FAQ
Find answers to commonly asked questions regarding immigration
Find answers to commonly asked questions regarding immigration

Find answers to commonly asked questions regarding immigration
An application is not what it seems, such as form filling, ensuring relevant documents are translated, and having enough relevant supporting documentation. There are easily more than ten different aspects of your entire profile that the Government will assess. There is also a handful of additional ones unbeknownst to the general public as they were only implemented in late 2019. Through our connections and vast knowledge, we can recommend you different agencies or organizations to contribute both time and effort as part of your case-building for PR/Citizenship application. No time wasted on trying to figure out which would be the best fit for your profile. We will also provide viable solutions to every assessable aspect of your life here in Singapore within the sights of consideration of the reviewing authorities. These strategic solutions will ensure yours and your family’s profile is/are cleverly angled to showcase its fullest potential to the reviewing authorities where necessary. Strategizing is vital in your case-building process, and that is what we do best. Do not leave an essential matter like your PR/Citizenship application to chance.
The combined vast knowledge we have accumulated through the years enables our team to ensure every client’s documents package will always be 100% according to the reviewing authorities’ requirements. We have gone paperless through technology, and all clients have ease of access to their cases via our secured portal. All documents are also stored securely in our system and private network – a necessary but surprisingly uncommon practice in the industry.
Our Document Controllers are kept updated on all the latest changes to the platform/system. We ensure that your final application is not set up for any surprises during submission that may negatively impact the final result as we are frequently utilizing the submission portals.
Our personalized service ensures all clients, with their own sets of commitments, can adhere to a workable timeline that promises an unrushed submission that remains as fuss-free as possible. Paperwork is kept to a minimum, and we exercise great flexibility with clients to minimize physical meetups if and where necessary, which then translates to minimal disruption to their schedules. Marketing gimmicks are aplenty out there – quick submissions, high percentages of approval, a mind-boggling number of client cases handled, paid actors for approved clients photo-taking/videos, paid/coerced reviews on FB/Google, over-promising during consultations, and offering of eye-popping discounts at every turn. We do not resort to these unscrupulous methods. We are different.
As mentioned, we are here for the long term, and we strictly adhere to our internal pricing guidelines. We do not overcharge and underdeliver. We charge for the amount of work to be done and not the thickness of your paycheque.
We meticulously handle every case for at least a year with a Documents Controller and Consultant assignment for the entire service period. The number of working hours put in and the sheer amount of work done/to be done are justifiable reasons for much higher quotes, but we promise the best for less simply because we are The Immigration People.
Every case we handle is different in its unique way, and we will never approach them with a one-size-fits-all method. Thus, we will explain your current chances and improved chances via us after we have a good look at your entire profile through the consultation.
Please also note that we are here for the long term, and one of our primary beliefs is to conduct our business honestly. Therefore, we do not resort to grossly inflated and shady sales tactics to bring in the dough. Over here at The Immigration People, we are merely different in a fantastic way. Make that appointment with us today, and you will thank us for it later.
We have a fixed pricing plan with no hidden cost or marketing gimmick for either PR or Citizenship applications. Our services involve comprehensive checks to ensure that all documents meet the reviewing authorities’ standards. We can tailor-make our clients’ package to be the best case forward, fitting their profile to be presented to the ICA with our insider knowledge. By doing so, we are eliminating all potential rejection risks for our clients, narrowing down to only quota risk. Hence, our charges are mainly based on the following two aspects:
Permanent residency in Singapore is one of Singapore’s most privileged immigration status, second only to Singapore Citizenship. Being a permanent resident in Singapore means allows you to live, work, and buy property at a lower tax rate in the country. You will be part of the local community, eligible for various benefits such as traveling without restrictions.
Your children will also have priority in Singapore’s public education. Your employer will be required to make contributions to your CPF. It will no longer be required to acquire a new work visa every time you transfer jobs.
But with these rights, the Government will also have the power to enforce specific responsibilities, like military service, something that your male children (if they are also PR’s) must do once they reach 18.
There are a few benefits to being a PR, like affordable housing due to the lower stamp duty. A PR pays half the stamp duty than a foreigner, while a Citizen pays less. A PR would be able to buy an HDB flat after three years, under the condition that the income does not exceed a certain amount. In terms of job stability, employers commonly prefer choosing a local (PR or Citizen) as it saves them from getting work passes. Also, having more locals means having a higher quota for foreigners.
