Singapore Expats

Thanks, StrongEagle, for supplying the links-you just helped prove my point. I will post my results once I'm approved! Hopefully, if someone is in the same predicament as I was in (A Dependent Pass Holder Trying to Open a Sole-Proprietorship-NOT NEEDING AN ENTREPASS B/C IT'S FOR A COMPANY), they'll find this post and read to the very end where the correct information will be

lalancaster1 wrote:Thanks, StrongEagle, for supplying the links-you just helped prove my point. I will post my results once I'm approved! Hopefully, if someone is in the same predicament as I was in (A Dependent Pass Holder Trying to Open a Sole-Proprietorship-NOT NEEDING AN ENTREPASS B/C IT'S FOR A COMPANY), they'll find this post and read to the very end where the correct information will be

I am also saying, "don't get your hopes up" about getting a LOC for a sole proprietorship you just registered.

a) You have no turnover and no employees.
b) You cannot be the manager, nor work for the SP until such time as the LOC is approved. So, who is filling in the 'employer' side of the LOC form?
c) MOM is not bound to grant a LOC, it is their sole discretion to grant, and I know there are various jobs for which the LOC will not be granted.
d) All work permits and PR's were easier to get in the past, and all are now harder... so past results may not be reflective of what your experience will be.

Keep us posted.

Today, after an unsuccessful phone call to MOM-never was able to reach the lady "Movingtosg" told me about , I got frustrated and decided to go in person to MOM on Havelock Rd.

When you walk in, an assistant asks you what you're there for. I told her a Sole-Proprietorship and after giving her my FIN number, I was given a number to wait in the Q in the Orange Room (there are three different colored rooms). Just having a feeling I was not in the right room-probably b/c of all the incorrect advice I've been getting-I went to a man behind the information counter to see if he could contact the lady "Movingtosg" had given me. He couldn't get an answer either and confirmed I had the number right. Oh, well! Back to the waiting room.

So, after waiting AN HOUR-YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT- in the Orange Room, my number is called and I make my way up to the assistant ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT YES, I AM IN THE INCORRECT ROOM! IMAGINE THAT-MOM NOT GIVING THE RIGHT ADVICE. I am then guided to the Blue Room where I wait for about 20 minutes more.

FINALLY, my number is called and I get to talk to a Work Pass Manager in a small room. I tell him why I'm there, show him my paperwork, he asks if I'm a Dependent, I say yes and I explain all the paperwork I have brought. I then ask, "I can sign my own LOC as a Dependent, right?" He says, "Yes." So, there's you're answer for that. YES, YOU CAN SIGN YOUR OWN LOC AS A DEPENDENT FILING FOR A SOLE-PROPRIETORSHIP.

Now, I'm told it may take up to 3 weeks for approval, so we will see. Hopefully, like all other cases I've heard about, I'll be approved too.

As of now, here are the directions for applying for a Sole-Proprietorship given you're on a Dependent Pass:
1) Register your business name with ACRA and pay the $65 fee
2) Download and complete the LOC Form from MOM
3) Add the 6 other additional documents I mentioned in one of my earlier posts (the 6th was the signed written paragraph saying I was employing myself). I put my business logo on all forms
4) Make your way to MOM with your paperwork (or you can mail it) on Havelock, get a number and wait in the Blue Room to talk with a Work Pass Manager
5) Wait for a Response from MOM

I hope this helps!

Congratulations!

Almost as bad as the US of A ... family has been working there with appropriate visas in place for 10 years and has just been told she, hubby and kids have to leave as there is one piece of paper that isn't as it should be in spite of the fact they did everything according to directions they received from the government.

Clearly they are figuring this issue out as they go here but it could be worse.


Not to drag this out even further but I was told that my spouse couldn't incorporate a business for me - ie he couldn't hold an Entrepass and Employment Pass at the same time, as a foreigner. Could be whoever said that didn't know what they were talking about.

movingtospore wrote:Not to drag this out even further but I was told that my spouse couldn't incorporate a business for me - ie he couldn't hold an Entrepass and Employment Pass at the same time, as a foreigner. Could be whoever said that didn't know what they were talking about.

You have things mixed up. Indeed, a foreigner cannot hold both an Entrepass and an Employment pass at the same time.

But, it does not require any pass to incorporate a company or become one of its shareholders.

Strong Eagle wrote:

movingtospore wrote:Not to drag this out even further but I was told that my spouse couldn't incorporate a business for me - ie he couldn't hold an Entrepass and Employment Pass at the same time, as a foreigner. Could be whoever said that didn't know what they were talking about.

You have things mixed up. Indeed, a foreigner cannot hold both an Entrepass and an Employment pass at the same time.

But, it does not require any pass to incorporate a company or become one of its shareholders.

