Singapore offers Permanent Residence status to foreigners who want to live and work in the country. ICA (Immigration & Checkpoints Authority) is the authority that grants a PR status to qualified applicants. To qualify to apply for PR under PTS Scheme, you must be working in Singapore on EP, S Pass, PEP or Entrepass. You can also include your family members in the application.
A PR status grants you the right to live, work, and socially integrate into the Singapore culture like Singapore Citizens. In addition, you also enjoy the below-mentioned benefits as a Singapore Permanent Resident.
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A Singapore PR does not constantly need to struggle to obtain work permits and employment passes from employers in order to get a job. If you are currently on employment pass, and if you lose the job then you have only 30 days to find a new one or you need to go back to your home country. However this limitation does not apply to a PR. A permanent resident can stay in Singapore even without a job for as long as his / her REP (Re entry Permit) is valid.
Employment pass holders always experience restrictions in terms of job opportunities. Your prospective employer must be ready to sponsor employment pass for you. Many employers shun away from this idea. As a result the number of job opportunities available to the employment pass holder are limited.
A Singapore PR can incorporate a Singapore company easily without a need to have a separate local director. If as an employment pass holder you want to start your business, then you will have start the company and shift your employment pass to this new company, which is complex part. Also in that case you will need to leave the current job. All this makes entrepreneurial dream difficult for an employment pass holder. Whereas for a Permanent Resident this is not an issue as they don’t need separate EP every time they change a job or start a company.
The Singapore government offers various reliefs to Singapore Citizens and PRs during difficult times like Covid-19. They can receive GST vouchers to offset the cost.
Singapore PRs can invest and own a property in Singapore. They enjoy lower stamp duty rates as compared to foreign ex-pats who are not PRs. CPF Ordinary Accounts of PRs can be used to pay house loan payments. Foreigners who buy property in Singapore need to pay as high as 20% additional buyers stamp duty. Also foreigners are not allowed to buy an HDB flat. This indirectly means, as a person on EP / S pass you can not normally think of buying a property in Singapore.
Technically a PR has no restriction on bringing his family members in Singapore either on PR or on Long Term Visa. They can even bring their parents to Singapore on LTVP. For employment / S Pass holders this facility is available only if they are earning more than a certain threshold of salary. (6000 SGD per month for dependents and 12000 for Parents)
Children of Singapore PRs can take advantage of a well-structured local education system as they are given priority placement in Singapore’s public schools. Also, the Singapore government subsidized the education cost of such children so it could be more affordable for PRs in Singapore. While children’s of EP and S Pass holders, if in Singapore normally need to go to the international schools where the fees are exorbitant.
All SPRs also enjoy CPF (Central Provident Fund) benefits. It is a pension scheme where your employer makes a small contribution to your CPF each month. CPF ensures that all Singapore PRs can live their life with peace of mind without worrying about their retirement and excel in their careers.
Singapore PRs can apply for citizenship and make Singapore their permanent home after two years of securing their PR status.
As you see there are lot of benefits in having a Singapore PR status rather than continuing as a foreigner in this country.