Employment still in pending status

Hello everyone, 

Good day!
My name is Rachelle, and I'm from Philippines.
It will be my first time to work in Singapore. I signed a contract last  week of November. My employer applied for my pass last December 2, 2016 and my written consent was given last December 6, 2016 and still in pending status.
I always chase my HRPOC regarding the status and even asked if there's a way to check or ask the reasons why it's taking a while to be approved. My HRPOC mentioned that Ministry of Manpower does not provide any reason for the pass application not being approved. It just mentions pending approval and we just have to wait.
Sadly, I'm now idle at home as I declined the offer of my previous employer in Hongkong. I thought it will just take two weeks and no need to worry after signing the contract.

Is it really usual that it's taking a while to get the approval?

I hope my pass will be approved this January 2017 as I'm still hoping for the best! 😊

If you read previous discussions in various threads in this forum, you will witness that people even waiting more than two months and still it's appearing as status pending.

Yes, you can't ask MoM why my case is pending as they will not entertain you nor clarify as they don't have such obligations to do so. They don't even respond on pass rejection cases as well.

You have to decide where to work and assess the company's offer, position, salary and location. And, last not the least there is no guarantee that your pass will approve by MoM, this risk you need to take.

Hello Surya!
Thank you so much for your reply and advise.

Hi Finn,

As Surya Sir mentioned, it is taking time. Now my EP is pending for 3 months.

Thanks

Hello Shiv!
Thanks also for your reply!
Lets hope for the best!

Hi Finn0210,

We are on the same boat, my case is from Oct 18th 2016, still pending, Hope the best for you :)

Hello VuNguyen,

Yep! Lets have faith and hope that we will get the approval soon. ☺

👍  Inspiring Story @ begining of the year 👍

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing :

**Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time.

**The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in this publishing company.

**The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

**And in the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss.

At the end he wrote: Alas! It was such bad year !!


When the writer's wife entered the room, she found her husband looking sad & lost in his thoughts. From behind his back she read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on side of her husband's writing.

When the writer saw this paper, he found his name written on it with following lines :

**Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain....

**I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write something better with more focus and peace.....

**The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator.....

**The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability......

At the end she wrote:

This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well !!!

The writer was indeed happy and amazed at such beautiful and encouraging interpretation of the happenings in his life in that year !!!

Moral : In daily lives we must see that its not happiness that makes us grateful but grate-fulness that makes us happy.

Think positive.....
Be happy....

Wish you all will get a positive reply from MoM. Cheers.

What a great story surya2k. One thing I've learned in life is to appreciate and always see good things in every bad situation.  Cheers! 🍻

Hello Guys!
I just wanted to inform you that my pass was just approved yesterday. :)
All of my effort in waiting is all worth it. 😊
Just have faith 😊

Congrats Finn0210... Good luck to others too.

Congrats Finn0210 fir the EP.

Thanks Surya, let's see

congrats Finn and good luck to the others, now its all in your hand make sure all your paperworks and supporting documents ready, safe trip and enjoy finalizing your pass @ MOM.

hi everybody,
I have got a contract job in singapore and my job agency has applied for my EP on Jan 4th 2017 .The EP status is still shown as pending. Did anybody whose EP was applied in Jan 2017 get approved ?Its has been one month, so worried.My job agency said their agency is in the MOM watch list. How long could I wait for my EP approval ? Else shall I start searching for a new job , suspending the currently pending EP .

Your agency cannot apply for your EP - only your employer or their appointed agent can.
Either you described the situation incorrectly, or your agent is not telling the truth - if they charged you for the EP application (which is not allowed, as the employer has to pay all application fees), they are surely cheats.

I have the same situation, employer applied for my EP last 2/7/17 and application is still in pending status. Seeing this post makes me feel less nervous that my application will still get approved.

May i know  your Status now?

Saravanankk_vnr wrote:

May i know  your Status now?


It is not clear whom you are referring to.

Mine is still pending..

Hi
I've been recruited by Banking firm as permanent employee recently ( with good salary package ) and they liaised with a consultancy to proceed for EP.
We've submitted the application last week Thursday Morning itself and application status is still pending, Could someone tell me how much time now they are taking to approve applications now.
As far I heard, My friends told it will be approved within 3 days ( by their recent experiences ) but for me it is still delaying in turn affecting my joining date on new firm :(

Note: I've been working in Singapore last 2 years and having valid EP till Mar 2018 - Is that reason the new EP application is delaying getting approval ?

