Singapore Expats

Just a quick enquiry, all. I've checked here and can't find a similar thread, so thought I'd start one up.

I currently find myself in the 'betwixt & between' scenario of having recently had my F/T EP-supported position be converted to a Freelance pay-as-you-work effort, in line with my company's decision to temporarily 'mothball' it's Sing. operations until the economy hopefully picks up within early next year. The last official day of operation for now was Sunday 31st May when our office rental contract ran out.

I will still be maintaining the company's presence here on a freelance basis for now (while actually working for our Bangkok, Jakarta and possibly Manila offices as needed) with the idea of maybe helping start up the business in more opulent times at a later date (or at least buying myself time to get something more substantial instead).

As I am only 10 months into a 2 year Employment Pass, my question to you all is 'Am I able to maintain the Employment Pass for the forseeable under the circumstances outlined above (non-salaried/freelance etc)?'

I have checked with the MoM website, but not surprisingly it's rather foggy on this issue. So, before heading there in person in the coming days, thought I'd check in and see if anyone here is in a similar situation. Are there any precedents that will help me? Any loopholes in the EP laws that support my situation?

Thanks in advance on this matter....am really hoping I can maintain the EP for now to keep me rooted in Sing. a bit longer without the additional hassle of 'visa runs'!!

Cheers

Magoo

Dave - SMS will know more, but is PEP an option? My understanding is that if you have a P1 then converting to a PEP is fairly "easy" and means you are then not tied to one employer. Not sure if that helps, but a thought anyway.

Cheers, P

If you are on a P1 EP then you are granted the PEP approval in principle automatically and all you have to do is go down and pick it up.

Note however, that a PEP still implies that you will be working for a firm, and you will have only 6 month to be unemployed. You technically cannot free lance because I don't think you can set up a business as an EP.

If you are free lancing for the company that let you go then an Entrepass would be the way to go. Essentially, you already have contracts in place and will have, if not a thriving business, at least a sustainable business, and your likelihood of approval ought to be pretty decent.

And, given that the Singapore government really would like to slow the effects of all the expats leaving, unless you have a completely unsupportable plan, they'll have an additional reason to want to keep you in Singapore.

I'm afraid that PEP or EntrePass are probably the only two venues that you can pursue. In order to be on an EP you have to have a salary and be employed by an active company not a dormant one. However, I'm not sure how long they could go without canceling your EP but at the end of the day, if you do it that way, eventually when you get caught you will be probably ejected from the country if not incarcerated for a while for an illegal overstayer. SE's suggestion is the way to go with the PEP if you were on a P1 EP. Otherwise, it looks like you may be a visa runner with all that entails. As to the PEP, unless you could find another employer you would be hard pressed to keep it after 6 months.

Having said all that, I've not run into anybody yet with enough time in grade as a PEP holder to know how the government tracks the income other than the statement from you declaring your earning. That form required you to list your employer(s) as well as your monthly salary so it might be a little difficult to do especially if you will be working for a shelved company.

Thanks for the sage advice, Pete, SE & SMS.

I thought that the PEP option may be the way to go from previous advice/ research, but didn't know the EntrePass option, so may look into that too. No harm in trying!

If the worst comes to the worst, as you say SMS, may have to take on the visa run option for a while, but would rather not (although, rather that than overstaying, which I certainly dont wanna risk). At least I tend to be out of the country for work reasons anyway roughly once a month these days, so that will help.

I'll update you all here if I find out anything of use in my dealings with MoM.

Cheers again.

Dave

Note that the PEP in principle approval letter is valid for 6 months, which kind of gives you a year to find a job (although you still need need the social visit pass to stay the 6 months before you collect it)

Can anyone briefly describe what is the entrepass ? Tks.

Any idea whats the maximum visa length i can get for a social visit if I'm visiting a friend ?

hmm i can pm a contact for the entrepass if anyone wants? im sure if i advertise sms will kill me lol

If it's not your company and you have no financial interest the the company, please post the company name and address and contacts here in the thread where all can benefit. That's a recommendation, if you have financial interest then it's advertising or soliciting for personal gain.