Employment Pass Rejected

I have not heard of such a case before, but I suspect that it just took time for the tax matter to be cleared and removed from your profile with MoM.
Anyway, congrats for your EP!

HI Beppi,

I am seeing you blog since 2-3 years, this time wants to share my issue in this forum.
I have total 16 years experience in IT and out of that 5 + years in Singapore itself in IT management, recently I got an offer from new company and resign from existing company, but EP application from new company got rejected and company received the reason from MOM to upload the educational certificate again, while uploading the document again on EP online, my new employed found that my old company misspelled my educational institute name last time. so it might be reason for that rejection. now new company appealed and upload again the educational certification. but it almost 2 weeks gone and no update received from MOM and my existing EP and DPs of family members have been cancelled from existing company and have STV Pass only. meanwhile I got the offer from another company but they can not file my EP as still my Appeal exist with MOM with Pending status.
Please suggest what to do? is there any chances to get approval on appeal ?
Thanks

You should not have resigned from your old job before you have the EP for the new one approved. Do not do this again!
What you can do now is the following:
First you have to decide if you want to continue pursuing the appeal by "new company" or instead apply for an EP with "another company". If the former, just wait for the appeal's results (this can take a month or more). If the latter, inform "new company" that you do not want to work with them any more and ask them to cancel the appeal. After that "another company" can apply (this can also take a month or more).
If in the meantime your SVP runs out, leave Singapore. The SVP cannot be renewed, but all formalities can be done while you're out of the country. Do not overstay under any circumstances!

Thanks Beppi,

I agreed I did a mistake here to resign before EP approval from new company, just spoke with new company to cancel the appeal but when they tried, system mentioned that now they can not cancel the appeal as its already passed the time for cancellation. so in this case, I have to wait for appeal result.

Never resign from the old job .
Unless the EP is approved .
U should have had served the notice period and done this during serving your notice period .
Every mnc company has different rules .
30 days to 3 months .
In case the notice period you have to serve is 3 months then
There is a Buy-out option :
To buy out the notice period
That is if the new employer is ready towards this buyout.
So if company can't wait for 3 months notice period to be served , then ask for the buy out option .

Regards

Hello every one I holding LTVP i applied for job one company accept me the company apply for me LOC   Latter of Consent i just check status the status is: Pending inputs from vetting agencies. Expected outcome is 2 months from the Date of Application.   i am really confused what its mean  my question is
1- MOM will take 2 months for approval? please some body quid me  thanks

muz383,

Looking at your query related for pending approval of pass, is pertaining to get response from vetting agency, which means MoM has liaised with an agency who is doing back ground check or verification related to the information you have given to MoM, whether it's related to your educational background or work experience or vocal courses or any other information which needs to be verified prior to your pass approval. Hence, it depends on when and how fast vetting agency gets information or response which they r seeking from the relevant parties. It may take 15 days, 1 month, 2 months and so on.

MoM does not have control nor vetting agency does have. So, there is no other option for you, rather to wait.

Wish you good luck in the period of waiting.

Dear syry2k
Thanks alot for the information .dear I ask one thing all casses they refer to the agency or some cases because rormall mom take just 7 working days

MoM does refer some cases to vetting agencies on a random basis, and any case where they have doubts about the information given.

Ok now got it thanks all of you so i must wait

Pass approval is normally taking 1 month and above if it first time, as all the verification process takes longer than usual time.

So, when you said 7 days, I assume that this must be for a renewal process. Cause it's very short period to verify back ground check within 7 days.

Dear surya2k
This long time for passes I thing I apply for LOC latee of consern iam holding LTVP I just need LoC later from MOM its just take 7 working days

You may need LoC letter from MoM but to obtain this letter from MoM, MoM need to verify your credentials prior to approve.

Now a days, MoM is very strict and takes longer than normal time to confirm that authenticity of all the documents. You can't say how many days will take. If anywhere MoM has mentioned to take only 7 days then you can prove it.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permit … of-consent       check this

A few years ago, LoC was easily granted within a short time and for any job possible. These times are gone and now getting an LoC is almost as difficult and time-consuming as getting an EP.
I wish you best luck in getting yours!

It has clearly mentioned that in some cases it takes longer. So your category falls in this "some cases".

Those days r gone when employee's EP was approved in 5 days, I was one of them in way back 2006. But, now it's very common to wait a month or so.

Have patience and wish you good luck.

