Asian Apartment Assessing

So if my sky writer is doing his job, you should know by now that we've signed the lease on our first Singaporean apartment. What you didn't know!? But I paid that random stranger I met on the bus in the middle of the night all that money for top notch work!

Fine, back on topic!

For the last month we've been living with the boyfriend's Singaporean parents and while they have been INCREDIBLE (Seriously, by the normal conservative standards of the previous generation that speaks volumes!) I however have lived on my own for nearly 7-years! Living with someone else (barring my boyfriend for nearly two-years now) is an adjustment I have been finding it difficult adjusting to having 'room mates'... and living with your significant other's parents makes it both difficult and a bit uncomfortable.

• You have to be on your best behaviour all the time, no walking around in your boxers (Don't lie, you know you do it when no one's home). 
• You have to always dress nicely to present your competence as an adult... how I miss my ratty and worn lounging sweat pants!
• You can't hog the bathroom or the food, I love to take hour long hot showers where I literally can just sleep standing up... nope not here! My poor back muscles are screaming in defiance at the injustice!
• You can't curse or shout whenever your pissed or hurt. Don't believe me, stub your toe on the table and try stifling that F-word in your throat as you grip you foot and smile at the parents. 
• Your decision for meal time are by group consensus and not by what your stomach wants that night. 
• All forms of PDA even up to overt flirting is now weird because honestly, who wants to get all hot and bothered in front of you 'in-laws'. 
• Find you boyfriend's mother washing your underwear and instantly you feel both embarrassment and a healthy dose of shame, not to mention your an adult, you feel bad having someone else doing your laundry. (If your mother still does your laundry after college, sorry, you're a wierdo!)

For someone who lived by himself over half a decade, such an adjustment is not easy and the desire to return to some level of freedom I enjoyed before is desperately wanted. Don't get me wrong, its an immensely rewarding experience to get to know the Singaporean parents... but literally meeting them and living with them all in the same week is like watching an antelope on the Serengeti... every second a conversation goes quiet your afraid the time has come and that antelope is about to be hit... by Hummer!

Again back on topic, I know I run off on tangents. I think its because... Oh fine, your no fun!

So to begin hunting for a new place to stay in Singapore, the first desire is to pick somewhere that a commute to work is feasible. Right now going from Tampines down to Raffles means either catching the 552 Bus, riding it for an hour, praying traffic plays nice and then walking 10-minutes to work... or catching the 91 Bus to Tampines Mall, riding the MRT to Raffles and walking 15-minutes to work... both ways are crowded and both require me to be awake much earlier than God ever intended. So it was decided to focus in every neighbourhood that was less than a 20-minute commute from our office (train/bus included).

I am not a morning person... in fact before my coffee I am a DANGER to society... the closer I am to work the better.

Narrowing down our search area, we found apartment hunting in Singapore is very similar to NYC. Realtor's have taken to social media and the Internet with a zeal, many sites specific to Singapore apartment renting or property buying are plastered all over the Internet. We focused primarily on the website Property Guru, mostly because it required all apartment rental posting to come with pictures, both of the property but also the realtor hosting it.

Our area of focus was Tanjong Pagar, an area at the heart of the Downtown Core of Singapore that is an odd mix of old style HDBs and high-rise condos. It's only a short distance from the famed and always crowded Singapore Harbour, one of the busiest seaports in the world... seriously New York Harbour, you don't even rate in the top 10 seaports in the world when you can count nearly a hundred super-freighters representing two dozen countries, each as long as the Empire Star Building is tall, clustering on the open ocean, all vying to be the next to drop their goods at the base of tower cargo cranes that rival skyscrapers in height!

Saturday is the day to show, most people are out and about so you can get a feel for the real life of your desired neighbourhood. This will give you an idea of how crowded or loud your future home could be. If I'd have known my college apartment in Philadelphia was dead on the weekdays but overwhelmed by crowds, ear-splitting club music and drunks falling over at only 4:00 PM in the afternoon, I may have looked a little farther down the road!

Generally most owners will go through a realtor when they are trying to sell their places, the hassle is easier and most buildings require it to ensure nepotism doesn't play a factor in them keeping the rents competitive. In general pick them based on the properties they have, but when you call to schedule your appointment ask if they have similar properties in the area. Most actually will have multiple apartments in the same building complex they will be happy to show.

