when he got his SGC. So it IS possible, but will be hard. Wait till you have at least 24 consecutive month working experience.

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 12:14 pm

The biggest worries are your low pay and your lack of work experience. It helps that you have studied in local institutions and are on a bond. I think it may be best to wait until you finish serving your bond. By then, you would have lived in SG for 10 years, worked for 3, and you may have a higher salary. Good luck.

Thank you for your advice. I will wait out for 1-2 years before applying for PR.

sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 12:31 pm

It's possible but not probable. You will need to have worked for at least 2 years (or three tax assessments) but honestly, your ethnicity is going to be a difficult hurdle to clear. Being raised in a Chinese household has about as much chance as I have becoming ethnically Indian and I've been married to one for 37 years. Will not fly at all. Having said that I do know of one engineer here who is ethnically Burmese and recently gained his SGC. He is a railway engineer with the MRT and is a long time RC member (this is how I know him as I'm also a long time RC member). I believe it was in 2019 when he got his SGC. So it IS possible, but will be hard. Wait till you have at least 24 consecutive month working experience.

I see. Thank you for your input. I will take note of that. I will wait out for a bit before applying for SPR

You actually have a reasonable chance (young female and Chinese). I would encourate you to consider applying AFTER this years tax assessment (late April). While you salary is low the gahmen has admitted to having troubles filling their slots for PR and your age and salary are actually in line (i.e. no one expects a young person to be earning 10k). It's not much money to try and there are no downsides to a failed application. If you are who I think you are, you will present fairly well as someone who can integrate into Singapore quite well.

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 4:51 pm

You actually have a reasonable chance (young female and Chinese). I would encourate you to consider applying AFTER this years tax assessment (late April). While you salary is low the gahmen has admitted to having troubles filling their slots for PR and your age and salary are actually in line (i.e. no one expects a young person to be earning 10k). It's not much money to try and there are no downsides to a failed application. If you are who I think you are, you will present fairly well as someone who can integrate into Singapore quite well.

Thank you for your advice. I forgot to include in my post that I am actually male. But yeah. I might try it sooner than I planned.

PNGMK, you missed the fact that he is neither female nor Chinese. He is ethnically Burmese. But as I've already noted, I wish him luck.

sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 8:26 pm

PNGMK, you missed the fact that he is neither female nor Chinese. He is ethnically Burmese. But as I've already noted, I wish him luck.

And his user name is Burmese "Chinese". I'm guessing this is the source of confusion.

sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 8:26 pm

PNGMK, you missed the fact that he is neither female nor Chinese. He is ethnically Burmese. But as I've already noted, I wish him luck.

Thank you!

smoulder wrote: ↑

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 10:40 am

sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 8:26 pm

PNGMK, you missed the fact that he is neither female nor Chinese. He is ethnically Burmese. But as I've already noted, I wish him luck.

And his user name is Burmese "Chinese". I'm guessing this is the source of confusion.

Yeah, I noticed that. I think I might need to change my username.