Question... A friend needs help...

[theveed]

Eto situation...

Yung friend ko natanggap sya for work sa Singapore... Everything (negotiations) went went until today nung pinadala sa kanya offer letter. Turns out na sagot nya ang airfare then reimburse nalang daw. Fine...

The thing is, sabi ng headhunter, dahil galing a Pinas, Sing immigration has this thing about giving working permits (or whatever it is called) to applicants before departure. So pasok muna sya as Visitor.

Dun nalang daw nya kunin yung permit when she arrives in Sing. Now, the client (company where she's going to work) is a major international bank, so di sya shady, new company thing. The recruiter naman is a Monster.com client so legit din ang offer.

But of course, it's a big move sa friend ko, leaving her husband and kids behind for a year. Ang takot nya is baka pagdating dun, di legit yung company (headhunter) or kinancell offer.

Since may cousin-in-law sya dun sa Sing, I told her to ask that relative to check out the headhunter if may oras, to see lang if legit (tipong di tago sa kanto ng recto type hehe)... If oo, at least mas kampante diba...

May mga kakilala na ba kayo pumunta sa Sing for a job? Ano ang arrangement nyo?

Thanks.

[kingkaboodles]

had a friend who worked there in Avaya Sing. he too had the same deal. visitor visa muna before he got his resident visa.

[yebo]

my friend works for compaq-hp singapore. ganyan din naging arrangements, only thing different is sagot ng compaq yung air fare and no agents. pag dating dun pirma contract then worked siya for 2 weeks, then after they processed his work permit uwi siya sa pinas since singapore labor ministry will require you to go out of singapore since you entered on a tourist visa and that visa is not convertible to a work visa (hingal!) of course pag labas dala na yung work permit. then enter singapore again and working visa na yung itatak sa passport on entry. 5+ years na din siya dun. no agent so compaq contacted him directly. di siya nag-apply or send any resumes anywhere, they found him and they offered him a package he could not refuse (unix systems admin sya dati sa SSS).

what she needs to know is this: will she end up working for the recruiter or will she be directly hired by the bank? this is very important since if by the recruiter, mahina asenso nun at ang sweldo nya naka-peg to whatever is in the contract. pag directly hired by the bank then nasa kanya na lang ang limits kung saan nya gusto makarating.

[boybi]

my brother-in-law also works in singapore. first sa matsushita, then he transferred to philips electronics. visitor visa lang din muna, then after a few weeks or months, apply sya ng working visa.

[chieffy]

sa mga naririnig ko lang palaging visitor visa muna kahit sa india at sa guam...meron akong kakilala ipinagyabang sa immigration yung purpose nya...ayun di nakatuntong ng lupain ng guam...major international bank din and kumukuha sa kanya...

[yebo]

yep, pag ask ka ng philippine immigration ano purpose, never say employment kasi hanapan ka ng work visa and poea clearance. ang sasabihin dapat job interview.

sa singapore immigration din ganun, report for a job interview.

and dapat may papers siya na hawak na asking her to go to singapore for a job prospect.

[boybi]

pwede mo naman sabihin na for pleasure ang trip mo to singapore ;)

[niwde11]

friend ko me working visa kagad bago umalis(direct hire sya, sinulot kasi sya dito sa isang local compary). sagot din ng company ang transpo. after 2 mos(?), kasunod na wife nya.

[yebo]

pwede mo naman sabihin na for pleasure ang trip mo to singapore ;)

pwede pero pag natsambahan mo immigration na masungit (philippines o sa singapore) hanapan ka ng show money na at least S$1500 saka hotel reservations.

[driller]

Previously sa Singapore ako nag woworked.I

[driller]

Previously sa Singapore ako nag wo worked,it is very common sa country na yun na ang method of hiring nila ay thru internet,some companies offered you to collect the ticket sa airline office,which ibibigay lang nila ang details,some ay i-reimburse na lang.When you are in Singapore na,you will be allowed to stay for 14 days having a visit pass,but your employer on that day can apply you agad an employment pass,bale tatakan na naman ang passport mo ng at least 1-3 months temporary EP at pede ka ng mag tratrabaho.Normally ang EP will takes a maximum of 1 month for the release.Bago umalis yong friend mo,ensure na meron syang hotel voucher na ipapakita nya sa immigration plus may return ticket once matanong sya,may araw na mahigpit sila.Sa Singapore immigration...so far maluwag na naman sila sa pinoy.