Hi beppi,

I may be in a similar situation. My employer applied for EP P1 category, which my monthly offered salary is above 95k as a recent graduate, reason provided being that the candidate doesn't have relevant experience. Is it uncommon but any possible exception? I graduated from a recognized college for a bachelor of art in Economics from the United States (one year) with two years spent studying in Singapore for high school. The role is in big data analytics, which I interned with the employer in the US for 6 months. They recognize my achievements and my capability to perform job duties well, and willing to pay this much. Is it way too high for a recent graduate that MOM rejected the EP application? My employer will appeal with a supporting letter from CEO to verify my qualification. What is your thoughts on this? I'm curious about your perspectives how to improve chance for the appeal success in regards to qualifications and compensation.   

Thanks,

Three years applicable work experience is required to get an EP, if no exceptional circumstances exist which makes it mandatory to hire you for the benefit of Singapore as a whole.
I don't know if such circumstances exist in your case, but your CEO should at least try to argue in that direction. For example, the company could have great expansion plans, creating many jobs for Singaporeans, and cannot carey them out without you. (This doesn't sound credible with a fresh graduate who is easily replaceable - maybe even by local graduates, who have to be preferentially hired by law.)
If it does not work out, which is probable, you can try again after getting a few years good work experience elsewhere (maybe in another country branch of this company).
By the way, the offered pay is far above (more than double) the usual range for fresh graduates, which will also count against hiring you (as it distorts the local salary structure), unless the company can justify that you are really worth that much for them.

Thank you for your replies! When I did the MoM assessment tool given my salary and qualification plus less than 3 years of experience, it said that I'm qualified for both EP and SP. I don't know but we're going to give it a last shot, not sure if lower the salary or remain the same would make sense to MoM. My company has to justify either ways, i think. Currently, my company is going to explain the evidence of my accomplishments within the 6 months working for them and they want me to support the customer growth in Asia - part of my company strategy to have me there. We have less than 10 employees in Singapore and established there for less than 1 year. My expert knowledge of their big data product, in a world of big data talent scarcity, hopefully let MoM to consider some exceptional cases. I know it might be difficult for MoM or general to believe in a fresh graduate with such high value/pay. There must be some ways to convince that my skill sets and past experience with employer are needed to support the continued growth of customers in Singapore; as a result generate more local opportunities. In regards to work elsewhere, not sure if my company wants me to work another place and i'm also not sure I'll be back to them after a few years either. Thing may change. Best bet for us is now - however, really depends on how MoM sees it, doesn't it.

Hi Beppi, Credible! i did get the pass with expected minimal chance for re-appeal given my situation. I'm excited to move and work in SG. Thank you so much!

Congrats, wish you have a wonderful time in Singapore. Cheers

Hi, wondering if anyone can give me an insight on my worries?
I have both Master & Degree in Engineering, (even currently finishing my Engineering Doctorate) and having industrial design experience of about 5+ years and have been offered a job in Singapore for SGD4.5k. I've never worked in Singapore before this. The 1st time the company applied EP for me and it was approved. Unfortunately, I spotted that the awarding University for Masters stated in the Declaration was wrong (perhaps due to company online-application mistake) and the company told that they would withdraw and re-apply again. The current 2nd application is still 'pending'. So, I have a few questions:-

1. Is SGD4.5k ok with my experiences and qualifications? If not, what should the range be?
2. Will the 1st time mistake affect the decision for EP?

Thanks for all the advices.

1. The salary is very low for your education and experience. However, it is sufficient for a reasonable (not lavish) lifestyle, if you are single and share accommodation (a flat of your own costs too much).

You can see current salary trend in Singapore in your field of expertise in below link:

http://www.payscale.com/research/SG/Ind … ign/Salary

This is an average to below average salary in Singapore as this city considered as the costliest city in the world and for expects it stands 5th in costliest rank. But, it again depends on your field as per above survey link, your salary appears as reasonable.

Pertaining to your query on EP approval, MoM should consider your case in a positive way as you wanted to rectify the error done earlier without your knowledge (though you didn't say what was the error, whether university name was written wrongly or wrong university name had mentioned in awardee - later case is considered as wrong information provided earlier).

But one thing was sure that your earlier EP approval was based on your graduation. Usually, a master degree holder should fetch more salary but again it depends on field as well demand & supply in market.

Wish you all the best.

@surya2k Thanks for the link. Apparently the salary seems ok-ish and reasonable. I think I'll stick to this range as it is my first job in Singapore.

On the EP, the application put in by the company had applied with a different university in the online application. It was not the University that I put in the pdf form which I submitted to them. A totally different university. I reckon it was the company own's mistake. I wanted to avoid any ramifications later due to the difference and told them the mistake. My only wonder if it's due to this mistake that my EP gets rejected later.

2. The mistake (by your company) will not be held against you - if MoM gets the same message as we here on the forum.
However, it MAY be that your actial university is not (or less) recognised than the wrongly given one, which may lead to a change in result. In any case, they'll have to investigate this university before you get the result, which may take some time.

