Fewer applicants have attained PR status since the implementation of a stricter assessment process. How do you avoid completing a subpar submission and ensure that your attempt passes muster?

The dwindling number of approvals also amplifies the demand for the PR status. Both re-applicants and new applicants now face an even more daunting prospect of setting themselves apart from the crowd.

Compounding the pressure further is the taxing process of readying for an application. On top of a tediously extensive list of paperwork, applicants need to steer away from costly errors that may affect your chances.

As you prepare to fill up your Singapore PR online application form, you should have already completed an important task: compiling all the necessary documents. Consider consulting a professional before you begin the entire process. An extremely tiring and tedious task to handle, a professional will help to streamline this step so that you can maximise your time.

Let us list out the most basic but highly critical paperwork for an application.

1. Educational Certificates Copies for Your PR Online Application

ICA officials take into consideration your professional skills, whether they are specific to key industries or a promising niche industry, and if your educational certificates are from reputable institutes. However, not all applicants need to submit all of their tertiary level certificates and transcripts. Provide them only if you are the/a:

• Spouse of current SPR or SC
• Children of current SPR or SC
• Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders under the PTS scheme
• International Student
• Foreign Investors under the Global Investor Programme (GIP) scheme

Where applicable, PR applicants are required to upload copies of their professional licenses, membership certificates or vocational trade certificates. Should you be unsure which certificates and transcripts are essential for your application, approach a professional for advice.

2. Digital Photographs Adhering to PR Online Application Guidelines

A passport-sized photograph with a white background that follows a separate set of guidelines from the rest of your paperwork is required. If your photograph was not digitally shot, ensure that its finish is matt or semi-matt. Any distracting shine or shadow when the photograph is scanned and uploaded is not acceptable.

3. Cover Letter to Supplement Your PR Online Application

Submitting your application together with a cover letter is a bonus, and having it drafted by Paul Immigrations’ specialised in-house writers is indeed a double bonus. One needs to be highly skilful to craft a letter that highlights not only your strengths and best qualities, but provide insights into your life so that officials will want to pick out your application from the many they come across.

4. Valid Travel Documents & Immigration Passes for Your PR Online Application

All applicants and sponsors must provide their valid travel documents, including the current passport, and valid immigration passes. These are valid immigration passes in Singapore:

• EP
• S Pass
• EntrePass
• Personalised EP
• Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP)
• Short-Term Visit Pass (STVP)
• Dependant’s Pass
• Student’s Pass

Ensure that these are scanned and uploaded, with your personal particulars displayed clearly. Missing out the required paperwork or submitting irrelevant ones will not yield any success so our advice is to hear out from the experts on the needful.

5. Identification Documents for Your PR Online Application

For identification purposes and to build a profile of your family, it is mandatory to provide the following:

• Identity card (if applicable)
• Deed poll/Change of name certificate (if applicable)
• Birth certificate or;
• Family census or;
• Family register

Keeping a record of which identification paperwork is needed is crucial because they can take a considerable amount of your time to collate. Hence, have a professional guide you with the steps and advise you on how to go about getting the necessary information.

6. Current Employment Documentation for Your Online Application

If you are gainfully employed and applying as a sponsor or under the PTS scheme, you are to provide paperwork that state your current employment status. Include the following:

• Testimonials that you may have received from previous employers
• Your past six months’ payslips
• Consent forms from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)/ IRAS contribution statements
• Your employer’s official letter with current position held, date of employment and detailed breakdown of payslip (dated within a month of the application)

The breakdown of your payslip has to state your basic salary, overtime and allowances.

There are a couple of exceptions here. Firstly, if you are self-employed, provide your Valid Business Registration Certificate, including the names of your partners as well as occupational license. However, if you are an international student who is applying for SPR, work-related information is not required from you, even if you are currently employed.

So much is required of a PR applicant that not knowing what to prepare beforehand may cause you to panic along the way. An expert who has experience leading many past applicants to successfully attaining the SPR status can help ease this process for you.