EP qualifications - academic background

[a mum]

While MOM website said that diploma/degree is needed for EP application. I wonder if anyone has lower education level (i.e. into 4th year of uni. but yet to complete all coures to obtain a degree), however with over 14 years of work experience and looking to earn over 10K SGD a month be qualified for the application?

[no degree needed lah]

You do not need a degree to obtain an EP. Provided that you have "sufficient" employment experience. (I think it's 7 or 8 years of work experience required - but you should check the MOM website). Provided that you earn more than $7K per month too, which, as you stated, you will be.

[Agree with PP]

We have five expats in the office I am sitting in.  Two don't have any form of university degree or any membership of professional bodies.  There was no problem whatsoever with obtaining EP's.
I recall you had to earn SGD 7,000 as of last year.

[OK But]

Granting the EP is always at the discretion of MoM as many on this board will testify as they had their EPs rejected.  It will depend on a number of factors, inclduing which country you come from and what your work experience was.

[Mayhem]

We have five expats in the office I am sitting in.  Two don't have any form of university degree or any membership of professional bodies.  There was no problem whatsoever with obtaining EP's.
I recall you had to earn SGD 7,000 as of last year.

What industry are you in? I'm having a hard time finding jobs offering salaries that are on par with my current salary.

[deadbeat]

i didn't bother finding my degree and transcripts. too much hassle imho.
I wrote in my application that i had zero education, i put a copy of some professional associations and some international awards i've won + i make over $40k sing a month (excluding bonuses and stock).

never had any problem getting mom to approve any of my applications.

i have friends who got their PR's the same way. Didn't feel like finding old transcripts so they submit the application, during the interview they say truthfully that they don't want to be bothered with finding old transcripts, they produce the bank statements that show that they have a significant net worth and i've never heard anyone not being approved for PR that way. One guy who was born in china (but is now a US citizen and seriously wealthy) had a bit of a hassle, he then told the interviewing lady that he wanted to formally withdraw his application since it is that difficult to invest into singapore, a country he has lived in for a few years on an employment pass. The lady looked positively scared and spent the next 15 minutes convincing him that the papers where not all that needed and that this was not a requirement at all.

So... i guess in a nutshell, academic merit etc is useful but the almighty dollar works equally or perhaps even better in singers...

[Possibly not]

Rumour has it that there is a current freeze on granting employment passes to anyone without a degree.  Whilst you may be rejected now, this situation changes on a regular basis so the answer may not be the same once the economy has picked up again

[Mayhem]

i didn't bother finding my degree and transcripts. too much hassle imho.
I wrote in my application that i had zero education, i put a copy of some professional associations and some international awards i've won + i make over $40k sing a month (excluding bonuses and stock).

$40k a month with no degree? What line of business you in?
I'm hoping to get between $15-20k SGD a month.

[deadbeat]

well i have a degree, i just didnt bother telling the authorities about it. they seemed ok with my income and tax paying habits.. it was approved in 1 week as far as i can tell.

i'm an engineer.

[Mayhem]

well i have a degree, i just didnt bother telling the authorities about it. they seemed ok with my income and tax paying habits.. it was approved in 1 week as far as i can tell.

i'm an engineer.

I'm an engineer also but am having a hard time chasing down decent money in Singapore. Which area are you in? You guys have any openings at the moment?

[jalanperak]

well i have a degree, i just didnt bother telling the authorities about it. they seemed ok with my income and tax paying habits.. it was approved in 1 week as far as i can tell.

i'm an engineer.

I'm an engineer also but am having a hard time chasing down decent money in Singapore. Which area are you in? You guys have any openings at the moment?

"Engineer" is a very, very broad term.

Also, I have to question the honesty of our friend "deadbeat" (perhaps the name is a clue ;-). Without an EP, how would the Singapore government know about his tax paying habits? I know that my IRS hasn't shared anything with the IRAS about my US tax situation (nor should they), so the only thing the IRAS knows about my tax paying habits comes from *after* the EP.

[deadbeat]

i prefer not to give too much details for privacy reasons, but yes senior technical staff can make a sizeable salary in singapore if they have a unique skilll and experience.

i know several engineers, particularly in the financial services industry who design and architect IT systems for global usage who make the same or more.

[Mayhem]

i prefer not to give too much details for privacy reasons, but yes senior technical staff can make a sizeable salary in singapore if they have a unique skilll and experience.

i know several engineers, particularly in the financial services industry who design and architect IT systems for global usage who make the same or more.

So you're in an IT related role? I'm in water treatment. It doesn't seem to pay as well.

[mytake]

Granting the EP is always at the discretion of MoM as many on this board will testify as they had their EPs rejected.  It will depend on a number of factors, inclduing which country you come from

How does country affect the EP application? Are there countries that are preferred/avoided?