hulk_hogan

I'm a british citizen.

What are the chances that I would be able to live and work in Singapore (banking)?

Is it completely unrealistic?

Kooky.

If you've got something special that employers want, so that they are willing to give you a job and sponsor your Employment Pass, totally realistic.

hulk_hogan

if you marry a citizen of thailand/singapore, can you apply for citizenship and then jobs?

Kooky.

Mr Hogan, I don't mean to be rude but are you really serious about this, and do you have relevant qualifications, or did you just do a stopover here, meet a girl in a bar, and think it might be a fun place to live?

I'm happy to point you in the direction of some good information if I know I'm not totally wasting my time.

hulk_hogan

everyone needs to dream...

ive got a degree and i work for an investment bank in london. im in documentation, but everyone has to start somewhere. an internal transfer to the fasr east is pretty unlikely.

got any quick suggestions?

katongkaren

Quick suggestions - NO.

Slow suggestions - banking is big in Singapore. Keep plugging away at your job, work damn hard, get promotions and make it known to your bosses you'd like to end up in Singapore - hey you never know, you might make it in a few years. Does your bank have a presence in Singapore? Try moving to a bank that does have a presence?

Getting Permanent Residence status through marrying a Singaporean is not guaranteed. You get Permanent Residence based on your own merits and you may find it's a long road. Don't know of anyone getting Singapore citizenship - helps if you are from an Asian race.

Dandy

If you're not a client-facing asset then a transfer to Singapore is unlikely. Boring place anyway. Easier lifestyle than Tokyo for the monoglot ex-pats, but there's only so much you can do on a city-state island run by anal retentives...

Kooky.

Ooh, I've never been called a monoglot.

Thanks.

Dandy

<cough> Not saying you specifically are, just that many seem to be, as opposed to in Tokyo where a decent number of expats do speak some Japanese!

Kooky.

I know what you mean but I'd say most of the expats here speak more than one language; English is often not their first. Me? You got me. My O level French and German have virtually disappeared due to lack of use, but then it would be far more useful these days for western schools to teach Mandarin.

I'm led to believe you need to speak some Japanese if you live there. Here, where English is the official language, we're lazy because we can survive without a local language. (TBH Hokkien or Bahasa Melayu would be more useful than Mandarin, except in business.)

I do take (half-hearted, 'cos I'm leaving in two weeks ) issue with the boring bit. There's plenty to do if you look for it, and life is what you make it. Also it's very easy to get to other places. We've had a very happy 6 years and some great experiences here. I've scratched the shiny surface by doing volunteer work with out of school kids, too, and I can tell you it's in no way as sanitised a place as outsiders are led to believe. (Plus we chose to live in the red light district; never a dull moment.)

Run by anal retentives - no arguments whatsoever.

Dandy

'Monoglot' may be unkind especially for the Europeans. Perhaps I should have said that nobody seems to speak any of the languages that the locals use...