Now that sounds odd, if you've seen one HDB apartment, you've seen them all. But remember Singaporeans love to buy over rent, which means that as owner they have say in how all of these decade old units are not only decorated but also how they are renovated. The first apartment we saw had a wall between the kitchen and living room. But the next apartment did fit within the same space and shape, but that wall between the kitchen and living room had been torn out and a breakfast counter now acted as a barrier. Another two floors down had redone the kitchen counters with green tiles, the one next door went with stainless steel tops.

Secondary to this, almost all rental apartments in Singapore tend to come fully furnished. The owners know that most people who are renting tend to be working and juts starting out in the world, they have few belongings. Its common for all the basic furniture and major appliances to be installed on arrival. Think of it like how a hotel room is built, nothing fancy but still you will have a couch, television, washer, kitchen table, a bed and wardrobe for each room. If your buying, sorry they expect if you can afford property, you can afford your own couch! This means that the décor and furnishing of the place must also be considered when moving in. I loved a 18th floor apartment in a particular HDB near Duxom Park but the fact that owner refused to remove the ancient and truly gaudy Chinese-style wooden furniture and furnish with a television that wasn't made in the 1980s was the reason we turned it down.

The range of rents you can find will run the gamete and are largely predictable. The fancy condo built less than a year ago, with its own small backyard, a sky garden on the room, private courtyard and garage, even a private hall for functions, along with complimentary bomb shelter/pantry, was of course rated at a price that visibly made us choke. The cheap HDB flat built around the time my grandparents were newly weds and still hosting all the original décor, was straggly cheap... and stomach turning in its filth.

Be clear with the realtors, most are willing to negotiate the rent down if you are willing to offer incentive. Move in right away, but only if you drop S$200 from the rent. Like we'd pay the full rent, but wanted the couch, television and beds replaced with more modern versions. Haggling will be difficult and somewhat exasperating but we managed to chop a good chunk off our rent and get a say in how it was furnished because since the renovations were completed the day before, it lacked furniture when we viewed it.

Once the bid and the your haggled stipulations for moving in have been presented to the owner, they can decide whether or not they'll take your offer. This offer is going to include a check for your first month's rent, plus a security deposit that is usually one months rent and a realtor fee, which is usually another month's rent. So expect whatever price you agree on, the first time out of the gate you'll be paying three to four times that amount, so brace your bank accounts accordingly.

Once the offer is accepted, its time to sign the contract, where your stipulations for moving in are legally documented. Do no skimp on any details and make sure the owner is held accountable for all damages within the first day of moving in. We found while out future home was ideal, the handles on the kitchen windows were broken, a mirror was cracked and two tiles in the bathroom were wobbly. Yes, wobbly is the technical term! These damages must be fixed before you move in and any one's you missed need to be documented the first day in order to avoid a hefty chunk of your security deposit being sucked up when you move out.

There are also some stipulations that have to be made clear on the contract when you move in, in order to save yourself from 'breaking' your lease later on:

• Expatriate renters can use the Overseas Clause to break a lease without penalty. If you are posted back to your home country or another, you are only required to give two-weeks notice and your lease will be shortened accordingly to end as soon as possible. Just provide you FIN or Passport number to secure this.
• If ANY of the persons on the lease are Singaporean, the Overseas Clause not only doesn't apply, it voids an early lease break for the whole apartment.
• Rent periods tend to be 12-months to 18-months, not by year. 
• Non-Singaporeans can not own property in an HDB. Only Singaporeans can buy an HDB unit. This is the reason the Overseas Clause applies to expatriates and not Singaporeans, we can break contracts early but can never own.
• Subletting is illegal and strictly enforced. Even to family this is unacceptable unless their names are on the lease.
• Most buildings come with WiFi and it is average in speed. Enough to browse the Internet but if you want to use some serious power, like online gaming or HD television, you'll have to invest in something more powerful.
• Unlike in the States, water, gas and heat is not included in your rent. They will be billed to you same as electricity. 
• You are expecting to service all appliances and amenities in your apartment. No building repairman, unless the damage is to the building itself, then alert the owner for assistance. Remember your air conditioner WILL need to be serviced every three-months, if it doesn't the build up of bacteria, dust and oils can make you sick or worse, start a fire!

And with that all hammer down, we've signed our contract and are set to move in next week! Ang Moh finally has some property to call his own! I think I'll raise some rabbits... yes that seems appropriate... fine I'll just get a mint plant for the kitchen window!

Employment Pass Medical Checkup

Heads Up: This is a continuation on my blogging about applying for an S-Pass employment visa in Singapore. If you miss part one, scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the corresponding sequences! 

