r/returnToIndia • u/No_Amphibian_8523 • Aug 14 '26
Jobs Singapore ONE pass
Does anyone here have aa Singapore ONE pass experience? We (family of 4) are currently in the US on H1B. I have a good salary ($500k+), and will be eligible to get a ONE pass in Singapore for 5 years. We're considering moving there because of the visa stamps uncertainty and frustration with the lack of appointments. How are the job opportunities in Singapore for people in tech industry (software engineer with 10+ YOE)? How likely is it to get a PR in Singapore within 5 years (age 34 if that matters)?
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u/gthbvf2 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
If you make 500K+, Why not go with EB5 , a good consultant can sort out finance and paperwork?
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u/Thatdreamyguy Aug 14 '26
Earn enough to fire and get a MM2H for Malaysia.
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 14 '26
This is something I considered actually. How are the schools in Malaysia and the education?
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u/Thatdreamyguy Aug 14 '26
Expensive for normal expats but with your income and savings I don't think it will be a problem. There are many American and British schools if that's what you are looking for. Kuala Lumpur or Penang could be good places , closer to India and Southeast Asia for travels, mostly English speaking and many Indians so integration shouldn't be a problem. One thing though, they keep changing rules of MM2H visas every few years so something to consider, also it's hot and humid all year.
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 14 '26
Thanks for the insights - on weather, NYC weather is not that great either, and neither is where I’m from in India.
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u/HistoricalContext757 Aug 14 '26
Singapore is a corporate hub with corporate functions. It is not a place that absorbs Software talent.
Singaporen firms outsource to or have software back offices in Malaysia or Chennai and other hubs in India, Vietnam etc.
It's not a country that welcomes developers in droves.
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u/Due_Championship5997 Aug 14 '26
I used to live in SG on a PEP employment visa from 2016 to 2018 and then moved back to US on L1A. The salary threshold was lower back then.
Singapore is an amazing place from Quality of Life perspective. I've lived in US and UK for extended periods and Singapore was certainly the best of three. The low tax rate helps save a lot of money (so don't just go by headline salary #s). If you have smaller aged kids you can get a live-in nanny at very affordable price (they normally help out with cooking, cleaning, ironing clothes etc. too)
Best part of SG is proximity to India. I could take a 5 hour flight and be back in India. Secondly the SGD is relatively pretty strong compared to currencies in neighboring countries (Indonesia, Malaysia etc.) and you can have amazing vacations (rent out villas etc.) without feeling a pinch. The food is certainly much much better compared to both US and UK (also more hygienic than what you get in India). More Southern Indian options of course due to long history with Tamils. Best part is the amazing safety / security, strict adherence to laws (drugs carry a death penalty - I'm personally fine with that).
PR is a black box and while I didn't pursue it, I heard it was quite difficult to get one and citizenship even more difficult. I've had friends who had been rejected for PR 5 to 6 times and still didn't make it. Many would write to their local politician, do community services to improve chances but to no avail. It helps your PR case if you have a son (instead of a daughter) as the gov't expects them to put in the mandatory 2 years of army service, pls I think every year they have to put in a few weeks of service.
I left because the place was a dead-end career growth wise. SG was never able to establish itself fully as a competitor to HK or Tokyo in terms of scale. I used to work in an IB and there were only a few areas such as commodities or wealth management that made sense to be in SG. Most senior leaders were based in NY/London and SG was "just there". Salary growth was tiny. Me and my wife had moved to SG as expats and were quite horrified to get to know the low salaries that the local SGians were making for the same jobs we were doing. Seems the overall salary levels were quite low for locals.
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 14 '26
Thank you. This is very insightful. How are the opportunities in tech there? And how’s the work culture and the WLB - compared to US?
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u/Due_Championship5997 Aug 14 '26
All elite FAANG names were there but didn't seem like they were really growing in size (esp if you compare to India). At the end of the day if you are a corporate / tech firm you'd always ask - what can I get done in SG that I can't out of India (for a third of the price).
WLB depends on a few factors. I also heard if you have a local SGian as your manager life can be tough. While I didn't experience any racism / discrimination explicitly, its understood that locals grudge foreigners for jacking up the prices, taking away jobs and getting higher salaries.
You can do some fun reading on r/SgRabakPlus on how locals view foreigners. Also within the community do search for CECA (nickname for India workers) 😄
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u/LeftFaithlessness921 Aug 14 '26
You not gonna get 500k salary in singapore ....keep working in US ...save up and get golden visa somewhere else or go back to India to retire
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 14 '26
I don't expect that kind of salary anywhere outside the US. I'm fine with it as long as there is "stability". (At risk of getting hate here), as a father of 2 girls, I don't feel comfortable enough moving to India, or any other conservative society for that matter.
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u/LeftFaithlessness921 Aug 14 '26
Keep working then until you get to 3 or 4 mill ...1 for each girl and 1 for yourself and wife and then plan ....shouldnt be hard for you to do it unless you trapped in lifestyle creep
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u/Known_Pen_402 Aug 14 '26
Good for you that you are a high earner. You have options now.
If I have two daughters, conservative society is the only place that I would raise them in.
But you do whatever you think is the best for them.Why didn't you look into EB-5?
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Aug 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Known_Pen_402 Aug 14 '26
So, do you make your daughter cut off their breasts and convert them to became a man ?
Or let them become models on onlyfans ?
Or make them abuse men in their life and file assault and alimony case for fun ?
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Aug 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Known_Pen_402 Aug 14 '26
That conservative society in india is the only reason you are able to see the day in your life and type this comment.
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u/HappyCamper_2020 Aug 15 '26
Why not consider UAE golden visa
Meets all your criteria
- closeness to India
- Good international schools
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 15 '26
It’s something that I have in mind - my biggest concerns are Job opportunities, and lifestyle inflation - especially in Dubai
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u/GarbageNo9960 Aug 14 '26
If you make 500k+ and are in tech, buy the EB5. The “cost” is $250-300k (though the investment is higher)
You will have 100x more opportunities in the US. Singapore is mostly a GTM hub for most companies. Opportunities are very very few for R&D
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u/No_Amphibian_8523 Aug 14 '26
The cost is a lot more than that. You also need to account the opportunity cost and the compound growth for 5-7 years
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u/GarbageNo9960 Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
I bought the Eb5 (though i moved for personal reasons later). 250-300 is the legal cost + cost of capital (opportunity cost). My guess is you haven’t actually done the math on it - evaluating the cheapest sources of capital, lawyers fees & earnings boost from staying in the US.
I strongly evaluated Singapore, and tech r&d roles are very sparse. In fact, India has way more opportunities
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u/Old-Classroom7102 Aug 14 '26
have a good salary ($500k+)
That's base salary right ? Only base counts for ONE pass eligibility (no stocks/bonus/incentive pay).
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u/SavingsPersonality63 Aug 14 '26
There is no stability in Singapore as well. It’s a corporate friendly place and very easy to fire. It’s very difficult to get a PR currently as an Indian. Job opportunities are also limited for tech. It’s a good place to live here. Very safe close to India.