We have heard about the reasons why expatriates want to settle in Singapore for the long term as a PR and there are often mentions about education and how their children will greatly benefit from the system. However, with the statistically-proven low approval rates annually, these plans often remain elusive.
Notably, there is much competition among existing PRs and Citizens vying for slots in public education – greatly limiting chances of non-PRs. Expatriates are then left with little or no choice but to enrol their children into private or international schools that come with significantly heftier school fees.
Regardless, majority of expatriates with families maintain their undying interest to pursue their Permanent Residency in Singapore for the simplest reason – by becoming a Permanent Resident of Singapore they will enjoy educational priority for their children and they themselves will have the flexibility in seeking alternative employment as they are no longer bounded to a work pass which directly ties them down to a particular employer.
Education in Singapore
As one of the major leaders in education on the world stage, Singapore has always maintained a firm belief in educating and nurturing the young via a well thought out and holistic curriculum system – one that is based on meritocracy, allowing those from less fortunate backgrounds to be given an equal chance to undergo, experience and eventually benefit from.
This, of course, also applies to adult learners as there are also upgrading courses to address their specific needs. SkillsFuture has always been an advocate of upgrading of skills via training for more specialized jobs, giving a perfect opportunity for those looking to upgrade their skill set and progress their career.
Besides quality, upward mobility in education is also worth mentioning as we too are leaders in this aspect. Close to 6 in 10 adults will come to attain higher qualifications than their parents thus closing the previous education gaps in the society. This highly impressive achievement is due to consistent efforts put in by the various Ministries over the years.
More schools in Singapore are also switching over to taking the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. The Switzerland-based IB Organisation, which conducts the exams, said Singapore accounted for 35 of the 69 perfect scorers globally this year. Of the 2,250 students in Singapore who took the exams, 96.66 per cent passed. The global pass rate was 70.03 per cent, while the rate for the Asia-Pacific region was 87.76 per cent. The average scores of Singapore students were also higher than those of their global and regional counterparts: 37.99 points against 28.52 and 33.89 respectively. Students from seven schools – including Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Hwa Chong International School, School of the Arts (Sota) and St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) – received their results on Friday (Jan 3). All 456 students in ACS(I) – the first Singapore school to offer the IB diploma since it was accredited in 2005 – passed the IB exam. Their average score was 41 points, with 349 of them obtaining 40 points and above.
What does this mean to potential applicants of PR / Citizenship?
In pursuit of the much desired change in immigration status, potential applicants will have to be extremely sure-footed in the next/first try for Permanent Residency or Singapore Citizenship. Understanding the considering factors that contribute to a successful application is key and they will be outlined during the 1 to 1 consultation with us. Also through the session, we will run you through your personal detailed report of your chances prior to our professional intervention via a highly personalised approach. In order for us to have a preliminary assessment of your profile, we will simply require you to input a few fields via our inhouse test that runs on a tried and tested algorithm built on years of experience here.
You may also visit our website at http://www.tip.com.sg to know more.
The Immigration People 