So even though I was at the doctors less than a month ago to get all my last minute immunizations (Read:  Hurt a Lot) but apparently I am off again! A mandatory medical examination for any application for a Work Pass is required, no if, and's or naked butts in hospital gowns about it.

Yes, that's right, while I've been poked, prodded and forced to turn my head and cough while looking all so uncomfortable, it appears as if I need to go back to the doctors yet again because Singapore prefer's their own medical professionals confirm your health. I guess its only fair, while most doctors in the States are usually pretty qualified, it's probably the only way to remain fair to all the dozens of other countries... who's medical profession is sometimes a bit... off from the modern standard.

So in Singapore most Raffles Medical Centres allow for walk ins... and are also impossible to get onto the phone to confirm their business hours. Seven calls to seven clinics and I was ready to scream. Either they'd put you on hold for an hour and never come back, transfer you to the wrong line or accidentally hangup on you, forcing you back into the wait queue. It wasn't bad customer service, most of the nurses working the lines were genuinely aghast at the mishandling of my calls but I firmly believe it was the lack of phone training that lead to so many mistakes.

Finally I managed to nail down a time to try out the clinic in Asia One, an immense skyscraper which oddly seems to boarder a vast open field. I guess its meant for future construction but still, there is a random stretch of open land in the heart of Singapore's most urban region, that seems to extend for over two miles right to the ocean! It would be like all the land from the Empire State Building to the East River was just forgotten about... it's just weird to see in a city.

I known, shut up on this odd tangent and get back on topic.

So I arrive promptly at 9:00 AM, when the clinic opens and am the second walk-in through the door. I handed over my passport (Bring more than one form of photo ID to be safe!), my approved declaration of my work pass (this was provided by my company Human Resource department once the Ministry of Manpower approves my application to work in Singapore) and the standard medical exam check list. If you lose it, you can find it here.

It is a basic check list to be filled out by the examining doctor, so make sure it is blank when you hand it over to the front-desk nurse. She will hand you a piece of paper with a row bar-code sticker on it this is now your best friend and never let it out of your site until your done. Each sticker will link to an electronic report of your medical test results, it means the doctors doing your exam won't force you to carry around giant tomes of information for them to refer to. Its all going to be on this flimsy piece of paper.

Now it's time to play the waiting game. This waiting room, while very clean and high-tech, with a HD-plasma television play the latest news from CNN and only the most illustrious business magazines on its coffee tables surrounded by fine leather furniture, it still uses the wall mounted number counter that you see at the deli!

After the first woman goes it and returns after twenty-minutes, its my turn. I quickly find myself sitting across from a boy in a doctor's coat... Yes I said boy because instantly I thought the woman before me had forgotten her 12-year old son when she departed. Instead, with a surgical face mask pulled up to his eyes, he asked to see my ID to confirm my identification.

I knew I had given this to the front-desk nurse but one thing my parent's always taught me, NEVER argue or lie with the Police, Firemen, Military and especially Doctors. So I instantly produce my passport, however being that the picture is six-years out of date (Plus I looked stoned in my picture... I WASN'T! I had the flu!) he wasn't too convinced. This is where those extra pieces of ID come in handy, and I quickly produced my US drivers license, college ID and my social security card. That seemed enough to convince him and he quickly launched into the examination once he was satisfied.

The first exam is blood pressure, the chest exam and abdominal exam... which I didn't like because honestly its someone poking you with something cold and telling you what to do... its possibly the reason I also don't like personal trainers... why pay someone to tell you to do something... it seems self-defeating. I also won't give this boy/doctor any points on bed-side manner and my usually liberal usage of curse words were kept tightly under-check... mostly...

The exam of course ends with the standard blood exam. This exam is a deciding factor on whether your pass it approved, failing even one portion of the two criteria points means an automatic reject of your application. If you test positive for pulmonary Tuberculosis and/or HIV... I'm sorry but you can be subject to immediate repatriation.

I know its horrible and discriminatory but Singapore's health system is premier in the world... and few people argue against the local medical establishment when you realize that the country is an isolate island surrounded by medically poorer and larger countries... and a world travel hub... the kind of place where an minor epidemic can spread like wildfire with catastrophic results. Singaporeans have been actively trying to eradicate Dengue Fever and the Mosquitoes who carry it... a species that is incredibly prevalent in this region of the world. At least in temperate zones you have summer to purge the populations, here in the tropics its a year-round threat. Dengue, has a nearly two-week incubation period, while for adults it comes off as a sever cold/flu... complications are common small children who become infect.