You also get access to less expensive medical services and public education as a PR.
Lastly, we have the Central Provident Fund (CPF). The CPF is a retirement plan so that you can feel secure when the time comes. You may use the CPF to pay for medical expenses, housing, or even investments. The companies you become affiliated with are required to contribute to your CPF based on your salary percentage. CPF can be seen as unfavorable to some people since a portion of their income is automatically held and saved for future use. Access to your CPF is limited until the age of 52. If you leave and renounce your PR, you can withdraw the full sum of your CPF.
One of the disadvantages is if you are currently on an ex-pat package. Your company could adjust your package into local terms, which means you will no longer have added benefits such as housing or car allowance.
In general, there are more advantages to being a PR than disadvantages. We only aim to guide you during your PR application process in the best way possible, using our years of expertise and know-how in the industry.
We will be conducting a complimentary consultation with you to evaluate your profile and advise you on improving it to secure your application’s higher chance of approval. As every case is different, we would strongly recommend you speak to one of our consultants to determine how we can help in your case’s specific conditions.
There is a cooling-off period of 6 months before you can submit your next application. However, it is an excellent time to start building your profile with us so you can be in the top 5% during the ICA selection round.
We recommend applying together to show ICA that you and your family have the commitment level to stay in Singapore.
PR’s under Professionals/Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers Scheme (PTS) or Global Investor Scheme (GIP) are exempted from National Service. Male children with PR status under their parents’ sponsorship are subject to NS under the Enlistment Act.
Under the Enlistment Act, all male adults Singaporean Citizens and PRs, unless exempted, must register for National Service (NS). Following the completion of the service, they will be required to complete up to 40 days of Operationally Ready National Service (ORNS), every year, for the duration of the ORNS training cycle, until the age of 50 years (for army officers) or 40 years for the rest.
Principal applicants who are given PR status under the PTS or GIP schemes are exempted from NS.
Male applicants who are awarded PR status as a Foreign Student or under their parents’ sponsorship are subject to NS under the Enlistment Act. They must register for NS upon reaching 16 years old and will be listed at the earliest opportunity after 18 years old. If they pursue full-time studies, deferment from full-time NS may be granted if they meet the deferment conditions specified by the Ministry of Defence. All males NS-liable aged 13 years old and above must obtain an Exit Permit (EP) when traveling overseas for more than three months.
NS-liable PRs are required to serve NS. Renouncing or losing your PR status without serving or completing full-time NS would harm any future applications to study or work in Singapore. You will also jeopardize future Singapore citizenship or PR status as well as future application renewals of Re-entry Permits for you and your sponsors.
Renouncing PR status for second-generation PRs, without serving NS will face unfavorable consequences. Their failure to complete NS will be taken into account should they attempt to apply to return to Singapore to study or work.
However, we have seen successful EP applicants that were PR before.
Deferment is usually given to those who pursue tertiary education. However, eligible males are still expected to serve before attending university. You can still write a letter asking for deferment, but its acceptance is at the discretion of the Ministry of Defence.
To be eligible for a PR application, you must fall under one of the following categories:
Our mission is to put our clients’ best foot forward through an all-rounded application that touches on all areas the Government will look into. However, the ultimate decision lies in the last phase of screening by ICA. Defining factors like the applicant fit into the quota system or the industry requirements at the point in time; we can not control them. Contact us to know more!
A typical profile build-up process, to be ready for submission, takes around 3-4 months depending on your readiness.
That is not a problem; we will provide you with a customized declaration letter to ICA; hence Annex A will no longer be needed in this case.
It all depends on where you studied. If you went to a local school (such as NUS, SMU, NTU, SP, NP, TP, RP, and NYP), you would have an edge over other applicants. That is because ICA officials will take it as you could integrate with the local community successfully. Having attended any international schools or private institutes may not be as beneficial.
Yes, but you will still need to apply for a re-entry permit. Since this permit is valid for five years, we usually advise our clients that for the first two years, they can be more flexible, but for the last three years, it is best to stay and work or study in Singapore, to pay income tax and show contribution to society. If you need to leave Singapore for work or students who had gone to further studies overseas, ICA might ask you to explain your situation when it is time to do your renewal.
