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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

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

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

This post has been edited by Mackiddo: Jun 18 2016, 04:44 PM

These 4 are the heavenly kings of Singapore. Shining knight coming to the rescue when you first land in Singapore. Can't thank them enuff for their care in Singapore.

Lipoting in.

Hello.

I just went for thumbprint at MOM this evening.

Just want to check with taikos here.

If without the physical EP card can we open bank account and subscribe with mobile line?

Checking in. =)

Checking in, still job searching, no result yet. If still no result soon then I might start taking local job in Malaysia instead. Sigh

i did mine without the card for the bank as the bank said our malaysian ic can, the mobile line i waited for my card to get a postpaid line w singtel

Harlo. Kuli reporting in

bangla + 1

Welcome to SG!

Bank account I think it depends on which bank. I opened mine @ DBS with just the IPA letter.
Mobile wise, M1 requires the physical EP.

at last after so long

Maid +1 reporting.

For Singtel, they need passport only

Congrats on new thread...

silent member lipoting in

OCBC doesn't take IPA, valid card required.

+1, and with proof of address

bangla reporting in~
any bangla like running?
looking for running buddy

And they DON'T accept housing board registration confirmation, only bills

I know there's running group gather at MBS every Wednesday evening

Hello. Thanks for replying.

I plan to open bank account with DBS as many people say it is common everywhere and can remit back to Msia.

Certain outlets open on weekend right?

For Mobile package i just went to Singtel and they request for physical work pass.

Anyway, will go for M1 see whether they have corporate plan or not. Cheap and cheerful

What is cheerful in telco plan?

bangla reporting in too..
but not running kaki..
any basketball kaki here?

Cheap and not bad im trying to say.

Eh, cheap and cheerful should be refering to this new telco plan Circle.life

Not sure if it has been posted here before.

Levy new price for work permit.

How to read this? Whats mean by R1/R2?

Hi guys,

May I know how many Resume you sent in before you get you first job in Singapore?

Just for sharing purpose.

TQ

Fresh kuli lipoting in..

Any sifu/taiko here can recommend me the area for accommodation that is accessible to my workplace, which is closer to blk 637 and kaki bukit industrial estate bus station (trying my luck to get some replies, pls don't flame me)

I checked through google that it is accessible from Eunos station.

One. My SG colleague was leaving, asked me if I want to join, then recommended me to her boss.

sent 3, get 3, select 1

How much rental for 1 single room near Red Hill now? Thanks.

good to have friend there

wow, resume must be impressive

To be easily employed everywhere not just in SG, if you have connections - even relatives or short acquaintances that you exchange name cards with, can land you a job.

If you submit resume like the rest of the population, get ready for rejections

I'm one fighting with the rest of the population, took me longgg and hard to get a positive reply at last. But even then, this doesnt mean i got the offer yet, still the interview to go....

1, also via friend

I've never stepped in SG in the first 23 yrs in my life but I got my first job in SG without referral/knowing anyone immediately after graduation from non-SG uni. That was 4 yrs ago. Sent 2, received invitation for interview = 1.

This post has been edited by z21j: Jun 16 2016, 12:08 PM

0.....
kuli very in demand to do dirty job

At least 15

Dear All, how about expected salary? salary same with S'porean rate or receive much more lower because you're foreigner?

Depends on your skills, experience, presentation, and education. What do u have in detail?

Hello, I'm graduating in November with Mech. Engineering degree in local IPTA. Is it advisable to look for jobs in SG now? Considering I'm going to work as soon as I finish my degree. Based on the V18, working as engineer in semicon isn't as rosy as I thought. Can anyone share their experience working as engineer in SG?

I would say it's comparable across the peer group.

bangla travel daily jb-sg lipoting in

You driving right? This school holiday period the checkpoints are a breeze!

i carpool but sometimes i drive. i stay here one year already, just move back to JB this week, still trying to adjust.

ya, this week traffic is good. this morning 6am depart from bkt indah, 7.10am reach JE mrt

[PSA] China scammer - DHL - Singapore (Mandarin speaking, no English)

Received an automated call to office today. Scammer with Chinese accent Mandarin, was a pain talking to them with my broken Mandarin