Any form of infections disease is an immediate reason for rejection of any form of visa in Singapore and will instantly black list you. You'll have to immediately be repatriated (within reason of course) and you may be barred from ever returning as a tourist.

Back to the blood test... to which I believe I did fine with... except having to watch the needle plunge into my arm. I'm fine with the pain, the blood, the minor ache in your vein after the fact... but the image of that piece of metal piercing my skin always makes me jump and shriek like a little girl... alright not that bad but I go rigid like a board expecting the needle will come bursting out the other side of my arm at any second...

And for those that didn't slam my blog shut after that amazing act of imagery, I can say that was the worse part... physically.

While the medical examination is held in one office, the actual chest X-ray that is required is hosted in another. Now I knew why this office was so beautifully decorated, it was because they hadn't to host any of the more expensive pieces of medical hardware.

The actual x-ray machine was a good 15-minute walk away, this time in Raffles itself. Again this office was walk-in... and being that it was now 9:40 AM... it was packed.

Thankfully x-rays are not as common as you think... but you have to mention that's the reason you are there. Stating your there for a employment pass medical check-up can have them start the process all over again, wasting your valuable time... saying that you were sent from another office for a specific procedure and then presenting the paper with the sticker bar-codes on it. This will save you a ton of time... and not have you waiting in the wrong line for 30-minutes... like me... who then got shifted to a line that took... 2-minutes!

X-ray is super fast, taking less than two scans and completed in under a minute. If you not keen to stand half-naked in a strange room with a crowd of people outside... wear a light under-shirt and they generally will let you get away with it.

When your finished they will be taking your medical card given to you at the start (the one with all the bar-code stickers) and your off, nothing to really show for it. That's because in four to five business days they will call you back and hand you back your medical examination form, filled out by the doctor with all the notes if you passed or not.

As the AngMoh is still in Singapore, you can tell I passed. With this finished, the approved Employment Pass Application and my personal documents/IDs... its time to head onto the Ministry of Manpower to hand in my paperwork and get my pass!

Read about it in the next post: Registering for Employment Pass.

For those that missed it, here is the complete S-Pass Application Process. Click below for:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Completing My S-Pass Employment Application!

Disclaimer: Because I mention my job in this post I am enforcing the anonymity rule with comments. Do not mention my name, position, company or office location. Any comments that do will be deleted. Same applies to me, I will NEVER refer to my position, company, its location beyond country, refer to colleagues or anything they say. I will also never post pictures, taken of either colleagues or on the office premise. In general I will be as vague or broad as possible with details! Thank you.

Heads Up: This is a continuation on my blogging about applying for an S-Pass employment visa in Singapore. If you miss part one, scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the corresponding sequences! 

So for those that haven't heard of the "Boyah Dance" I have been doing it extensively in the last two days, throwing paper into the air and screaming like a shrill Banshee on crack. That is because I have officially been made an offer by a company.

I GOT A JOB!

Yes, only one month in Singapore and I've managed to lock down a position with a local company. Do not take my success as the standard, even I am a bit astounded I got in the front door that fast. A tiny part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only thing I can say is that my efforts to saturate every job application on LinkedIn may have paid off.

Sorry, as I stated in the above DISCLAIMER, my rule of anonymity on this blog forces me to hold my tongue on what my future job is, where I'll be working or what I'll be doing. Plus this is so if my future bosses stumble onto this site I won't be ripped a new one for talking about work in excruciating detail. So fair warning for my friends trickling in from my Facebook link, don't post comments with my name, the company name, office location or even my future title... it truly pains me but I will be deleting them.

Can't affording getting my lovable ass fired before I even begin!

So to help you guys who are also interviewing in Singapore, I'll walk you through the most important portion of job hunting process, finishing you Employment Pass Application, the equivalent of the H1-B work visa for Singapore.

Interview

When you interview with a company you are going to have to make clear from the start that you require a Employment Pass (EP) in order to work in Singapore. Getting this out of the way quickly can you get past a lot of frustration. I had two phone interviews end within seconds when I mentioned I needed a EP and they weren't interested. 

Easiest solution, just write in the summary section of you resume. You'll hear less responses, but you'll hear more serious responses. 