[GiMLiCious]

It's a common negotioations here kasi kung hihintayin pa nila mag process through poea eh aabutin pa ng ilang weeks. Requirement kasi ng poea na aprub na ang iyong employment pass at marami pang documents na hahanapin sa yo etc. etc. bago ka i-register as ofw.
My kumpare who went to this process na poea muna, eh inabot ng almost a month and pay around 15K in process, which he regrets later kasi pwede naman nga na mag tourist na lang at dito na i-process agad ang employment. Immediately the immigation will extend your stay for 1-2months upon application ng employment pass.

Sa IT profession ba friend mo? Mostly kasi ng IT services dito ng mga companies ay sina-sub contract outside na as one way to save on operation cost. I think it's legit naman. Malaki commission ng mga head hunters na 'yan!

She can always apply for dependent status provided her employment pass is Q1 (2.5K/month salary & above) or P1(5K/month & above). For her, she can only apply for her children, her husband needs to apply independently. Pag ikaw ay male, no problem for dependent status of your wife. May pagka double standard dito as far as male and female rights is concerned.

not eligible at all if S-pass (salary less than S$2.5K/month), wherein the employer needs to pay a levy per month. Sometimes the agent have their way to include allowances or force ot on the basic salary just to get Q1 pass & be exempted on levy.

You can ask her to email or pm me the company and also the headhunter's name, i'll try to check it out or for whatever help i can extend to her.

Marami pinoy nagpupunta dito finding their luck. Hindi naman mahigpit sa singapore immigration basta may return ticket ka and credit card as show money. Mas mahigpit pa sa immigration sa atin ang dami pang tanong at busisi bago ka maka lusot.

[IceColdBeer]

Yup most of them ganun ang pasok. Yung friend ko naman was transferred from Roche Phils to Roche Singapore, so hindi sya pumasok as tourist. I went there last January and this guy we met told us that he employs a filipina architect. She went in as tourist, then he helped her get a working visa.

[theveed]

This will help her a lot... THanks... More more more

[chieffy]

pwede mo naman sabihin na for pleasure ang trip mo to singapore ;)

yup for pleasure pala less hassle at wala na masyadong chechebureche...

OT: laki sweldo ng mga pinoy execs na nadyan ah...mahina 200k per month...yung isang friend namin halos umabot daw 1m php yung bonus for 2004 ...sawappp nun!

[driller]

I agreed sa sweldo na mataas..if you had been hired in Singapore,dahil salary mo ay naka base sa standard of living roon,but if hired ka from phils halos mataas lang ng kaunti sa salary bracket ng POEA.Hindi kasi uso sa singapore ang free food and accomodation,malaki nga ang salary mo..let's say an engineer working on a shipyard has 15 USD per hour which is okay na sana but you have to pay the house rent(2 bedroom cost you 30,000 php a month),utilities,phone bills.etc + night life..kapos pa rin..survival pa rin ika nga....

[bongliza]

yup, most job seekers enter Singapore without any working visa. Pag nakahanap na sila ng employer saka lang sila kumukuha ng working visa with their Company applying or sponsoring them. But, there's a risk, it's becuase almost 50% of the applicants are denied due to the surging unemployment in Singapore unless specialist job ang inaplayan mo. So pag denied yung appplication, talagang exit ka muna. Some companies try to appeal and some wait for a few months again and then to re-apply.

[driller]

korek....marami na rin tayong mga ka-pinoy na umuwing luhaan after staying a month in singapore,actually 14 days lang ang visit pass ,then if you want to extend more weeks,you have to go out thru malaysian border(johor baru),batam,indonesia or thru thailand,then pag entry mo uli sa singpore meron ka na uling 14 days to stay in singapore.pag naubos na time mo..ala ka ng choice kundi umuwi diyan sa pinas.going to singapore looking for a job ay gamble and you need much money to sustain the stay.

[theveed]

No, my friend already signed the offer letter from the company. The job is there.

[nitrox]

i went through the same thing when i worked in singapore (i worked there for 4 yrs). i came in as a tourist & via a headhunter. i gave my passport to the headhunter on my 1st day of work for work visa application & i went to a bank to apply for a savings/payroll account. i got my EP (employment pass) about 2 weeks after. there were no problems. i was also given a temporary place to stay till if find my own accomodation.

just make sure the headhunter is legit. if so, its safe. you can check with the singapore ministry of labor or the internal revenue board to verify the authenticity of the headhunter's company.