Also, as part of the process, your Singpass is required. When your PR status has been approved, you will have to come back to Singapore to personally complete the formalities.
The quota is confidential and adjusted periodically.
You can apply for PR multiple times, with no limits.
We had seen renewals getting rejected when the client did not stay in Singapore for a significant amount of time or unemployed for extended times after PR status is granted. The Government approves applications because they believe in the individual’s long-term commitment to the country; that is why it is called “permanent residence.” But if you have stayed in Singapore and fulfilling your contributions, it is highly unlikely that you will get rejected.
If you lose any of your required documents, we will draft a declaration letter to explain your situation. These are part of the services, and we do not charge extra for it, unlike other companies in the industry.
It will not affect your application, as long as you generally don’t switch jobs that often; in fact, if you receive a promotion or an increase in pay rate is always a welcomed change. The important thing is that ICA sees you as a stable and responsible candidate.
Before changing jobs/companies, contact us so we can prepare the necessary documents for you. The same applies to essential changes in your profile, like, for example, a newborn after the application was filled.
You will need to hold your PR for at least two years before applying for Citizenship.
There are three main reasons:
Yes, you can apply for Citizenship for your son directly without applying for PR.
No, you will need to apply PR for your wife first.
They can only if you are below 21 years old; if you are older than 21, you will need to apply yourself.
You will not be eligible to apply as a Work Permit holder. The minimum requirement is that you have a SPass to apply. After being a SPass holder with local parents, you will have an edge over the rest, but you will need to apply for Citizen/PR status on your own if you are over 21.
Over here at The Immigration People, we bring past experiences with ideas worth adopting and countless negative ones we steer clear of. We have a strong and experienced IT engineers team that ensures our systems and servers are kept strictly private and ultra-secure. We are also legally bonded to our clients’ agreements as those stem from our partnering law firm. Never risk your data! Countless companies in the market do not secure your sensitive information and are not legally bonded to agreements made with you. Head down for your consultation and learn about our systems. You will look no further in selecting your trusted immigration partner.
Yes, there are still approvals depending on your profile situation.
If you are a foreigner seeking employment in Singapore, we recommend approaching a recruitment agency or searching through job portals for an opportunity. Our specialization is in Singapore Immigration, whereby we help to apply for work passes, visit passes, Permanent Residence (PR), and citizenship applications in Singapore. We cannot assist in job placements because we are not an employment agency.
While different factors may affect your chances of success and PR eligibility in Singapore, you can rest assured that we are fully committed to guiding you through the application requirements and procedure.
Other additional documents may aid in a better approval rate for your permanent residency applications. These can be past or present economic or social contributions you have made, recommendation letters from your employers, existing business networks in Singapore and more.
For more information on the required document and what to include in your application form, check out our article on the checklist of additional documents on how to apply for Singapore PR.
Alternatively, you may contact us today for a complimentary consultation so that we can better advise you on increasing your chances of approval for Singapore permanent residency based on your specific needs.
After submitting the required documents for your application for Singapore PR, the entire PR application process generally takes about six months. However, the outcome of an individual application status may also take longer than six months (or shorter) as each case might be different.
There are several paths to apply for PR in Singapore, each with different eligibility criteria.
Generally, you may be eligible to apply for a PR in Singapore:
Yes, a PR can stay in Singapore without a job. As a Singapore PR, you are not mandated to work to continue living in Singapore.
However, you may not get the entire 5-year REP renewal duration when the time comes for you to renew the REP. (The Singapore Government will conduct a minor reassessment of your profile and part of the renewal criteria depends on the type of scheme you have gotten your PR through.)
For instance, if you have received your Singapore PR through the Professional, Technical Personnel, and Skilled Workers (PTS) scheme, it is vital to ensure that you are working in a Singapore-registered entity and are physically residing in Singapore during your REP renewal to ensure higher chances of your renewal going through.
In the unfortunate circumstance of the main applicant passing away or divorcing the spouse or any such situation, the spouse can continue to stay in Singapore as long as their REP is valid. However, if the renewal is due, please get in touch with us while there is still time to understand your options.
