Step 3: Consider whether to apply PR for your children
One of the important things to consider is whether you want to apply PR for your male children. The main PR applicant who is granted Singapore PR under the first generation PTS scheme is exempted from national service in Singapore. However, male children who are granted PR through their parents are required to register for 2 years of full time national military service once they are 16½ years old. In addition, they are required to serve 40 days of Operationally Ready National Service per year until the age of 50 (for officers) or 40 years old (for other ranks).
Step 4: First Immigrations will book your e-appointment and prepare all supporting documents
The usual waiting time for your e-appointment date to arrive is about 5-6 months. While waiting, you should compile all supporting documents which are listed in Form EP4. Below, we provide some helpful guidelines:
- Make a copy of all the supporting documents. When submitting documents to the ICA officer, you need to submit both the copy and the originals for verification. Once the documents have been verified, the ICA officer will return the originals to you and keep the copies.
- Any documents that are not in English have to be translated to English by professionals. The best approach is to get the documents translated and stamped through your embassy. You need to bring down both the originals (non-English) as well as the translated version to the ICA office.
- Additional documents such as appointment letters from previous employers, performance appraisal letters, and testimonials are useful when applying for PR. If you need to, contact your previous employers for assistance.
- If you have property in Singapore, do submit the proof of documents to the ICA office. This shows your financial strength as well as your intention to stay in Singapore on a long term basis.
- Update your resume and submit it along with the other documents to the ICA officer.
- A cover letter is an excellent way to state how much Singapore means to you, address your family’s background and current financial strength, and why you and your family want to become Singapore PR. At First Immigrations, we will provide you a list of additional documents you can provide to ICA officer.
Step 5: First Immigrations will complete the PR Application Form 4 / Form 4A
Form 4/4A is a complicated piece of document to fill up as it requires a certain standard of information. At First Immigrations, we will type out the form and audit the content for you. Some important requirements asked in the form that are often missed out by applicants are:
- List your Education and Employment History in chronological order
- Under the Education section, you are only required to list your high school diploma and higher.
- If you are unable to produce an appropriate degree or diploma certificate of a course that you have completed, do not list it in the form as it might cause delays in your application. The ICA authorities may send you a letter asking for official documents for verification.
- It is mandatory that information of your spouse and children be provided in the application form even if they are not applying for PR. If they are not applying for PR with you, there is a section in the form where you can indicate whether or not they are applying for PR with you.
- For Annex A to Form 4A, kindly ask your employer to complete. The Annex A is a confirmation that the information provided is correct and valid. However, it does not imply Company’s sponsorship.
With First Immigration, you can save up to a few hours when it comes to completing the application form.
Step 6: We will advise you on how to submit your PR application
We will ensure that your PR application form is completed, your employer returns the Annex A to Form 4A, and that all supporting documents are well-prepared. The e-Appointment is simply a procedure to submit all the documents required by the ICA. There will be no interview conducted by the ICA officer. Instead, the ICA officer will check that your application is complete, as well as verify the copies against the original documents. Therefore, you have to remember to bring down the original documents when submitting documents in person. Before leaving the counter, do check that you have all original documents back with you.
Step 7: What to do if your application gets rejected
It can be disheartening and demoralising upon receiving a rejection letter. However, you can always re-apply again as there are no restrictions on the number of times you can apply for Singapore PR. Nonetheless, you should wait at least 6 months before re-applying for Singapore PR because it is unlikely your application will be approved if there are no remarkable changes in your profile, such as new education qualification, higher salary etc. If there isn’t any significant changes, it would be a wasted effort to re-apply as chances of your application getting approved is very slim.