Hello all,

I'm absolutely gutted to announce that after 2 months of pending EP approval, my EP was rejected this week. I was supposed to be transferring to my firm's SEA office, based in Singapore, in a senior position within its strategy department. It was intended that I would bring essential UK market knowledge to the region, as London is deemed "advanced" within the sector (or so I'm told), however, it looks as though this will no longer be the case. My firm has kick-started proceedings to appeal, however, I'm now looking at potentially moving to another country within the region as both my employer and I are not 100% sure of why I received a rejection, and so I'm not feeling particularly positive about the outcome of the appeal. They're going to fight the case either way.

I have 8+ years experience and my salary is comfortably above $8,000PM. I'm from the UK, born and bred, and graduated from a top 10 university. The role itself was advertised to locals first, however, my firm has struggled to find anyone with the specialist knowledge needed to fulfill the demands of this role. From my understanding of what has been discussed on here, it might very well be that MOM believes the job can be done by a local, however, I guess we will never truly know the answer.

I just wanted to sign in and say a massive thank you to everyone on this thread, as your experiences and guidance have both been crucial in getting me up to speed with the processes in Singapore. I wish you all the best of luck in getting your EPs approved and please do continue contributing to this thread. I've found it extremely helpful (especially at a time like this).

I'm very sorry to hear this. Sometimes, MoM's decisions are difficult to understand or consent with - but it's their game, their court and their ball.
Good luck in whatever other country you may end up in! (And remember: There's an Expat.com forum for there, too!)

Thanks Beppi, that's much appreciated. Onwards and upwards as they say!

Sad to hear, hope your appeal may reconsider by MoM as we never known if a different authority will be reviewing your appeal who has different thoughts.

Wish you all the best.

Thanks Surya, that's much appreciated. Yes, chances are I just got a tough case handler, but I guess we will never know. Either way, I'll keep you updated as to what happens.

Hello all,

I just wanted to share with you what I find is a bit of a weird, if not surreal experience. Following my appeal, about three weeks later, My EP has now be approved, with the rejection being overturned. I'm not sure why it has been overturned. We simply requested a meeting with the officer to discuss the outcome of the application - and a few weeks' later, I receive the IPA. Anyways, I'm not complaining, it's all well and good. Just wanted to highlight my situation in case anyone else is in the same boat and looking to appeal their rejection. Thanks everyone for being so helpful. And apologies I cannot outline the details of how we managed to get it overturned; equally, my employer is also confused. :-S

Good to hear your case. Welcome to Singapore

As usual, MoM is playing with closed cards and we can only guess from known outcomes what the rules of the game might be. Thanks for reporting this to us - and congrats for getting what you wanted!

Hello everyone!

I am a newbie and found lots of information here regarding the application for EP.

Well here is my case and wish to seek for some advices

As working experience is crucial in applying for EP, may I know is part-time working experience count?
I used the SAT and it stated that I am likely to get both EP and SPass even without any working experience.

My employer tried to apply an EP on last Thursday and got rejected this morning which she said it might because of experience and salary...

I will be having another job interview in Singapore which the company will apply EP for success candidates. Is there anything I will need to take note if next employer apply an EP for me?

ErMing, welcome to expat forum.

A candidate can be awarded an EP if he has passed out from a reputed institution (on in other word a recognized institution by MoM). So, experience is not a sole criteria (rather it will fetch higher salary if you have experience).

Below link can help you to understand:

http://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permit … ligibility

If possible your employer can request MoM to provide the reason for rejection your EP (though MoM may not response but there is nothing wrong to try).

Good luck for your next interview.

Hi Surya2k,

Thank you for the information!

If my employer has indicated my working experience (both full & part-time) in this application and was rejected,

do my next employer need to state my working experience or can they make changes on this by saying that I am new and fresh grad without working experiences? 

As fresh grad without working experience might not need a high salary...

There is nothing wrong if you shows correct information and you have support to claim that. But, please check last time if any information was missing or incomplete information had provided which may cause for rejection.

This time you should provide clear and complete information and if possible write a cover letter stating what are the documents you have provided along with the EP form which would be easier for MoM officer to locate all the documents easily.

For University recognition you may see the list of university or institutions which are recognized by MoM.

surya2k wrote:

There is nothing wrong if you shows correct information and you have support to claim that. But, please check last time if any information was missing or incomplete information had provided which may cause for rejection.

This time you should provide clear and complete information and if possible write a cover letter stating what are the documents you have provided along with the EP form which would be easier for MoM officer to locate all the documents easily.

For University recognition you may see the list of university or institutions which are recognized by MoM.

Will go and prepare a cover letter now.
Thank you for your advice surya2k! 

Please don't write any cover letter hand written rather prepare in a word document and print out (or your employer can upload while applying online). All the best.