SINGAPORE THREAD Part 3

[kayesl]

sis, gano kayo katagal dito sa sg?
yung hausmate kasi namin lilipat na. parang condotel daw yung lilipatan nya.  sa may likod lang ng takashimaya. 900SGD yata per month. pero sabi nya min of 6months daw ang contract nya doon

[amnesia]

Thank you guys for the reply! =)

Try ko pa negotiate yung salary. I've been looking at Gumtree na rin for possible accommodation. Ask ko pa exactly saan ang location ng office. Sana makahanap ako ng malapit sa office para less transpo.

Sa mga flats etc, kasama na ba sa rent ang bills or is it separate? Saka uso rin ba diyan ang 1 month advance + 2 months deposit? Yun kasi worry ko that I have to shell out a lot of money initially.

I am looking for at least a 1 bedroom flat for me and my partner. Kasya na ba S$1200 budget for this?

Good news about the tax. So walang kaltas pala sahod monthly? Saya saya. Karindi kasi taxes dito sa UK kaya gusto na namin mag relocate. hehe

How do you apply for PR pala? Sabi nung employer to be ko once I accept the offer they will process the Employees Pass. Pareho ba yun?

[parties311]

sis kayesl, 1 month lang... we were looking at sommerset pero super mahal... sana merong similar to somemrset pero kahit half price lang nila... kasi 2br sa somemrset if sg$6600. kahit half lang nun, syempre near mt elizabeth, ok na...

btw, pag non-resident ka, can u open a bank account? para maka receive money kami from the philippines.

tnx

[alexme]

amnesia,
congrats at malaki na yang offer na yan...kakatuwa ang daming pumupuntang UK at ikaw pupunta dito...kapag kinuha mo yang offer actually ok parin ang sg coz malakas ang $ nila kahit anong mangyare

sa mga flats merong may kasama ng PUB(public utilities bill) so electricity, water & garbage refuse na ito rolled into one bill at may iba naman wala na you will pay for it separately.
for renting out kadalasan you will deal with an agent so kung may gusto kang unit they will ask 1 month advance & 1 month deposit then half of the rent goes to the agent for his fees and stamp duty so total 2 and half month ang babayaran mo if ang rent mo is for 1 year.

im not sure kung merong $1,200 budget for a whole unit but you can check it online naman kung magkano ang mga 1 bedroom kase kame we always opt for 3 bedroom so not sure of the price. depende rin kase yan kung san ang place mo...syempre kung city area masmahal...kung malayo sa city then masmura.

good news talaga dito sa mga foreign workers. kung ang sweldo mo is $2k then 2k ang uwe mo no bawas and i believe sg is one of the countries na mababa ang tax...di mo sya mararamdaman kahit PR or citizen ka na dito

after 6 months of staying in sg you can apply na for PR.

if ever you accepted the offer the company will apply for your employment pass. this pass need ito sa lahat ng mga foreigners na nagwowork dito sa sg and different ito sa PR (permanent resident).
ang PR is you can stay here in sg as long as you want kahit wala kang work...like me ....and masmalaki ang edge mo sa pagjob hunting coz the employer won't apply for a pass coz PR ka na nga. only PR & citizen ang madaling bigyan ng work. PR is just like citizen na nagbabayad ka na ng tax just like a citizen.

parties311,
super mahal sis ang $6.6k sure ko condo yan
im not quite sure kung puede kang mag-open ng account pag non resident ka. i think puede naman.

[yapeegurl]

as far as i can remember, nung nag open ako ng account dito dati sa DBS, hiningan nila ako ng employment pass and passport... you can try naman.. bring along your passport and other identification cards..

congrats sis amnesia!!!

one step at a time ka muna.. ok na ok na ang 2.9k... pag may job offer ka na, next step mo is to look for a place to stay (for a 1 year contract ng bahay, it's 1month adv 1 month deposit.... for 2yr contract, it's 1month adv 2 months deposit).. tapos budget mo money mo.. then mag stabilize ka muna dito bago ka proceed sa pag PR...

sa pag PR, at least 6 months pwede ka na mag apply... kasi they would need your payslip for 6 months..

