Singapore Expats

Hi,

I'm a foreigner working full time in Canada for the time being. I have been interested to relocate to Singapore. and just recently, I came across this new PEP scheme.

quoted from MOM website:
Eligibility
Overseas foreign professional whose last drawn fixed monthly salary overseas was at least $7,000
• The last drawn fixed monthly salary overseas should be no more than six months from the time of the application.

Is that $7,000 SGD?? does that also count for exchange rates??
so if my monthly income in Canada (in $CAD) is > $7,000 SGD after the conversion rate, that means I'm eligible??
and I can apply from overseas?? even though I dont have yet an offer from a company in Singapore?? this seems like breaking news... ^_^

Has anyone had a personal experience with this PEP?

Thank you very much...

oh btw, I'm wondering, that $7,000 SGD requirement, that is also gross income, right?? before taxes, etc???

hmm, its a bit unclear really. Certainly sounds odd. I know people that have been working here 2+ years and have still been rejected.
Why not just come here, get a free 30 day visa, and apply for an EP when you get a job. You might not like it here, and might not even get a job... i would wait for now, as you can only get it once

well, I can get it only once, that's not a problem...
or are you saying, I can only APPLY for it once??

This visa is not suitable for you, I have the same question before so I checked with MOM, they confirmed that this visa is only suitable for foreigner who are already working in singapore now and want to look for another jobs but without giving up the EP status.

As millions of other foreigners without a job here, you can only come in under a 30 days social visit visa and arrange extendion between 30-90 days after you arrived.

good luck!

What you want is an EPEC, not a PEP. Do a search.

well, I dont really intend to move to Singapore without any job offer...

what if there's a job offer from a company in Singapore?
I can certainly apply for PEP, right??

thanks

Btw, I called MOM...
she explained that if my monthly pay is SGD $7,000+, I can apply for PEP. and I dont need to have any job offer contract from Singapore or anything...

well, I dont plan to go there empty handed anyway...

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal ... _pass.html

would have been easier if you apply here when you're working here....

the threshold is only $30,000 which is $2,500 per month ...

If you're going to get a job before coming, why not just let the company get an EP for you? It'd be easier on you and you can always get a PEP later if still want to.

Bonbon wrote:http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal ... _pass.html

would have been easier if you apply here when you're working here....

the threshold is only $30,000 which is $2,500 per month ...

from the mom website, I think that's if you already have 2 yrs of working experience on a P or Q1 pass...

kn1ghtx wrote:well, I dont really intend to move to Singapore without any job offer...

what if there's a job offer from a company in Singapore?
I can certainly apply for PEP, right??

If and only if you qualify as an Overseas foreign professional whose last drawn fixed monthly salary overseas was at least $7,000 (quoth the MOM).

In general, a PEP is identical to an EP, the only difference is that you have a grace period of 6 months (instead of 2 weeks) to find a new job. In practice, it's pretty much useless though -- by the time most people qualify for PEP, they also qualify for PR, which is far superior.

Hi Kn1ghtx,
You're in the same boat as me except I'm leaving London, UK. I've been in touch with my brother who's based in Singapore now. My brother and I both have contacted the MOM directly regarding certain queries.

You are eligible for the PEP if your foreign salary is over SG$7000 per month. If you have family, you can apply for dependant's passes at the same time. You will be the local sponsor for them.

The rules of the PEP (since it's introduction in early 2007) have significantly changed. The MOM have added several new criteria to eligibity as a catalyst to encourage foreigners to the country - the foreign salary being one of them.

I think there is still some confusion about the PEP though as it serves 2 purposes.

1) allow people in our situation to enter the country to find work.
2) allow people already in Singapore to benefit from having a work permit which is not tied to their present employer.

I'm about to make my application within the next week or so, and if all goes well we'll be making the biggest transition of our lives in mid June.

Good luck!

Joshua88, sorry but I didn't mean to confuse Kn1ghtx with my previous answer. Indeed I called MOM too about 2 weeks ago, they 'confirmed' with me that the PEP is only suitable for people to apply if they already are the EP holder. The S$7000 clause is about expat earn the salary in their home currency. Then they suggest me that if I don't have a job in singapore at the moment, then "only" option is to come to Singapore under a normal social visit visa, after arrived then I can apply for an extention of 'short term social visit visa' up to 90 days.

these are the answer from MOM's staff to me. I believe that you actually recieved different answer from MOM and obviously they also have confusion within their organization.... I hope this is not the case too during the approval process...

I went through the process of entering Singapore a few times under a 30 day visitors stamp in the passport, while my employer applied for my EP. I was nervous about this having done a similar thing in the USA a few years previously, when the immigration people there gave me endless grief each time I entered the country. In the case of Singapore - no problems at all.

Anyway, then I got the EP with relatively little delay and all was fine. After a couple of years the PEP got introduced and the MOM wrote to me suggesting I should apply. This was good for me because the alternative of PR wasn't suitable at the time, and it gave me some stability in case the worst were to happen with my employment situation. So I applied online and it came through quickly.

The nice thing about the PEP is that it lasts for 5 years, whereas my EP renewals were more often. Also, everything is in my name, so when I need the PEP (or dependants pass) transferring to a new passport etc. I can do everything myself and not have to get letters from my employer.

The main point I want to make is that moving to Singapore and getting set up with EP, PEP etc. is generally straight forward compared to many other countries, so don't worry. Good luck with your move if it goes ahead.