1.Receive automated voice call - DHL has a package stuck in customs, press 9 to speak to a personal (cannot see the phone number)
2. Person A named Song Jie (id 1919) - fake details me think - ask for my details - provide fake info (name, etc)
shipment stuck in Shenzhen to Singapore .. contain 6 fake passport .. did u sent? .. hell no
3. Long story short, get transferred to Person B - police office of Shenzhen - Juan Shi Jie - also fake .. you are suspect, etc etc. 1mdb case, this guy Khau Jiang sent money to your account in Shenzhen, etc etc. Must be mistaken identity case, I didn't do that, giv IC to verify. Scammer know I give wrong format Singapore IC, need to search Internet to get SG IC format. Scammers did their homework
4. Give fake account number to them (but surprisingly they don't want credit card details) just the 3 numbers of your bank account. (to make to con seems legit?)
5. Penalty of fraud high, go jail, whipping, will freeze your assets. This is where it get interesting. Have walktie talkie FX, etc ... investigation going on, police getting details.
6. Give fake address and other details - wife, son, etc
7. Call got disconnected
8. Fake policeman called again (+86 755 3304 8446 - toll charge number ?)
9. Finish making report .. since so many fraud case ask you to apply for priority investigation with chief investigator (Person B police boss), call +86 755 3304 8446 - case number 00918
10. Didn't call .. they call back .. say sorry phone no IDD . OK nevermind .. they investigating .. will call me at 6pm .

I think the 6pm call will be where the con start. Or it was just a phishing trip to get details for another con (ie your name, SG IC, bank account number any use as only last 3 digits?) ??

All in all took 1+ hours .. maybe my broken Mandarin

Haha nice one. Myself and few of my colleagues received this call. Some listened and replied with some funny remarks.

This is famous scam now. Reported in radio

it's been a while since I post anything here.
5th year in Singapore, 5 good youth years working as bangla

Do you all know where to get safety shoes in town?

Preferable shops that have a few varieties and not cut throat price. Best if they have Red Wing, Mr. Mark and etc...

Just arrived here for few days and got to go site already. I have not even receive my physical EP yet. Lol

Co never provide?

Wondering anyone has issue with malaysia sim card on iphone (ios 9)?

I had my malaysia Digi sim card put inside my spare iphone (running ios 9), I turned off mobile data, data roaming, location service, wifi assist, all OFF. Called Digi to turn off my voice mailbox for roaming too. Leave it on wifi all the time. Yet, there's still charges on Digi data roaming! The data being consume is small, every packet only 1KB according to Digi.

I check under the data usage on my iphone, it shows 0KB. So I really scratch my head what's wrong, I can't turn off the phone completely as I still want to receive sms.
This "data leaking" is driving me nuts, my wife iphone also has the same issue

Anybody has a clue what is wrong?

They provide PPE other than safety boots.

We have to get it ourself and reimbursed back later.

Having said that i need to get back to my HR for employee badges and laptop.

Only Monday i went to office. Tuesday till now in factory or customer's site.

Any tips on interview with a Singapore Big 4? Will be having a phone interview with them soon and hopefully I can land a job in Singapore

Good day everyone,

Would like to seek opinion on working in USS.

1. Any requirement of having PR to work in USS?
2. Other than applying thru Resort World website, any email or direct contact for applying job?

3. Anyone here experienced in working in USS? How's the working culture inside?

What position/corporate rank are you going for? U ever work in a big4 in msia before?

try porting over to prepaid simcard? then you won't need to worry about extra charges. I use a hotlink prepaid simcard here and still can receive sms and tac from bank. amount in the card is prepaid amount, so I only top up when needed.

Answer whatever question they ask. Don't exxagerate, keep it simple.

Applied as a Senior/AM level, currently with one of the big 4 in MY

I know can request for internal transfer to Sg, but there have been bad experience between MY and SG, the partners here will try not to approve any transfer from MY to SG

RWS just retrenched 400ppl yo.

Then you don't need much tip assuming you're already about 7-10y on the job. You can get your salary expectation in glassdoor as well. Their pay is very structured and pretty much fixed for every corp rank

Wanted to tell you about the horrendous hour of an auditor, but I suppose you'd know that already. I look at the auditor I am working with, everyday looks like a depressed zombie

This post has been edited by totti 10: Jun 17 2016, 12:24 PM

Just need to make sure that their style wont differ much to ours

I do look like a zombie too

Haha...hopefully if i do get a job in SG with one of the firms, i wont be shouting randomly

One. Haha...

Not sure if you still looking. but ChinaTown has a few shops that sells Safety boots.
Got mine there.

I bet you have the experience just remember it's no longer MFRS
They are as desperate as you are also. Specially these time when all firm releasing bonus in June / July.

Hi Guys,

Currently I'm renting a HDB room (SGD600) in Bedok with 1 year contract. I'm thinking bout moving out from there and stay at JB because one of my sibling is will be working at JB. My mom request me to stay with him to watch over him since he is a freshgrad...