Don't feel put out, Singapore has over 1.2-million foreign nationals in the workforce and issued nearly 176,000 Employment Passes in 2011. Out of those over 15,000 are Americans, not counting their families. The government is currently pushing to have that number increased even further before 2020 and the only notable restriction currently is the Foreign Worker Quota applied to companies. This quota is split as such, 20% of a company's total employees in Singapore can be foreign, 80% must be Singaporean. In order to achieve a higher quota, they have to hire four Singaporeans for ever one foreigner. 

With an national unemployment rate of barely 1.9%, the lowest in the developed world, this is actually very easy to achieve for many companies. 

Job Offer

Now after you've interviewed with the company and they make an offer, you have to officially accept before they forward you the Work Pass application and your contract. They won't send you a thing until you speak the words "I accept the offer." Try to keep the confetti and fanfare down a bit, so no boyah dance before the future employer. 

Now you can download the application from the Ministry of Manpower website, but wait for the version the company is going to send you. That is because in some cases the company could fill in its corporate information (Big ID numbers that you can't hope to answer). 

The Ministry of Manpower claims that you should never send in an application that is older than 30-days, claiming that in that time the form could have been updated. Seriously, when was the last time a bureaucracy updated their forms? (Example: see DMV)

Best to wait for them to send you a copy, that is because as a company they are issued the Work Pass Application directly from the Ministry of Manpower the second they update. 

Work Pass Application 

Currently as of May 2013, you have to fill out the S-Pass Application (Form 8). It seems like a daunting and confusing form but here are some simple things I can go over to make it easier.

Section 1A to 2B

First off, in most cases Section 1A to Section 2B can be left blank. That is usually filled out by the company.

However the very top section your going to notice the application is going to be asking for a passport sized photo. Now this is not going to be the picture you took years ago at the post office that made you look like a drunk and cross-eyes (screw you, I had the flu when it was taken seven-years ago!). 

Instead you have to get a recent photo of yourself. Most malls in Singapore have a photo-booth to do that but if your feeling cheap like me, just get someone to take a picture of you with your iPhone in just a nice shirt. No one wants to see your pants, just your upper body. Then just re-size your fancy and glamorous model shot to the 25 by 35 millimeters standard (210 by 240 pixels if you want to be extra, super, obnoxiously exact). It doesn't matter if its black & white or color, but use color if you can because its easier to go color to black and white then from black and white to color.

Section 2C

Section 2C is where your going to begin, your not in charge of the company so mark No, and then if your applying for your first job in Singapore as an expatriate, check the first box, because you need both a work pass and an S-Pass. I can't advise on switching jobs, if you know, please comment below ↓.

Again you are going to notice the application asking for Company’s CPF Submission Number. Skip it, unless they tell you, your not going to find it without pulling a lot of teeth and getting really frustrated. 

Section 3

Section 3 can be skipped unless you used a employment agency. I did not, so sorry I can't add a thing. 

Section 4

Section 4 is where your going to start filling in your personal information, very self-explanatory. It's here you have to note if your married or not. Here is where you have to make sure you have a copy of your marriage license handy and if its not in English, a translated copy from your country's embassy. 

Section 4B is also where you need to add in your passport information. In most cases you'll note if you have a Hong Kong Special Admin Region, International Certificate of Identity, International Passport and Macau SAR Travel Permit. Again you'll need to make sure you have a copy of passport with the photo and the passport number visible.

Now the race section, that's normal on almost anything even if secretly I think its a bit racist and unnecessary  I pass it off more as a requirement for census demographics and statistics that the government just loves to gobble up. But the religious declaration portion, that tripped me up.

At first I took some offense to this! How dare they ask me this question! I am atheist but raised Catholic, yet I am very reserved about having to declare my beliefs are in any official capacity. They are my beliefs, I shouldn't have declare or defend them, I'd prefer to keep them privately to myself the way I am most comfortable with.

But in looking into the status of religion in Singapore I was oddly surprised. The population breaks into the following:

• 33% Buddhist
• 18% Christian
• 17% non-Religious
• 14% Taoist
• 5% Hindui
• 0.7% Other

The government does allow for religious freedom but it is also strictly secular and does not tolerate any religious discussion or speech in the public forum like advertising, political speech or protest, censoring it regardless if it is positive or negative as its seen as adversely affecting racial or religious harmony. I found this oddly comforting, back in the United States myself and the rest of the LGBT community are regularly denied benefits or rights by conservative Congressmen and several former Presidents under the guise of it going against " What God Intended". Now Singapore doesn't have many LGBT protections or rights but still it doesn't throw "God's Law" in your face when trying to have a political discussion.

