What Is The Singapore PTS Scheme For PR Application?

The Professionals, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers (PTS) scheme is a popular avenue for foreign individuals looking to attain Singapore permeant resident (PR) status. If you are a foreign professional who is holding on to the Singapore employment pass, S Pass, PEP or Entrepass, then this scheme is for you. In fact, based on estimations by authorities in the industry, more that 95% of all professionals received their PR status using this scheme for application.

Employment Pass & EntrePass

If you are a foreign professional working in Singapore, then you are likely holding on to either an employment pass or EntrePass. Both of these passes are temporary residency schemes that allow you and your immediate family to live in Singapore. Under both schemes, you would have been granted 1 to 2 year passes that are renewable by the government authorities.

Why Apply for Permeant Residency in Singapore?

Since you already live and work in Singapore, you may question if there is any real benefit to attaining permeant residency. Other than the ability to claim it as your home, becoming a permeant resident in Singapore would give you a host of other benefits such as:

• You can live, enter and leave Singapore without the need to request for different travel and work visas
• You could apply for PR for your spouse and unmarried children who are under the age of 21
• Your parents could be granted long-stay visas
• You have the freedom to change jobs without having to re-apply for a work permit each time
• You would enjoy Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions from your employer
• You have higher priority for various loans
• Finally, you will be eligible to apply for Singaporean citizenship once you have stayed here for a number of years

These perks are high in demand by foreign professionals. In fact, based on 2018 figures from the Department of Statistics Singapore, there were 522,347 Singapore PR holders.

Applying for PR Under the PTS Scheme

The Professionals, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers scheme was designed to retain workers in Singapore who had contributed to the city’s economy. The driving force behind this concept was the need to have these same individuals become long term members of the nation’s workforce. 3 perquisites exist in order for you to apply under the PTS scheme, namely:

• That you currently hold onto Singapore’s employment pass, S Pass, EntrePass or are a PEP holder
• At the time of application, you must be working in Singapore
• You have worked for at least 6 months while holding on to your current work pass (while not explicitly stated as a requirement, you are require to submit your past 6 months’ pay slips)

What Affects Your PR Application Success Rate?

The PTS scheme was intended to favour individuals with professional backgrounds, strong finances and who have a record of making contributions to Singapore. To approximate how likely an individual would contribute to Singapore’s economy and society in the long run, a range of proxy factors are used. These include:

• Employment history
• Educational background
• Financial background
• Community involvement
• Family ties

Employment History

The authorities take your employment history into heavy consideration. In particular your progression, time spent at each job and your employer’s credentials. These serve to tell them if you will be a productive contributor to the Singapore economy and if your employer will keep you employed for a substantial period of time. Furthermore, pursuit of professional upgrading is favoured as it demonstrates initiative and adaptability.

Educational Background

Closely related to your employment history is your educational background. Of no surprise is that the more prestigious your university is, the higher your chances are of successfully applying for PR. Your time spent in each educational institute serve to give the authorities an idea of who you are and if you will make a value-added contribution to the economy.

Financial Background

It should go without saying that your financial background is important to the authorities. In particular, whether you have had debt, bad debt, credit history and tax payment. Ideally, you would not have any bad debt while having a history of timely payment.

Community Involvement

Community and societal involvement has grown in importance over the past decade. The authorities look for individuals who are keen to assimilate into Singapore’s society or way of life. As such, in your cover letter, it would benefit you to demonstrate how you are similar to the locals and how you have made charitable contributions to the community.

For example, if you volunteer your time at a local pet shelter or home for the elderly, then the authorities would see you as a willing contributor to Singapore.

Family Ties

Documents You Need to Submit

The application process for Singapore PR requires that you submit several documents, including:

• Application form, downloaded online & free from error
• Copy of birth certificate
• Copy of marriage certificate if applicable
• Letter of recommendation from your sponsor
• Letter of employment stating your monthly salary

Do note that the failure to submit any of these forms will likely lead to an instant rejection from ICA.

The Advantages of Hiring First Immigrations as your PR Application Agency

First Immigrations is the leading PR application consultant in Singapore. Having been in the industry for many years, we truly understand the frustration of foreigners applying for PR status. In fact, 30% of all applicants give up on attaining PR after their first rejection. Additionally, after further review, we have found that 90% of all applicants who were rejected had errors in their application.

When you apply PR Singapore with us, we give you a realistic evaluation of your current chance of success before telling you the required steps needed to improve your odds. We take special care to ensure that your application is not only error free, but also correctly angled to demonstrate the desired traits under the PR application program.

Chat with us today to find out how you may Apply Singapore PR today.