Singapore Expats

Apologies if this has been asked before..

How much worth does MOM put on education qualifications to award an employment pass?

Some background on me.. I'm 42 & an Asia Pacific Sales Director for a US based software company. My company has decided to relocate me to Singapore to manage the Asia business.

I'm well into the P1 salary qualifications & have been for some time. I've held several senior positions for a number of years & particularly around the Asia region (even though I have managed it from Australia).

The issue is I do not have a degree.. I went to Uni & studied Bachelor of Commerce.. I got 90% of the way to finishing it, but then a family crisis lead to big financial difficulties & I had to start work instead. I never went back to Uni as, being young, naive & stupid at the time, didn't think I needed to.

That was a long time ago & I'm pretty sure I'd have to pretty much start again if I wanted to try to finish my degree but being a Senior Manager, I don't really see the need to apart from now this application for an employment pass & the news that Singapore is clamping down on this requirement.

So, based on these details, what are my likely chances of getting the pass?

Thanks in advance..

Colin

Academic criteria have to be met only for the lower passes. The P1 pass does not require any specific academic criteria, but does require high income and considerable experience in the relevant industry/field/position (probably in the neighbourhood of 7~10 years minimum - it appears they are tightening up the criteria a bit recently).

Additionally, the company does need to justify to the MOM WHY they need to hire a foreigner for the position in the first place, so it's a two part approval process. You have to qualify and the employer has to justify. If both are go, you're in like Flint!

Much thanks for that.. I just did the Self Assessment Tool & it also said likely to qualify although not an offer from MOM blah blah..

Yes, been working for over 15 years in this field/position/industry (geez I'm old! ) & company can easily justify.. I've been doing this job from Australia for some time but will be much more effective in-region.. blah blah..

That makes me feel better.. although I'm even looking into finishing my degree now & have an interview with the sub-dean of the Faculty .. that is funny!

Hi Col311,

I was in exactly the same position you are in. Management role, >10 years experience. Well over the P1 salary requirements. No degree. There were no issues at all. This was 6 months ago so still fairly relevant. I suspect you would have no issues either. MNCs do this sort of thing all the time.

elspike wrote:Hi Col311,

I was in exactly the same position you are in. Management role, >10 years experience. Well over the P1 salary requirements. No degree. There were no issues at all. This was 6 months ago so still fairly relevant. I suspect you would have no issues either. MNCs do this sort of thing all the time.

Thanks elspike.. am feeling relaxed now.. a bit of panic before as we'd been planning this relocation for months! I guess I just have to get my paperwork in now..

How you finding Singa's? I was actually born there but left when I was 3.. never thought I would go back especially as right now we live across from the beach on the northern beaches of Sydney, but we're actually looking forward to it..

elspike wrote:Hi Col311,

I was in exactly the same position you are in. Management role, >10 years experience. Well over the P1 salary requirements. No degree. There were no issues at all. This was 6 months ago so still fairly relevant. I suspect you would have no issues either. MNCs do this sort of thing all the time.

Very similar situation here, just short of 10 years. P1 was approved less than two days after applying, and PEP later approved in about a week. Not that short times necessarily means anything, but a long time (multiple weeks) appears to indicate they're putting you through secondary screening and vetting submitted documents.

..

col311 wrote:

elspike wrote:Hi Col311,

I was in exactly the same position you are in. Management role, >10 years experience. Well over the P1 salary requirements. No degree. There were no issues at all. This was 6 months ago so still fairly relevant. I suspect you would have no issues either. MNCs do this sort of thing all the time.

Thanks elspike.. am feeling relaxed now.. a bit of panic before as we'd been planning this relocation for months! I guess I just have to get my paperwork in now..

How you finding Singa's? I was actually born there but left when I was 3.. never thought I would go back especially as right now we live across from the beach on the northern beaches of Sydney, but we're actually looking forward to it..

Just curious about your birth. Were you born as a foreigner or as a citizen/PR that time?

col311 wrote:
Thanks elspike.. am feeling relaxed now.. a bit of panic before as we'd been planning this relocation for months! I guess I just have to get my paperwork in now..

How you finding Singa's? I was actually born there but left when I was 3.. never thought I would go back especially as right now we live across from the beach on the northern beaches of Sydney, but we're actually looking forward to it..

We love singapore. My kids are thriving. My wife is starting to settle in. The work is good. The food is outstanding!

My experience is much the same so I will not repeat my circumstances. Suffice to say on what you ahve told us you should ahve no problem getting EP.

However, I do advise you to finish that degree as it would be beneficial when you come to renew your EP or apply for permanent residence

Hit send too quickly! The reason it could be beneficial for renewing your EP is that we don't know what the Singapore Government may do in the future, there is a lot of talk already about potential restrictions on foreigners.

Just to close the loop on this thread.. good news, have received my Approval In Principle from MOM & now have to complete the formalities to get the actual pass.. you were right, MOM pretty much just looked at my current salary & years of work experience & approved me. They said it was going to take 5 weeks to process, but the approval came in less than 2 weeks, so all good..

Now the "fun" task of arranging all the logistics to actually move over...