Kindly advise or inputs your comments here.
:???:
Thanks

The current EP processing time is 1 - 2 months.
Because you already have a valid EP and your credentials are thus known to MoM, you may be processed faster - under one month if you're lucky.
Processing times of a week or less, as was common a few years ago, do not seem to exist any more.

Hi

Thanks fr your info!

Actually I am not got job thru consultancy, I've been directly contacted by the bank and recruited ( process took 3 months ) and now they gave the EP filing/formalities to some third party agent (consultancy).
Moreover the same day one more guy got selected and same agent applied ep fr him (on same day with me) and he got within 2 days.

That guy also having existing valid ep...
Don't know why it is dragging fr me ... my bad

Hoping fr the best!!!!

Thanks for the information - it is good to know that short processing times still exist.
Of course we can only speculate what causes yours to be longer. Maybe you were (randomly) selected for a more thorough background check (through vetting agencies)?
If your employer needs you urgently, they can contact MoM and inquire. But otherwise there is nothing you can do but wait.
Good news is that the processing time has no influence at all on your approval chances.

Mine is still not approved and in pending status for almost 2 months now. Guess what Beppi said is true, nowadays 1-2 months is a normal processing. I have also friends who got their visa in 2weeks time and i believe this may depend on the agency too.

Yeah.
I've called the agent applied for EP, they ask me to wait till this thurdsay.
Lets see!
I m checking frequently and worried because, My notice period varies depends on the time I m submitting my resignation letter ( varies from 1 to 3 months).
I m hoping fr the best to get approved this week.

Hi @ madsathy

Any updates on ur EP? got approved??

Hi
Yeah it got approved on Apr 4th itself

Are there any differences between Pending and Pending from vetting agencies?

"Vetting" means undergoing verification through external agencies - unlike the internal approval process ("Pending"), these are not under MoM's control.

beppi wrote:

"Vetting" means undergoing verification through external agencies - unlike the internal approval process ("Pending"), these are not under MoM's control.


Would it mean after the successful status from the vetting agency, the application status will become just "pending"?

Or once everything goes well from the vetting agency, the application will be approved?

and is getting "pending from vetting agencies" bad?

"Vetting" is only bad ifyou submitted false or questionable information with the application.
In theory, the status should change according to where the process is at the moment (with vetting being one of the steps), but in reality this seems to depend on the processing officer and is not always updated.

Mine from 8th feb 2017... still pending

Daydreamkid@ may I know your pass status now. Whether it's approved or not

Hi daydream @ how about your status now?

My Epass is pending for 4 months now. My employer applied last Dec.28, 2016

TomSawyer321 wrote:

My Epass is pending for 4 months now. My employer applied last Dec.28, 2016


Wow, that's another (sad) record!

Hi all, just to share - my employment pass took only 7 business days to approve. My salary is just enough to apply for EP, with 3 years experience, normal degree holder and is my first time here to work in Singapore. Applying through a manufacturing MNC and I am a Malaysian if that helps.

I was also nervous while waiting for the results because of the low salary. Don't give up, it will be approved sooner than you expected!

If you are ethnically Chinese, then this might be the answer for your quick approval. The Singapore authorities, sadly for a place that invented meritocracy and prides itself on being a melting pot, tries to keep the local ethnic balance stable by admitting more Chinese (and preferentially those from Southeast Asia) to make up for the lack of local Chinese births.

beppi wrote:

If you are ethnically Chinese, then this might be the answer for your quick approval. The Singapore authorities, sadly for a place that invented meritocracy and prides itself on being a melting pot, tries to keep the local ethnic balance stable by admitting more Chinese (and preferentially those from Southeast Asia) to make up for the lack of local Chinese births.


Yes I'm a Chinese but I am unaware that my ethnic have some roles here, thought that it will only affect PR application.

mehmori wrote:

Yes I'm a Chinese but I am unaware that my ethnic have some roles here, thought that it will only affect PR application.


Based on quite a lot of circumstantial evidence (read this thread to see some of it!) I must say you are wrong here. Lucky you!