Moving to Singapore as a trailing spouse

Hi Klaus,

I am also German, lived in Singapore for many years and can answer some of your questions.
But first let me mention that posting your contact details (email address) on an open forum can be abused and is thus unwise and disallowed on this forum. The moderators will remove yours soon.

Any work visa application is judged on its own merit and being a trailing spouse does not feature in that evaluation, thus gives you neither advantage nor disadvantage.
However, there is a second method - applicable only if your wife has an Employment Pass (EP - one kind of work visa) and you join her on Dependent's Pass (DP). In that case you can apply for a Letter of Consent (LoC) from the Minstry of Manpower (MoM) to work in a certain job and company (which you need to find first). The criteria for this LoC are less strict than for other work visa, but since an LoC holder presents a greater risk for the employer (e.g. it is immediately cancelled when your wife loses her job) and trailing spouses obviously don't need to feed the family, you will only get less responsibility and less pay.
Since you didn't mention your type of work, education and experience, I cannot say anything about your chances of finding a job.
Freelancing is illegal for most foreigners in Singapore and being self-employed very difficult (you need to have a very good business model, plan to employ locals and invest lots).
Alternatively, there are volunteering opportunities that would not give you money, but something to do and meaning in life.

Good luck!

Dear beppi,

thanks for your quick and detailed reponse! And of course for the mail adress note - didn´t know that.

The deeper I work myself into the "Singapor Project", the clearer it gets for me and postings like yours are very useful to me. Besides the topics of working permissions etc., what is your personal conclusion looking back to the years living in Singapore? I know, that living/working in Singapore (or anywhere else in the world) always depends on personal circumstances too, but any shared experience would be more than helpful to me.

Thanks a lot, best
Klaus

I liked it during all the 12 years I lived there. I also know others who didn't.
Every place has its good and bad points, but a lot depends on your own attitude.