Singapore Withdraws Red Carpet For Foreigners

[churchill]

After luring investor Jim Rogers, actor Jet Li, Filipino maids and Bangladeshi construction workers with one of Asia’s most open immigration policies, Singapore is becoming a little less welcoming to foreigners.

Singapore almost doubled the rate it grants citizenship and permanent residence in the past five years to counter a falling birth rate, and let firms bring in thousands to work at hotels, shipyards and restaurants. The move saw foreigners make up one in every three people. The government plans to slow the inflow to avoid being “overwhelmed,” and unveiled higher levies for overseas laborers, cooks and janitors in its Feb. 22 budget.

The effort is part of a shift in economic policies designed to ease discontent in the aftermath of the deepest recession since independence in 1965 and to shore up public support before elections that must be held by February 2012. The danger is that the changes may make Singapore more expensive for companies to operate in and less attractive to investors.

“The economy generates more jobs than can be filled by locals and it wasn’t that long ago the government was arguing vehemently that we need foreign talent to ensure strong and sustainable growth,” said Song Seng-Wun, an economist at CIMB- GK Securities Pte in Singapore. “They’re trying to soothe Singaporeans’ anxiety that the whole island is swamped with foreigners. It’s politics.”

continued http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...jKHs&pos=11

[trogers]

I believe the discontent is not from 'being overwhelmed' by foreigners, but that there is a two-tier employment market: a general job market that locals and foreigners compete to bring down wages, and a legislature protected civil service, political and ministerial posts not opened to foreign competition. Wages in the latter is assured and increases annually. Thus the gap between public and private sectors in middle and top level posts has widen much. Coupled with lower wages in the private sector, cost of goods and housing in particular has climbed up even in a recession due to high demand from the large influx of foreign workers.

Edited February 24, 2010 by trogers

[soihok]

The period of taking in large numbers of foreigners has come to an end. Several years ago the gates were open to all and sundry, this is now not the case.

As an example, I work with a Filippino engineer who was granted PR status then actually changed his nationality to Singaporean.

He naturally wanted his son to join him ( schooling age) but his son is not being granted the same as his Dad. This leaves them as a family holding different nationalities ( like mine but thats another story) and as we know immigration anywhere can be a pain in the a**.

It could only have lasted for so long, those that went for it did so at the right time. It is still possible to gain PR then citizenship but the goal posts have moved.

Edited February 25, 2010 by soihok

[IMA_FARANG]

Not to be unkind to Singapore (because it is more friendly to foriegners than other places in Asia), but it has alaways had a two-tier society with the Chinese and Chinese born Singaporeans as well as Malay Singaporeans on top; and others, including Indian born Singaporeans and foriegners below.

The government might like to deny this, but it has been a fact for many years.

It's true that Singapore has less class and race discrimination than many other places in Asia, but it is still there simmering underneath.

This was made quite clear to me by a Singapore born Indian cabdriver several years ago...who explained the problems he was having bringing his relatives to Singapore from India...irregardless of the fact that he was born in Singapore.

I also knew a European British born man who was working in a good job in Singapore some years ago.

At that time the Singaporean government was promoting those "parties" where Chinese born Singaporeans could meet eligable young women in the hope that they would marry and the Chinese Singaporean population would stop it's decline against the other groups in Singapore. He attended a couple of the parties, which he thought might be a nice place to meet Singaporean girls...he being new to Singapore then.

He was informed by an elderly Chinese Singaporean woman that the parties were not for him, but for proper Singaporean Chinese girls to meet eligable Singaporean Chinese men.

It was definately implied that he should not bother to return...because although his job was a good one he was not of Chinese descent...so he wasn't welcomed there.

Edited February 25, 2010 by IMA_FARANG

[OriginalPoster]

From my read of it, the new measures sound like they are aimed mostly at lower end workers. What they are doing is are raising the monthly levy that employers must pay on each foreign worker, but those levys don't apply at all (even under the new rules) to workers that make over S$2500 per month. It's not going to make much sense for a Westerner to take a <S$2500 per month job in Singapore anyway, you'd have a better standard of living staying at home and living off the dole. While this might be bad news for those Bangladeshi construction works, it's not going to mean much to Jimmy Rogers and Jet Li.

Edited February 26, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[Naam]

From my read of it, the new measures sound like they are aimed mostly at lower end workers. What they are doing is are raising the monthly levy that employers must pay on each foreign worker, but those levys don't apply at all (even under the new rules) to workers that make over S$2500 per month. It's not going to make much sense for a Westerner to take a <S$2500 per month job in Singapore anyway, you'd have a better standard of living staying at home and living off the dole. While this might be bad news for those Bangladeshi construction works, it's not going to mean much to Jimmy Rogers and Jet Li.

that goes without saying because neither Jim Rogers nor Jet Li takes away a job from a Singaporean.

[OriginalPoster]

From my read of it, the new measures sound like they are aimed mostly at lower end workers. What they are doing is are raising the monthly levy that employers must pay on each foreign worker, but those levys don't apply at all (even under the new rules) to workers that make over S$2500 per month. It's not going to make much sense for a Westerner to take a <S$2500 per month job in Singapore anyway, you'd have a better standard of living staying at home and living off the dole. While this might be bad news for those Bangladeshi construction works, it's not going to mean much to Jimmy Rogers and Jet Li.

that goes without saying because neither Jim Rogers nor Jet Li takes away a job from a Singaporean.

I only mentioned Jim Rogers and Jet Li because they were mentioned in the first sentence of the Bloomberg article. I don't think that ordinary Western expats are going to be much (if at all) affected by this either. What affects Western expats more is that with each succeeding year SGP companies have less appetite for paying expat salaries & benefits.

Edited February 26, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[mrdome]

No worries, if you bring enough money, you will always be welcome in Singapore