Sorry, I ran off on an tangent again, back to work. 

Section 4C is where your going to fill out your residence information. YOU CAN NOT APPLY FOR A S-PASS IF YOUR NOT IN SINGAPORE! Don't worry if your currently holding up at a hotel or a friend's place but are going to moving out to a glorious HDB apartment any day now. You can just add in the employing company's address and they'll just forward the mail right to you there. 

Section 5

Here is where you can prove all that money your parent's spent on your education was worth it. The application ask for you to list the last two higher education institutions you attended. If your like me and think your Bachelor of the Arts (Journalism Degree!) is all you need to prove your smarts, don't worry, just leave the second batch of boxes blank. 

Again, make sure you have a copy of your diploma. I just took a picture of it and made sure to keep the wood of the table it sat on out of the background. A fair number of companies also require copies of your college transcripts and GPA's, so time to start worrying about those semesters of consecutive C+ grades. Most places will be happy with just a scanned copy of your diploma. If you don't have it, time to call mom and have her head over to the local copy center and walk her through the painful process of working a copier. 

The next part is Section 5B, Societies/Organisations Membership. Unless your a major member in a major political party or action group, like chairwoman of the National Party of Female Republican for Horticulturists with a Peg Leg, skip this portion. 

Section 6

This area is for your spouse to fill out if you checked "Married" in Section 4. Now regardless if your spouse is filling out there own S-Pass Application, you still have to fill this out. That is because if your spouse decides to be the stay-at-home parent or loses their job, adding them on your Application will keep them from facing a lot of headaches. Having your name and reference number on their application will ensure someone at the Ministry of Manpower will know not to sent out an order to leave Singapore or be deported when they see their no longer working. 

Section 7

Employment, this is where your going to be listing every job and position that you've held previously. For most of us this list won't be very long, for me it was only two positions in two years. Sorry summers waiting tables, you aren't applicable unless I used a college degree to get in.

You will have to fill out:

1. Total Period of Working Experience
2. Total Period of Relevant Working Experience

The first one, Total Period of Working Experience is how long since you graduated from college have you been working. Now for me, that's from October 2011 until today. Just use this Date/Time Calculator to figure that out.

For me its 1-year and 7-months. 

Now from this number you have to note for the second one, Total Period of Relevant Working Experience, is how long you've been working that can directly be correlated to the position your taking on. Since I'm working in the same industry this whole time, that entire 1-year and 7-months I can add to that part. If you've recently gone back to school to get a degree and are now re-entering the work force for a new job, sorry but your Relevant Working Experience get's scaled back unless you can toss in an internship or twelve. 

Next, you have to fill in the information on your future position your taking the offer for. That simply is the fixed monthly salary in Singapore Dollars (how much total your making with commissions , basic monthly salary in Singapore Dollars (the basic amount your making without commission), the job title and the office address I'll be working out of. So since I'm working for the same amount each month, its the same for both sections, then the name of my future position and then the location of where my future desk will be sitting.

Be careful, I sent in my first version with my salary and my previous salaries set for a complete year instead of monthly. That got the HR people sending me a confused email asking how I could possibly make so much in a single month... God I wish but that required a quick change and an email back that wasted time. 

According to Section 7D, since I'm a licensed professional like a nurse, lawyer or doctor (my mom would faint with glee if I was), I don't need to do a thing here other than check no. 

Section 8

This is your last part (Hooray!), and is pretty basic. Unless you've done anything drastic in your past, like been arrested, deported, forbidden to enter Singapore, spit in the Queen of England's pancakes (Fine, I'm joking), everything should be a No except for Section 8G, if your currently in Singapore.

Now since you have to be in Singapore to apply for a job, you can give one of three reasons what brought you into the country originally: 

• Study
• Work
• Other (Visitor Visa)

Because I am not already here on an existing work pass or here to study at a university, I have gone with the third option. I arrived in the country and went through customs, walking away with a 90-day extended stay visa. I just have to note that my length of stay is three-months. 

So after finishing Section 8 all you have to complete is sign your name twice, date the signatures and then your done! Everything after this is meant for official use or to be stamped by the company.

What to Add

Now that your application is done, let's confirm our checklist to make sure we have everything to submit. 