[mami violy]

puedeng mag open ng acct dito sa Sg kahit di ka working kaya lang you need to show them the proof kung bakit ka mag open ng acct in your case dito kasi nagpa ospital ang tita then hahanapin nila yung binigay sa inyo ng ICA

sis amnesia san po ba ang office mo kasi mas maganda na dun ka maghanap ng bahay na din at least di ka mahihirapan pumili. kung wl ka naman money to shell out for the rent why not asked the your company to pay it first then deduct na lang sa salary mo.

hope to see u soon here in SG

[stacey30]

Pa-join! 

congrats amnesia!

[amnesia]

Hello! Thank you guys for the support and tips! =)

They have sent me my contract and the EP & SP Form 8 form to sign and complete.

Mga sis ano difference ng Employment Pass sa S Pass?

Is it necesary to get a PR? Pag PR may taxes na di ba mga sis? Pag EP lang walang tax? Tama ba? Sorry, lito pa rin ang beauty ko.

Also, I negotiated and asked for S$3, 400 =) Kapalmuks. They gave in and met me halfway. So S$3, 200! hehe

The office location is 16 Raffles Quay, Hong Leong Building. Hmmm...I have no idea saan eto. May mga residential kaya malapit mga sis?

Nga pala, driving in SG. I have a UAE and Philippines Driving License, meron din ako Provisional UK Driving License as well. Will any of the 3 licenses be considered para di na ako mag test sa SG? Or do I have to take the test anyway regardless?

NAKU! I'm so excited! Can't wait to meet you all soon! =)

[stacey30]

^ The Employment Pass (EP) is for foreign professionals and executives who wish to work in Singapore who earn a fixed monthly salary of more than $2,500 and have recognized qualifications.

While the S Pass is for foreigners who earn a fixed monthly salary of at least $1,800.

---------------------------------------------------
About becoming a PR, it's actually all up to you. If you are planning to stay here in SG for long term then it would be better to apply for this since it has a lot of advantages such as:

- you can save at CPF which is an added income since employer will pay their part of CPF contribution. This CPF account can be used to buy properties (HDB) and pay for monthly installments.

- you will also have medisave acct, medishield which will be used in case you get hospitalized.

- better educational benefits for children compared to children of work pass holders.

- easier to job hoppers.

But also be mindful that once you surrender your PRship in 5 years, it has an adverse effect when you want to apply again.

---------------------------------------------------

About the driving thingy, don't have any idea sis since I don't drive.  Let's wait for others to post. 

Hope these help. Congrats again! 

[alexme]

amnesia,
laking raffles ako. alam ko yang office mo its the business district here in sg lapit yan sa raffles place mrt so hanap ka ng bahay na malapit dyan. ako nga sa kembangan ako and it only takes me 30 mins para pumunta dyan na straigth train. fast kase ang transpo nila dito kya kahit mga 8 stations yata ang layo ng bahay ko and on time parin me sa office its better to find a place na malapit lang sa mrt para madali syo.

[pinkpotato]

hey malapit yan sa lau pa sat di ba? sa raffles din ako work, sa pasir ris naman kami nakatira. 25 mins MRT ride.

[kayesl]

hello mga sis!

malapit na kaming lumipat ng bahay. hanggang june end na lang kami dito. nagsa-start na akong mag-post ng mga inquiries and magtingin-tingin ng web ads.

any tips or pointer?  sobrang noob ako, baka magoyo kami ng agent/landlord...

[L-L]

hello mga sis!..

pupunta kami ng mga officemates ko dyan.. baka meron kayong ma recommend where we can stay as transients..tulugan [textspeak!] naman kaya preferred namin na mura [textspeak!]..