Exactly

ksl, you owe me a new keyboard as it now full of Puh Er tea (as well as my sinuses)!

Never though I'd see the day when you and SE agreed on anything!

sundaymorningstaple wrote:ksl, you owe me a new keyboard as it now full of Puh Er tea (as well as my sinuses)!

Never though I'd see the day when you and SE agreed on anything!

Well he's right of course, so i have no other answer

Yes, it OFFICIAL now!! In the mail today, I received my letter from MOM stating my sole-proprietorship was approved!!

And, to end the confusion over this paperwork and information quagmire, let me make some points:
-If you're a Dependent, you CAN open your own Sole-Proprietorship WITHOUT A *EXPLETIVE* ENTREPASS!!
-Register your business with ACRA first and pay the $65. Then, download the LOC from MOM
- it is NOT illegal to fill out your own LOC if you're on a Dependent Pass b/c I did it and was approved!
-your spouse DOES NOT need to sponsor your business if you're a Dependent-that's the whole point of being a sole-proprietor and signing your own letter of consent
-there is a difference between a company and a business and the ACRA operators aren't trained to answer questions about a sole-proprietorship (business). They are only trained to answer questions about an Entre-Pass. Don't waste your time asking. Instead, take your happy self to the MOM with your 7 documents, take a ticket and insist you need to go to the BLUE ROOM
-you do need to submit 6 additional documents along with your LOC when you send your paperwork to ACRA now (refer to my previous posts for info.)
-I have a contact name for a representative at ACRA should anyone need it (High-five to "Movingtosg" for this!!)



And, last but not least, BEST OF LUCK TO ANYONE WHO IS GOING THROUGH THIS SITUATION NOW. I HOPE I HAVE SOLVED THIS MUCH TALKED ABOUT ISSUE!!

LESLIE

lalancaster1 wrote:Yes, it OFFICIAL now!! In the mail today, I received my letter from MOM stating my sole-proprietorship was approved!!

And, to end the confusion over this paperwork and information quagmire, let me make some points:
-If you're a Dependent, you CAN open your own Sole-Proprietorship WITHOUT A *EXPLETIVE* ENTREPASS!!
-Register your business with ACRA first and pay the $65. Then, download the LOC from MOM
- it is NOT illegal to fill out your own LOC if you're on a Dependent Pass b/c I did it and was approved!
-your spouse DOES NOT need to sponsor your business if you're a Dependent-that's the whole point of being a sole-proprietor and signing your own letter of consent
-there is a difference between a company and a business and the ACRA operators aren't trained to answer questions about a sole-proprietorship (business). They are only trained to answer questions about an Entre-Pass. Don't waste your time asking. Instead, take your happy self to the MOM with your 7 documents, take a ticket and insist you need to go to the BLUE ROOM
-you do need to submit 6 additional documents along with your LOC when you send your paperwork to ACRA now (refer to my previous posts for info.)
-I have a contact name for a representative at ACRA should anyone need it (High-five to "Movingtosg" for this!!)



And, last but not least, BEST OF LUCK TO ANYONE WHO IS GOING THROUGH THIS SITUATION NOW. I HOPE I HAVE SOLVED THIS MUCH TALKED ABOUT ISSUE!!

LESLIE
LESLIE LANCASTER FITNESS

We all very much appreciate that you posted your follow up because it helps us understand what is going on in the mind of MOM. Good poo. Thank you.

No problem! I hope it'll help someone in the future and glad there was a forum I could turn to in a situation like this.

Thanks to the Singapore Expats Forum, too!!

Leslie

Hi Leslie,
Can you please PM me the relevant info and contact to get my LOC approved?
I was so desperate to fin a solution... Thanks for brightening my day!
I wish you all the best.
Chris

thanks Leslie for the contact.
sorry I can't reply by PM...

MoM also approved my LoC so I can work for myself as a sole-proprietor on a Dependent's Pass. I set up a sole-proprietorship and then applied for a Letter of Consent as per movingtosingapore's very helpful instructions. FWIW I was told by a senior MoM leader that they were approving these on a case by case basis and that, yes, this is the appropriate process to follow. Hopefully this will end the hotly contested debate from a few pages back.

As far as I could tell MoM's sticking point was that the applicant acknowledge that all operations would cease if the DP is lost. That caveat is also written on the LoC document. In that sense, this is not the best option if someone is hoping to set up a business and then sponsor the original EP holder at a later date. But it is a fine option for the 'trailing spouse' who is looking to work for the duration of the EP holder's assignment in SG.

Perhaps someone should start a sticky thread entitled: How to work as a sole-proprietor on a Dependent's Pass? It would be easier for others to find the correct information - the title of this thread implies it is not possible.