Singapore offers a brilliant job market when it comes to seeking employment options. To add on to it, applicants with specialized skills, especially in the field of IT as well as the occupations linked with software engineering are in high demand in Singapore. But it is essential that the applicant should fulfill all the mandates and qualifications linked with acquiring an employment in respective field in Singapore. Here are some of the aspects which overseas citizens require to keep in mind while applying for a job in Singapore:

• It is essential for the overseas applicants to have a secured job offer prior to their filling forms to get work permit in the country.
• To enhance the chances of getting employment, applicants are advised to file their applications for an Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC). This will allow the applicant to get a Social Visit Pass (SVP) valid of one year when the job seekers can search for employment.
• Mandates linked with language requirement: English is the vital language for commerce and trade. Also, languages such as Chinese Mandarin, Malay and Tamil are widely spoken.
• Options to Work: The job market is attired with various industries like banking, commerce, biomedical, engineering, IT, media to name a few.
• Some of the highly reputed and major firms are CapitaLand, Singapore Press, Fraser & Neave, Golden Agri-Resources, OCBCBank, Kompass Singapore, SembCorp Industries, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Telecom, United Overseas etc.
• Normal working hours in Singapore are five days in a week, the timings would start from 9.00 in the morning till 1 in the afternoon and 2.00in the afternoon till to 5 in the evening Saturdays normally remain closed. The salary may range from S$2,453 to S$2,700 (it is applied for one working month) for freshers and may go higher, depending upon the qualification.

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Singapore is all set to take certain measures to regulate the flow of foreign nationals coming into the country for working purposes. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong said that he understands the problems that Singaporean will have to face if they will not control the entry of foreign workers. There is no doubt that Singapore will continue to grow as a nation by investing in its people but it will also need foreign talent to contribute to the economy of the country.

Speaking on the occasion of Singapore’s 45th National Day, the Prime Minster said that he understands the fear of Singaporeans who are witnessing the incoming of so many foreign national who then uses the various facilities and resources of their tiny nation. But he assured that measures will be taken to curb the flow of foreign workers entering the nation. Now the selection process and eligibility criteria will be stricter for aspiring overseas workers. Only those foreign workers will be encouraged to enter that are capable and talented and who can contribute in the economy of the country.

Few months back, Singapore introduced new immigration policies which can help to control the immigration. A budget was passed in which Singapore government will now charge more from foreign workers on immigration so that companies which hire foreign labor will now think twice before recruiting them. The economy of Singapore grew 17.9 percent during the period of January to June which makes Singapore as one of the fastest growing nations of the world. Despite being a small nation, Singapore still enjoys the position of developed country and one of the most sought after tourist destination.

Famous for its extremely neat and clean streets, Singapore provides relaxed immigration laws and visa application process to the foreigners making it easy for them to settle there. With its 4.9 million populations, around one fourth of its populations are non residents of Singapore.  Singapore has acted quite intelligently by investing to a large extent in the industries such as research and development and information technology which need highly efficient workers.

Through this, Singapore has managed to recruit many talented foreign employees which have strengthened its workforce. One of the primary reason that why so many foreigners are getting attracted towards Singapore is its simple and uncomplicated immigration laws and policies. In fact, the visa application process takes around three to six months only which is quite less in comparison to other countries. Efficient workers who are graduates or have trained in some field can live in Singapore along with their families. And if your income is more than S$1,800, then you can become the permanent resident of Singapore once you have worked for six months there. All these facilities have made very easy and comfortable for outsiders to come and settle here.

There are many other factors that make Singapore one of the priorities for foreigners to choose Singapore as their destination. Availability of various medical facilities, fast and safe mode of public transport, access to government authorized houses , low cost of living etc are one the benefits one can enjoy. The language used as the medium of education is English which is another chief reason for foreigner to move in here . It is easy for foreigner to adopt the new culture and new people as one of the official languages is English only.  Singapore has also invested a lot in education sector to recruit the talented students in their universities. With so many facilities and comforts along with beautiful landscape, Singapore is definitely a destination for everyone to settle here.

Good news for the entrepreneurs planning to migrate and start a business in Singapore. The financial market in Singapore is showing positive signs with an increase in the profit gains this quarter. One such instance is that of the DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore, which is the biggest bank in South East Asia. The bank earned sixty seven percent more in the net profit when compared to the previous year. This jump has been due to the boost in the loans and fee incomes which allowed for an increase in the bad debt charges.

