A Briton writing in a Forum for Expatriates explained how he came to Singapore with the explicit intention of securing a job, and how he got one two months after arriving here on tourist visa. He said that his Employment Pass was approved recently and that he would be starting his new job on 12 June. The foreigner was enquiring at the Forum if he could go on a short trip out of Singapore for a holiday with his wife before starting work.

“Before I start, I would like to take a short trip out of Singapore for a holiday with my wife and I was wondering if its ok to do this with only the IPA Letter (Pass will be issued after the 12th). I’ve been on a tourist visa so far and I’ve been here about 2 months (haven’t left the country for those 2 months). Do you think I could have any problems re-entering after my holiday?”

The Briton’s account is similar to that of British travel, fashion and beauty video-blogger Georgia Caney, who explained in Youtube how easy it is for foreigners to land a job here. She said that it took her about 2 months to land a job after she arrived in Singapore.

(See the full video by the Briton here: WHAT’S IT LIKE TO LIVE IN SINGAPORE? | Q&A!)

She said that she know of people who arrived in Singapore to search for jobs, got one after searching for a short period of time.

“LIKE PRETTY EASY I WOULD SAY…LIKE IT NEVER REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE AND THEY HAVE…IT’S REALLY NOT TOO DIFFICULT.”

She also said that foreigners who are thinking of moving here to work need not also have a degree – that the employers here look more at work experiences of such foreigners.

She said that some companies will say “Singaporeans only”, but others will sponsor such foreigners for an employment pass.

As previously reported, convicted child sex offender and Contact Singapore’s poster boy, 39-year-old Joshua Robinson, did not even have an undergraduate degree when he came to work in Singapore. According to Robinson’s profile in Blogger, he only had an associate’s degree in Computer Animation from the Illinois Institute of Art.

https://theindependent.sg.sg/child-sex-convict-and-contact-singapore-poster-boy-joshua-robinson-did-not-even-have-a-bachelors-degree/

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say recently announced that he had taken 50 companies to task for failing to give Singaporeans fair consideration when hiring. Also, more than 500 Employment Pass applications from these employers have been rejected by his Ministry or had been withdrawn by the respective companies.

It was also revealed that at the end of February this year, there were 250 companies on his watchlist, up from 100 at the start. These are companies that were singled out or reported for discriminating against the hiring of Singaporeans in favor of foreigners.

https://theindependent.sg.sg/minister-lim-cries-in-parliament-and-says-fts-dont-take-jobs-away-from-sporeans/