V17 Thread



Job Hunting

- Job hunting is more difficult now thanks to the Fair Consideration Framework but still possible.
- Popular Job Search Sites: JobStreet, Monster, eFinancialCareers

Employment

- There are 4 types of Work Passes for foreigners in SG: WP, S-Pass, EP and PEP. Visit MOM website for more information on these passes.
- The company hiring you has to initiate all the formalities for you so no need to worry too much on what type of pass or how to apply for it.
- Note that different types of work pass have different rights, benefits & restrictions.

CPF and Income Tax

- If you work 183 days or more in a calendar year you are a tax resident and pay the same progressive tax rates as locals.
- If you work less than 183 days you are not a tax resident and pay flat 15% tax or progressive tax rates as locals (whichever is higher). However the following year if your employment spills over into exceeding 183 days you can request IRAS to re-assess you as a tax resident and refund you the difference in tax paid.
- Visit IRAS website for more information on taxes.
- CPF (equivalent of our EPF) is only mandatory for PR's and SC's (Singapore Citizens) at 16% Employee, 20% Employer, capped at first $5k per month.
- Some companies will encash the employer portion for foreigners.
- Visit CPF Website for more information on CPF.

Permanent Residence

- ICA does not have any official guidelines for PR approval (or any points system like Australia/NZ).
- Previously most agencies recommend applying for PR after 1 year if you are on P1 EP, 2 years or more if you are on P2/Q1 EP.
- Visit ICA website for more information on applying for PR.

Accomodation in Singapore

- Accomodation $600-$100 (room) $2000-$3000 (entire flat)
- Typical costs are 1st month rental + 1 month deposit (for each year of the lease) + 1/2 month agent fee (for each year of the lease).
- Foreigners can only own Private Condominiums and are subject to ~18% stamp duty. PR's can own Private Condominiums and Resale HDB's are and subject to ~8% stamp duty.
- Popular room/house search websites: PropertyGuru, FlatsDB, RoomsDB, EasyRoomMate.

Accomodation in Johor

- Foreigners on Work Pass living in Malaysia and commuting to SG can drive MY-registered cars and bikes. Cars incur $35 and bikes incur $4 VEP/daily.
- PR's and SC's living in Malaysia and commuting to SG can only drive SG-registered cars and bikes into the island.
- Visit LTA website for more information on operating a car in SG as a foreigner.

Driving in Singapore

- Foreigners on Work Pass are allowed to drive in Singapore for the first year only using Malaysian Drivers License. For second year onwards you are expected to convert to Singapore license.
- Visit eCitizen site for more information on converting your license.
- Note that foreigners on work pass are only allowed to drive Malaysia-registered cars if you stay outside Singapore. Visit LTA site for more information.

Expenses

This is very subjective depending on the spending power of different individuals. Basic monthly expenditure:
- Accomodation up to $600-$1000 (room) $2000-$3000 (entire flat)
- Food $500 and up
- Transport $60 and up
- Handphone, bills and utilities $100 and up
- Entertainment, shopping etc $xxxx

This post has been edited by bennike129: Nov 8 2015, 07:20 AM

Newbies who are interested in joining our Whatsapp group and future gathering or makan/yumcha session, pm the following;
Lester1987 argiope mackiddo . Please ensure you have a valid Whatsapp account.

Kindly include your phone number (Sg number only), name, age, gender, work location.
We do organize meetups from time to time.

This post has been edited by Mackiddo: Jan 25 2016, 12:59 PM

Finally, a new thread to rant.

/inb4 1st

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the new thread!

My PR status is still pending but I've changed to a new employment with new E-pass and better salary.

What should I do next? I heard I need to fill up the Annex A from Form 4A again right?

Shoot them an email! ICA_PR@ica.gov.sg

Good luck.

Will changing job during PR application lower down the chances in getting PR ?

This post has been edited by fcuk90: Nov 8 2015, 10:03 PM

I think it does. A friend of mine (an local uni alumni) did it and his application was rejected.

This post has been edited by icycokes: Nov 8 2015, 10:15 PM

Hey there, how long did you waited before applying for a PR?

Anyone working in Becton Dickinson? How is the working environment and benefit over there?

Thanks for the reply.

Gahmen or private uni?

congrats on the new thread !!

you can email them at ICA_Feedback@ica.gov.sg together with your application ID and state that you've changed job.

That's what the officer at the counter told me when i was applying.

Hi Hi! Newbie here and will be joining sg on 21st Dec in one of the big 4's! Mind I join in the makan/yumcha session?

Hi all, was a long time lurker in the previous Working in Singapore threads (since I first moved to Singapore for work). Now amazingly V18 already haha

For accomodation hunting in Singapore, would recommend to use www.nestia.com in addition to the other sites listed. I think it is quite new but the travel time search filters were really handy when i was looking for a place to stay. The UI + room pictures also all look neat and slick like AirBnb-esque. Their customer service helped me out once so I felt oblieged to give them a recommendation haha

On a sidenote, the job market's really getting worse . Many companies going through hiring freeze

Congrats! PM MacKiddo or Lester1987, our "Big Two" daikor in charge of the LYN whatsapp support group.

Hi All,

I'm expecting to land into SG in week time. how to join the whatsapp group ?

refer to post #2.

hi, is it easy to find job in sg now?

Ok thanks, I will try =)

No idea... Hopefully not...

Almost 6 months...

Thank you~~

Yeah damn easy

NUS. All these while we thought being graduated from a local uni is a sure way to get PR but he got rejected for no reason. We figured maybe it was because of his job change during the application.

This post has been edited by icycokes: Nov 9 2015, 11:05 PM