[blooming]

sis amnesia, congrats!  grabe, hirap daw humanap ng work ngayon and blessing talata nakahanap ka.

you can try visiting this site for more info on the Employment pass:  http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/home.html

re taxes, hindi sya dependent kung PR, Singaporean or Working pass.  Dependent sya sa sweldo.

re car, I do not find a need to have a car here.  To maintain one kasi, easily S$600-$800/month kaagad, not to mention gas, parking at toll fees. kasama ata amortization dyan.

[amnesia]

I feel so blessed talaga mga sis. Di pa rin ako makapaniwala =)

Thanks for all your input. Super excited na ko lumipat diyan halos hilain ko na ang araw! hehe OA no?

Sabagay maliit naman ang SG so di na siguro kailangan ang car. Plus I heard MRT and other means of transpo are really reliable. Uso ba traffic diyan? =)

I have visited the site. Thanks for all the info, it's now starting to make sense Employment Pass, Eligibility Pass etc. Hay!

Super hanap na ako online for rooms. www.gumtree.com.sg

I am looking for a Masterbedroom. Pag ganun ensuite na yun di ba mga sis (w/ bathroom)? Madali lang ba ang process ng pagre rent?

Nagri-ready na ako ng pang rent, deposit at agents fee. Mga 3 months worth? Kasya na ba yun mga sis? 

[oatmeal]

^ congrats
anyway, san maganda at mura pa facial at dp dito? great singapore sale na! punta ko sa expo bukas may john little, harvey norman sale

[mami violy]

sis amnesiau have international driving test puede mo yan pa-convert dito within 1 year you arrive here in SG. isang exam lang kapag pasa ka na meron ka ng driving license dito yun nga lang one month ang hintayin to have a schedule of exam pero puede ka naman ng magdrive dito. as long as may international license ka usable for one year.

PR as many of our sis said if you plan to stay here for longer period then go ahead pero kung di ka pa decided wag muna sis kasi baka mahirapan ka in case na ayaw mo ng mag PR but you still want to work here.

[yapeegurl]

sis amnesia, are you considering to buy a car kaya mo naitanong ang license? sana mameet ka naman pagdating mo.. kelan dating mo ba?

lahat ng tao dito may tax... walang exemption... ako $133 lang tax ko for last year... woohoo! hehe.. kasi nag start ako end of July last year eh.. jobless ako from dec2007-july2008 (3rd week) 

raffles ka pala haps! lapit mo lang sa bahay namin.. hehe..

nako.. etong great singapore sale hindi ko man lang ma-take advantage.. dati nag hoard ako ng lacoste bags nung nag sale sa suntec... mga 30 bags ata binili ko at pinagbebenta ko sa mga kaibigan ko sa pinas.. wahehe.. di ko na magawa ngayon.. kulang na oras ko sa trabaho at bahay...

about transient rooms, search nyo sa pinoyitdotsg.. dami dun nag ooffer ng transient rooms..

[bubiboink]

mga sis.. pa pm naman po ng link sa old thread. para makapag back read. ndi pa kasi ako pwede mag pm e.. hindi ko ma pm ang mga mods. salamat!

[bochecokina]

Thank you guys for the reply! =)

Try ko pa negotiate yung salary. I've been looking at Gumtree na rin for possible accommodation. Ask ko pa exactly saan ang location ng office. Sana makahanap ako ng malapit sa office para less transpo.

Sa mga flats etc, kasama na ba sa rent ang bills or is it separate? Saka uso rin ba diyan ang 1 month advance + 2 months deposit? Yun kasi worry ko that I have to shell out a lot of money initially.

I am looking for at least a 1 bedroom flat for me and my partner. Kasya na ba S$1200 budget for this?

Good news about the tax. So walang kaltas pala sahod monthly? Saya saya. Karindi kasi taxes dito sa UK kaya gusto na namin mag relocate. hehe

How do you apply for PR pala? Sabi nung employer to be ko once I accept the offer they will process the Employees Pass. Pareho ba yun?

sis, nakahanap ka na ba ng flat mo? may kilala ako.. PM mo ako if your interested. tnx