As per the statement issued by DBS, in the last three months of the previous year through December, there was an increase for even the one – time items. These items saw a rise from S$ 295 million to S$ 493 million. There was a rise in the bad debt charged which increased by another forty three percent which is S$ 384 million. The entire 2009 saw the credit allowances and other losses increasing to almost double which made it to S$ 1.53 billion compared to the previous year.

According to DBS, this hike in the non performing loans has been due to the increased customers from the non – Asian community. However, the details regarding the same were not given out.

In 2009, the total earnings of the group remained similar to the previous year which is S$ 2.06 billion.

With the Singapore economy showing positive signs, it is nothing less than a good time in case one intends to invest in the economy of Singapore. One can easily get a loan if needed with one of the biggest banks in Asia operating in Singapore. So, all that needs to be done is to plan and decide accordingly.

Also, contacting the relevant immigration consultant is also of importance since immigration is one of the key procedures to be followed for those intending to migrate.

The adjudicators in the UK Parliament feel that the UK Border Agency is not able to handle the intensive number of applications that are coming in and processing them on time. According to a recent report, this lack of management is leading to extensive use of the funds generated from the public. It is also posing threats to the confidence that has been placed on the current immigration system.

According to the report which has been brought out by the ombudsman in the parliament, the Border Agency has to work extensively to ensure that it’s appropriate functioning. The report has been brought out after an independent investigation and has instances where there have been complaints with reference to the governmental agencies. Off these, there are four hundred and seventy eight accusations against the Border Agency itself. These were found out since last June and around thirty three complaints were investigated then by the ombudsman’s office. Ninety seven percent of these were found to have originated from the Border Agency itself.

As per Ann Abraham, one of the ombudsmen, only clearing the backlog is not just enough. More needs to be done in this regard for which a constant effort has to be made to achieve the desired results. Additionally, the standards have to be raised accordingly and avoid the present situation of backlogs in the future. The main reason behind this is the impact of such a situation would cost very badly for both the system as well as the applicants. More so, the faith in this system would be lost if it continues.

With this, the fairness in all the decisions made regarding immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers would also be questioned. This is because those applicants whose cases have been rejected after a long delay would be difficult to be deported. During their stay while awaiting a decision, their roots might have been grounded so deep that it would be difficult for them to be removed. In other words, the circumstances might change which would permit them to live in the United Kingdom.

On the other hand, when the UK Border Agency was approached with these complaints, it was well – acknowledged. With this, it also mentioned that a slow and steady progress is happening on the backlog cases. Around 235,000 cases have been resolved till now.

All in all, what remains to be seen is that the current situation is not aggravated further; instead progress is on the cards.

The Singapore government is intending to lay special emphasis on the security breaches that has been happening in the island since a decade. According to a report by NewStraitsTimes, the Home Ministry is making strict plans to improvise on the security concerns of Singapore.

The article points that Singapore has been lenient in ensuring the security issues of the nationals of its country. Also, the country witnessed a massive amount of intake of tourists during the last year, but a majority of them managed to enter the premises through the Causeway. The article says that the Immigration officials were not draped with ample means to differentiate between one-night stayers and day trippers.

Also, there was news of thousands of Indian and Chinese immigrants who managed to overstay in the premises but were never caught by the Immigration officials. Also, the reference went to the over staying tenure of other illegal migrants from countries like

Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Vietnamese, who could not be traced!

Other security breaches can be seen from examples like only 30 seconds are given to the Immigration officers to cross check the incoming immigrants. How in the world can a human being scrutinize someone in 30 seconds? Another interesting thing in the article says that overseas visitors coming from train route are hardly checked!

Now the government is intending to come out with strict solutions…

Singapore has planned to curb the intake of International Skilled Workers, giving hints that their government is intending to enhance the skills of its Singaporeans workers, according to a top level commission.

The commission pointed out that the Singapore economy is on the verge of slowing down. Therefore, there is a need to curb the intake of International skilled workers as too much of everything is bad.

Lim Swee Say, member of the commission, said that their country is not against the international applicants but the excessive intake is minimizing the focus from productivity.

Also, a majority of international workers take low paying jobs like maids and construction workers, a number which is increasing at a very fast pace. This leads to a competition for a particular job amongst foreign workers and local citizens.

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong stated that their country is planning to maintain a balance as far as the intake is concerned. Also Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam maintained that their country cannot afford to hike the quantity of international skilled workers as liberally as compared to the earlier years.

The committee advised certain proposals like raising the levies companies have to pay to hire the international workers; reinventing the country’s economy to face competition from Indian and China; shifting the port further west; amongst other suggestions, which would be discussed during the budget debate.

The Singapore government is intending to restrain the benefits enjoyed by the international workers ahead of the general elections.