Coming In To Singapore For Training

360degrees wrote:

Has anyone tried coming to Singapore not for work purposes but for training? Say I have been invited by my Singapore-based employer for a 3-week training - what would be the requirements that I'd need to present to Singapore Immigration?

Also, it's complex since I was hired home-based in The Philippines - no office yet here. Will that affect their assessment?

I am given to understand that you have been trying to find a Customer Service job in Singapore. However, you will not qualify for E-Pass or Training Employment Pass (TEP) because :

1) You did not complete your university degree. (Moreover, only AIM, Ateneo de Manila or De La Salle is eligible for TEP).
2) Your salary scale is below the exception criteria, i.e. proven track records and exceptional skill sets not available locally.

Without a degree, your prospective employer may try to apply for S Pass only, based on previous experience and pay scale, subject to :

1) The Employer's Profile (e.g. lack of quota for S Passes) and
2) Candidate's Antecedent (e.g. previous offence)

Visitors on Short Term Social Visit Passes (STSVP) who wish to attend short courses in Singapore during their stay in Singapore can do so without having to apply for a separate Student's Pass if the visitor is able to complete within the validity period of the initial SVP granted to him at the Singapore checkpoint or 30 days, whichever is shorter. It must also satisfy two other criteria, i.e., the training course :

1) Must be a complete and stand-alone module on its own. Courses with multiple programme modules are excluded from this Student's Pass exemption scheme; and

2) Must not involve hands-on practical occupational training and/or industrial attachment which have interaction with walk-in customers or be conducted at premises that are also the places of business.

3) Those who wish to pursue a course that may extend beyond the duration of the SVP granted at the checkpoints are still required to apply for a Student's Pass.

Visitors to Singapore need to satisfy the following requirements before they can be considered for entry :
1) Passport valid for at least 6 months;
2) Confirmed onward/return tickets;
3) Sufficient funds to maintain themselves during their stay in Singapore;
4) Visa, if applicable; and
5) Entry facilities, including visas to their onward destinations.

The grant of entry to visitors will be determined by the Immigration & Checkpoints officers at the Singapore checkpoints.

Notes :
1) Owing to different educational systems, most universities in the Philippines are considered as Singapore Polytechnics equivalent only. Even the top universities do not rank highly on QS, THE, FT, etc.
2) It is illegal for visitors on STSVP to start work on pre-employment trial disguised as training without a valid work pass