Expats will normally need an Employment Pass (EP) before entering Singapore. An employer or designated employment agent will request this document on your behalf. Singapore's high cost of living is balanced by its income tax system. In short, if you earn more, you pay more taxes.
Tax residents are Singaporean citizens and permanent residents living in Singapore, except for temporary absences. They can also be foreigners who have stayed or worked in Singapore for 183 days or more in the previous evaluation year. Anyone who does not meet these conditions is classified as a non-resident. Employment permit can be obtained through qualified hiring by a Singaporean company.
Expatriates holding this Employment Pass can apply for permanent residence after one year of living abroad and working in Singapore. Once permanent residence is obtained in Singapore, a work pass is no longer needed to maintain labor legality in the nation. Permanent residence is valid for 5 years before it needs to be renewed. The temperature ranges from 86 to 92° F (30 to 33° C) from January to December, making it a perfect climate for swimming all year round.
It gets a little cooler at night, around 77° F (25° C), and most properties have air conditioning. You don't need to wear sweaters or coats when you move here. There is no national healthcare available for expatriate retirees in Singapore, so a private health plan is necessary for anything beyond visits to the general practitioner. Despite stiff competition from other Asian countries, such as Hong Kong and Japan, Singapore remains an expat favorite.
Expats will need to start by finding employment or obtaining acceptance to an educational institution to qualify. Citizens of some countries do not need to apply for a visa for Singapore if they intend to stay less than 30 or 90 days, depending on their nationality. From understanding Singapore's business culture to discovering what expats do for fun, here are some tips to make your experience as an expat in Singapore the best it can be. In Singapore, expats can get a fixed-rate or variable-rate mortgage for up to 60 to 80% of the value of the property.
Singapore's state schools are accessible to expatriate children, as the language of primary education is English. Another important factor is to find out if your employer will provide you and your dependents at least some basic medical coverage during your stay in Singapore. Many Singapore-based insurance plans that cater to expats also have higher premiums than what locals usually pay. There are many great opportunities for foreign expats working in large multinational corporations.
One of the few disadvantages of living in Singapore as an expat and becoming a digital nomad is that information transmitted through television and media is censored by the government. Expat life can be refreshing, exciting and enriching: few places capture this formula better than the city-state framed by the jungle of Singapore. However, expatriate benefit packages tend to be higher than this, totaling SGD 216,000, and remuneration varies considerably depending on the type of function, seniority and sector. Making friends with other expats in this country is very easy, especially if you have school-age children who attend one of the international schools.
It's something we've learned to accept as a natural part of expat life, but it's never easier. Even for those who don't have access to the city-state's subsidized system, healthcare in Singapore remains reasonably priced as long as expats are insured. .