Based on you guys exp, can I just move out? I still have remaining 4 months contract with the owner for now....

Depends on your relationship with owner and what it says on your contract lor. My tenancy contract allows either of us to terminate early with no penalty with 2 mths notice.

The landlord stays inside the house lor. Me just hi-hi bye-bye only with them...

And pay rent on time, everytime...

Yeah this kind of thing is under discretion of both parties.

Can't look back to your contract.

Mine if not wrong... From Dennis Wee Realty is... Minimum is 3 months. The contract is 1 year. Means if you stay less than 3 months you have to cover the rent until 3 months (I think?) and you lose the deposit too (or maybe count towards 1 of the months). Then after that if want to leave, will have to pay the other party (the contract can be ended by both tenant and the owner) the prorated agent fee. Like if you stay half year then you have to pay them 50% of the agent fee they paid to the agent at first.

If not wrong is something like that... You really have to read back to know.

depends on ur contract. mine is 1 year contract too but minimum stay for 6 months. so read ur contract.

This is due to LTE/4G data mode that you turned on in your phone. Although data roaming or mobile data is off, it is LTE behaviour trying to ping the visited network. To solve this:

1. Activate Plane Mode to disconnect data connection under 4G.
2. Then, check phone setting and allow up until 3G connection. Please disable 4G network and disable data roaming.
3. Then, disable plane mode. Search network under manual searching and avoid any 4G connection in the available operators.

I had this issue before for both my Maxis and Digi lines. ;-)

It seems like a big alamak situation for me.



Hope u guys can give me some advice...

Nothing to advise, your contract already crystal clear what. Just talk to your landlord and explain the situation and see whether he/she willing to accommodate you. If can't then just stay another 4 months, that's hardly a long time.

Alamak. I think i better consult the agent first la for advise. Couldn't affort to pay 2 rents at 1 time lol. Me is bangla level only, but think like godlike stays at SG. Kahkahkag...

do you really think you can tahan the life of waking up around 5am in the morning to get in to SG work then reach JB home around 8pm every working day?

You consult the agent first he/she sure ask you don't move... You know why?? Their contract with the owner will stipulate if the tenant leave within "N" month(s) (normally 3), they have to find one new tenant for the owner.

My current work is shift based bro. 2 days on (1 morning, 1 night) and 2 days off. I'm kinda bored staying here during the off days. Nothing to be done...

Because my nature of work, i think i should better move to JB because i only occur 5 morning shift weekdays/month...

Aiya, like this huh? Pening la liddis...

4 months only, kecoh apa. Your brother (if sister maybe diff story) is a grown adult, let him handle himself in JB alone for 4 months, wanna helicopter him for what? Go visit him on the weekends if you're so worried.

This post has been edited by deodorant: Jun 18 2016, 10:05 AM

If want to rent room in hdb flat, what documents do I need to prepare?

EP Card? and moneyyyyyy. I guess nothing else.

oh ok, so about this EP, what do I need to do before the processing can begin?

the medical check up has to be done before company can apply for me?

Company submit all your details to MOM.

MOM will decide whether your application is approved.

Upon receiving IPA (in-principle approval), you will need to carry out body check.

Once body check done, go MOM do thumbprint then only you formally complete the EP process.

this body check has to be done in Singapore hospitals only? or do they recognize certain malaysia government/specific malaysia hospitals? otherwise, seems like need to spam so many flight trips down to do every stage of the application

once you have your IPA you can legally start work liao.

so it's you get IPA
then relocate to SG and start work
and in the first few weeks of working then go medical check up, convert IPA to EP card.

so this IPA is also like a card or some sort of permit is it? Because was mentioned that need EP card to apply accommodation... can use this IPA to apply as well? will be accepted?

This IPA is like a temporary permit. Only valid for a period of time. Within this period of time, you must proceed with you the necessary action to obtain your EP.

I think I got the DHL scam call. But joke's on them, cos I don't speak mandarin. The only word I got was DHL

I guess they're randomly spamming calls on all numbers, I got it on my house phone, and both my mobile numbers. My wife got it as well.

So can i apply for accommodation with this IPA..?

I got a call from AIA, in Mandarin as well but it's Sing type of Mandarin. I told her I'm not interested and she just said thank you and never call again. Not sure if this scam or not but "hey this is singapore, aren't companies' calls are expected in English??"

Got a call too... I wonder where they are getting the numbers from. I haven't been working here long wor.

shouldn't be a problem. Just bring along passport, Malaysia IC and other documents.
IPA is "In-Principle-Agreement".
Just remember money in CASH.