Cover Letter for Singapore PR Application : A Guide

In this section, we will explain some further benefits of a cover letter.

Nowadays, it is common for people take additional steps to strengthen their profile. For example, some people do voluntary services, some give money to good causes, some make blood donations. However, there is no way in the application itself to explain all these steps you have taken in the support of your application. A cover letter can be used to summarise all these steps.

No two people are alike. Their personal as well as professional lives differ. People often have some impressive accomplishments in their career or personal life, such as additional educational achievements, various memberships, or awards for excellent performance, which can be worthwhile to bring to the attention of ICA. Not all of these factors can be captured in the form for PR application, but a cover letter can express them.

You may have specific circumstances which are not performance-related but which you feel would be valuable to convey to ICA. For example, you may want to call attention to your extended family of uncles and aunts who are already in Singapore, either with their own PR status or as citizens, as this will show that you will be able to easily integrate into Singapore society. You might have previously stayed and done primary education in Singapore. These kinds of things are positive for your application. So in the absence of any other place in the PR form to mention them, a cover letter can be used to summarise all this.

Your objective with your PR application is to convince ICA that you are a good candidate for Singapore PR status. A properly drafted cover letter will highlight all your achievements and the ways you will contribute to Singapore society, and in the closing remarks of the cover letter you will respectfully request ICA to consider your application favourably. As such, this letter will start with basic facts, then give corroborative evidence, and end with a final appeal.

Now we come to the most important part. What should the cover letter include? And what should be its structure? One thing is sure: The contents of the letter will be unique to you, because you are highlighting your qualifications and successes. So no one size fits all. You may have many accomplishments to showcase and hence need a few more sections, while someone in the early stages of their career may have less to include.

However, the broad structure can be divided into 5 sections + 1 annex:

This is really the first part of the letter. This section will give information about you, your family (if applying for PR for your family also), your educational background, and your work and professional experience. You will mention what you do in your day-to-day job, etc. The purpose of this section is to really open up the communication.

Continuing from the previous section, you will now explain your career progression. Here the objective is to demonstrate how you have grown in your work and workplace. However, refrain from giving a list of the jobs you have done (the cover letter is not the place for that) and instead explain the progress you have made. Examples:

Social contributions towards Singapore society are important and are considered a key indicator of how committed you are towards Singapore. Nowadays, many applicants do voluntary service, make blood donations, or give money to worthy organisations in the society. Include these activities in your cover letter.

“Other relevant factors” refers to the attributes that make you a good PR candidate that are not a part of your work/profession. For example, as mentioned above, you may describe family or friends who are already a part of Singapore society, so that ICA will consider you someone who can easily integrate into the society.

“Other relevant factors” may also include educational achievements. For example, are you from a highly reputed university? Have you attained a high-level degree? You might also mention your achievements in sports or other competitions. Are you a national-level player in some game (say, chess)? Have you won an award for a book you wrote? These are the kinds of highlights you can mention in your letter at this point.

In this section you will conclude your letter with a statement that you are very keen to make Singapore your home, and you will also mention the additional documents you have attached as described in the annex.

Convey confidence in your writing by assuming that the officer will respond positively to your application, and remember to show your appreciation by thanking them for their time. When you have finished, write “Sincerely” along with your full name. Since the PR application is online, a signature will not be required, but add the electronic signature to show the completeness of the document.

Depending on your specific case, you may wish to add an annex to summarise all the relevant documents attached. We generally include it for all our clients. This makes the life of the ICA officer easier (thus aiding your case) and helps them see the evidence of the claims you have made in the cover letter.

It’s a formal letter written as a request. So write it just as a matter of fact. Do not try to make it a salespitch. Do not promote or “hardsell” yourself. For example, do not start a letter by writing, “A PhD holder from a reputed university is requesting you to consider his PR application favourably.”

Do not be an arrogant “show-off” regarding the things that are positive about you. Write the letter in a straightforward manner. Be respectful. You are writing a letter to a government authority.

Every year some 70,000-80,000 PR applications are filed. That means ICA has to process over 300 applications every day. So they have limited time to devote to a specific case. So keep your letter to the point and additional documents limited in number. Do not add some irrelevant documents just for the sake of adding more.

Use professional, formal, or business language. Do not try friendly terms in your letter. Do not use phrases like “bubbly person,” “ninja worker,” “scooby dooby approach,” etc. Do not use uncommon words, such as calling yourself a connoisseur instead of an expert.

One of the biggest mistakes people make while writing a cover letter for a PR application is to concentrate only on their achievements. Immigration authorities do not look for people who are most brilliant, but for people who are ready to sink their roots in Singapore. So some part of your cover letter must be dedicated to explaining how you are looking forward to sinking your roots in Singapore. You might be the most brilliant person in your field, but if you are not ready to settle and make a home in Singapore, what is the point of giving you PR?

Ensure that there is some white space in your letter, so that you are not overwhelming the reviewing officer with line after line of text. Use bullet points where necessary. Resist the urge of explaining everything in great detail. The things a normal person would understand by reference, you can presume an ICA officer will also understand. After all, they go through hundreds of applications per day.

If one of your five sections includes a large amount of material, please use headings and subheadings to logically organise the topics. Do not include too much. Think and prioritise what you really want to highlight. Cut out the other parts.

Sometimes people try to explain the same point time and again, especially if it is very close to their heart. Avoid this urge for repetition. Repeated material will result in the loss of attention/focus by the ICA officer.

Obviously, you should not make spelling and grammar mistakes in the letter. After the letter is completed, check it multiple times to ensure there are no mistakes and have someone proofread it for you. Check that sentences convey the meaning you wish to convey. If English is not your strong suit, you may wish to engage the services of a writer to help you.

There is no specific rule as to the length. Usually it should be around 3 pages + 1 page for the annex. However, depending on your specific case, it can be longer or shorter. But in any case, do not go beyond 5 pages. If it exceeds 5 pages, consider what you can cut out. And those 5 pages include the white space mentioned earlier and the annexure if you are including it.

Submit the document in PDF format, which is standard for all ICA documents. Try to include an image signature in the letter.

The cover letter is an important part of your PR application process. You can convey a lot of relevant information to the immigration officer with the help of one.

If you are keen on settling in Singapore but are still unsure of the PR application process, or find writing a cover letter difficult, you can consider using our services. Epica Immigration’s services can be extremely helpful, especially if you are not entirely certain about what the PR application process entails. An orderly presentation of documents and an exceptional profile will provide ICA officers with a bird’s eye view of your case and set you apart from the rest of the applicants, and in return boost your chances of PR approval.