•  Form 8 S-Pass Application form: 
• Completed and Signed by Applicant. 
• Completed, Stamped and Signed by Sponsor Company 
• 1x Copy of supporting documents. REMEMBER: Non-English documents must be accompanied by an official English translation done by a certified translator, High Commission/Embassy or a notary public.
• Copy of recent Passport or equivalent.
• Recent picture at sized for passport. Pick any picture of yourself 25 by 35 millimeters, white background, in color or b&w. 
• Applicant’s Educational Certificates:
• Diploma/Degree Qualifications
• Registration or Support Letters from the respective Vetting Agency/Professional Body/Accreditation Agency. This is only needed for licensed professionals: 
• Doctor – Singapore Medical Council
• Dentist – Singapore Dental Council
• Pharmacist – Singapore Pharmacy Council
• Nurse – Singapore Nursing Board
• TCM Practitioner – Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board
• Lawyer – Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers
• Football Player/Coach – Singapore Sports Council
• Support letter from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore (For application submitted by Representative’s Office).
• Official marriage certificate (For applicant with Singaporean spouse only).

Travel

Now a key thing to remember is the second you submit your S-Pass Application Form, whether sending it directly back to the employer or right to the Ministry of Manpower, the moment that application leaves your hands YOU CAN NOT LEAVE SINGAPORE until its approved. 

Every time I went in to talk to my future employers, they asked me repeatedly "Are you planning to travel?" I had to explain as humor-filled as possible and without a hint of desperation, that no, my glamorous life will not be including going anywhere in the world that can't be reached by local bus. 

Just remember, if you decide to take a weekend on the islands of Thailand, up to Japan to grab some authentic sushi or even  taking a care ride over to Malaysia for a little rain-forest hiking... you've just made a big mistake and could have reset your entire application process. That is because if you are not psychically in Singapore, your application is stopped, sent back to the bottom of the queue and has to go through all the steps again. 

I'm sorry but as it's been made clear to me, there are tragically no exceptions to the rules. 

So get ready for some weekends cruising the local malls because your jet setting is on hold for the time being.

Submitting

So with everything done, scanned, copied and filed away, its now time to submit the papers to your future employer to have them add in their own information, double check all your stuff and submit it to the Ministry of Manpower. 

And your done! Congratulations you've completed your S-Pass Application! It normally will take between 3 to 10-days to get a confirmation. Once it is, you technically can start working! In the meantime you'll have some documents to complete before heading off to get your official Employment Pass!

Read about the employment pass medical examination in the next post: Employment Pass Medical Checkup

For those that missed it, here is the complete S-Pass Application Process. Click below for:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Job Hunting With A Shotgun

So my speed of posting has slowed, but can you blame me? You can... shut up then! I've been hitting the pavement running trying to find a job, literally in one case last week I nearly hit the pavement face first after almost taking a spill down the stairs at Raffles Place during a rain storm. Seriously, its like Singapore is a country that hates friction, I mean really almost all the apartments come with slick tiled floors, its as if the country was never introduced to carpet... but I digress on another one of my lovable tangents...

I guess that is going to be the topic for today, job hunting in Singapore. Or in my case, running down the street throwing stacks of my resume into the air like confetti.

Recruiting Agencies Vs. Recruiting Departments

As of my current experience I can without a doubt declare that recruiters both in Singapore or abroad and recruiting for jobs in Singapore are some of the worse! Now they are bad all around the world and I highly recommend just avoid them like the plague they are.

Just skip over recruiting agencies and go straight to the company's HR or recruiting specialists.

The reason is simple, the recruiting agency is working on commission and are only interested in filling a position with a body. They ARE going to act like your friend and butter you up just to get you in the door, enticing you with a position when in reality they have no intention of hiring you and are literally throwing you to the wolves to show they are doing their job. If you happen to get the job, then yippy, they get a commission... if not... yippy, they get salary!

Company recruiting departments on the other hand can be picky and stringent in their reviews, they are more likely to tell you even before you get in the door for an interview that you are not a right fit and thank you for applying. At the same time they also work in your line of business, are more likely to ask industry relevant questions and you'll be able to rapidly gauge the competency of the company you're trying to join.

I highly recommend if possible, to avoid recruiting agencies and throw your resume right into the face of the company recruiting specialists.

Late Interviewers

In most cases, your interviewer is not sitting by the phone with bated breath, counting down the seconds until you interview. They instead are trying to shoehorn you into their schedule while balancing a thousand different things. As I've noticed with Singapore, this is ten times worse.