Once your Singapore permanent residency application has been approved, you will receive an approval letter or otherwise known as an in-principle approval letter (IPA letter). The IPA letter consists of steps to complete your PR formalities.
To find out more, check out our article on what to do after you have been granted PR status.
If you are acquiring PR status through the PTS scheme, you are not needed to serve full-time National Service. As a first-generation Singaporean citizen, you won’t be required to enlist for NS.
However, it is vital to note that under the SingaÂpore Enlistment Act, conscription into military service is compulsory. Unless exempted, all healthy males (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) must complete two years of compulsory military service.
After completing full-time National Service, NSmen will be officially called Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen).
Yes, you can.
Both you and your employer shall come to a consensus and mail the completed Form JAP/94 to the CPF Board.
The employer and employee can choose either:
Generally, the citizenship application process takes about six to twelve months for approval. However, on certain occasions, an individual application may take slightly longer due to the complexity. For more information on your application for Singapore citizenship, do contact us for a free consultation.
It depends on the criteria and if you have submitted the necessary Singapore citizenship application documents. However, you will have to successfully apply for a Singapore Permanent Residency before considering applying for Singapore Citizen.
Yes, definitely. As a student, you can submit your own SG Citizenship application if you are:
To be eligible for Singapore Citizenship as the main applicant, you must first meet one of the following three minimum requirements:
Other factors like economic contribution (salary, industry, professional achievement), social integration, endorsements from citizens, family ties (existing Citizen/PR), and financial and property investments also matter.
If your application is successful, you must complete the Singapore Citizenship Journey (SCJ) within two months. Once you have completed SCJ, you will then renounce your prior citizenship. You have to visit the embassy of your country. After the renunciation of your citizenship, you will surrender your passport.
The duration for this depends on your respective embassy but may take about 1-2 months. Only after your existing citizenship has been renounced can you proceed with completing the formalities at the Immigration authorities (ICA).
For more information on renouncing Singapore Citizenship, click here
This depends on the law and regulations of the country where your properties are located. We recommend that you speak to the property agent who has facilitated your purchase of the property to advise you on the country’s regulations.
As a Singapore citizen, it is acceptable for you to own overseas properties. However, if you wish to purchase Singapore’s public housing, i.e., Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, you cannot own residential properties overseas or locally.
Should you already own a property overseas, yet still wish to purchase a resale HDB flat, you are required to dispose of the overseas property before or within six months from your resale HDB purchase.
Typically, our fees are quoted based on the following considerations:
To find out more on how we can better assist you with your application for Singapore Citizenship, do contact us for a free consultation!
EPs are for highly skilled professionals with high job qualifications/job offers in Singapore. Meanwhile, the S Pass is open for mid-level skilled workers, technicians, and other specialists.
Yes. S Pass holders can change to Employment Pass if they are eligible to. Your employer will need to submit a new Employment Pass application for you. There is no need to cancel the S Pass. Use MOM’s Self-Assessment Tool to check if you are eligible for the Employment Pass.
The Ministry of Manpower’s criteria evaluation for Employment Pass application is highly competitive. You will stand a good chance if you have the following:
It is important to note that the results vary depending on the specific circumstances of the applicant and the employer.
The PEP offers greater career flexibility than an EP. If an EP holder wants to change jobs, his new employer must apply for a new Employment Pass application. A PEP holder can change his job without doing so if his PEP status is still valid.
No. The PEP can only be issued once. To continue residing and working in Singapore, the PEP holder must apply for Singapore PR or an Employment Pass.
If you hold an EP or S Pass in Singapore, you can also request your employer to process your eligible family members’ LTVP.
Yes. However, your Work Permit is valid only if your LTVP is valid. If the latter expires or is cancelled, so will your Work Permit. To continue your employment in Singapore, you must apply for a regular work pass (S Pass or Employment Pass, or a PEP (Personalised Employment Pass)
Foreign partners or children of Singapore citizens or PRs who have applied for LTVP can be considered for LTVP+ as long as they’re eligible
If you have provided a Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass Assessment (PMLA) before your LTVP application, you can cut down the process to six weeks. Without a PMLA, expect your LTVP application to be processed in six months.
Please share with us some details about your needs, we will get back to you.
10 Anson Road, #32-01 International Plaza,
Singapore 079903
(+65) 6240 6995
"*" indicates required fields