According to at least a dozen of my friends, its common for interviews in Singapore and Asia as a whole to always start much later than they were scheduled and to arrive on time, but expect to have to wait. In fact, do not schedule multiple interviews in one day, if you can't, place at least two-hours between them, in addition to the time you intend to spend traveling there. That way if they run over, you're safe.

Do not take offense if your interviewer is 30-minutes to an hour late, take the time to grab a coffee, get some food, brush up on your notes. I had one female interviewer who was 5-hours late, then I took offense and professionally/respectfully/while biting my tongue, asked for a better time to talk.

Blitzing Hiring Process

Asia in generally has an incredibly accelerated hiring process, to the point where you're going to feel like you're being launched from a catapult! If the interviewers like you, expect to be called back as quickly as possible and for them to start the process of hiring you instantly.

When you go for an interview, go in expecting that you are going to be grilled on everything from the start. Don't think you're just going in for a casual conversation with an interviewer, but you are going to be sitting before the company CEO and expected to sound like a semi-articulate human being who doesn't drool on his own shirt or appears to be missing a chromosome.

It will save your ass in the long run when you don't have to review your notes every other second between interviews, can think on the spot and most of all, don't say "ummm" every other word.

Salary

Before you even begin the process of interviewing, make sure this is pay you want. Singapore, like many Asia countries, calculates salary based on month, not year. It makes your pay sound small but don't choke every time they tell you the pay. Remember that many government taxes in the United States don't exist in Singapore, so you won't be losing huge chunks of it to the massive social security and federal taxes that guzzle up your dollars.

Don't hesitate on the salary when being hired, if you don't like it and can't get it higher, walk away immediately. If they do like you they should and will most likely increase the base pay of the position. If they won't and you can't live with it, say thank you but no thank you and walk to the exit very slowly.

A key thing to remember, is once they make an offer you are expected to take it as quickly as possible. Waiting is considered disrespectful to many companies or that you're weighing your options with one of their competitors. Companies hate to feel like they've been played! They will retract the offer if you are unwilling to accept it almost instantly when its been made!

Employment Pass

Now for any Expat hunting for a job abroad you have to spend a lot of time studying the different visa's that you can apply for. Some countries can vary immensely, from immigrant meccas like Singapore... to backwards, confusing and outright concern immigration laws like in the United States. You have to understand what you are applying for to make sure you are not going to get screwed up in the long run.

In America, all foreign-born individuals seeking employment in the country have to get an H-1B and only then can use it for three-years, which then can be renewed for a total cap of six-years... and then you either have to get your company to sponsor a green-card or leave.

A concern number of US companies are instead letting workers go instead of transitioning them to a green-card due to the cost associated with it when hauling in a new H-1B worker or even an American is cheaper by leaps and bounds. Another rising statistic has been found also, H-1B workers are paid a lower salary than their American counterparts, meaning that some companies have started to use them as a cheap but highly-skilled source of labor. A source of skilled labor we then spurn by not allowing them to seek residence after they've spent 6 years of their lives here and send back overseas, where again a concerning number of them have begun to pop up in competing Asian companies.

Hint: The prestige associated with working at a US company quickly earns brownie points in most interviews for Asian companies. Working in a big city like LA or New York can also gain you a huge boost!

Again, another one of my tangents, but its something that personally grinds my gears.

In Singapore the visa process is incredibly simple, to the point where a simpleton like me can understand it. Through the Ministry of Manpower, a company can apply on behalf of a new employee for the following passes:

• P1 Pass: Make a fixed monthly salary of S$8,000. This includes any legally married spouse and children under 21 and can be extended to parents. 
• P2 Pass: Make a fixed monthly salary of S$4,500. This includes any legally married spouse and children under 21.
• Q1 Pass: New graduates who make a fixed monthly salary of S$3,000. If making over S$4,000, this can includes any legally married spouse and children under 21.

There is even a self-assessment test that can be taken in order to determine if your application for a pass would be approved. See Here.

Sorry to most but your score increases immensely if you have previous job experience and a college degree. With two-years work experience and a bachelors degree I came back with a "Most Likely to be Accepted." When I took this test two years ago when I was just about to graduate college, it was a big, red sign saying "Unlike to be Accepted."

This is in no way saying you will or will not be accepted for a work pass, you need a legitimately recognized Singaporean company to sponsor your pass in order to get it approved... Sorry I know nothing about how that works for the self-employed. 

Well that's all I can offer for those seeking employment in Singapore. If you have any questions or quibbles, you know where to find the Ang Moh... no, not at Denny's... why does everyone think that?