It's definitely no secret that Singapore has become my primary home and that I plan to stay here (or rather, as I usually say: I don't plan to leave). I am currently "only" on an Employment Pass here, which has the small uncertainty that if I get retrenched, I usually would have to leave Singapore within a few weeks unless I find other employment or get some long-term pass. Thus, end of July, I applied for Permanent Residence (PR) here in Singapore.

Being a PR has got several benefits:

• You are allowed to stay in Singapore even if you're unemployed (though PR gets granted for 5 years only at the beginning, and would not be renewed if you don't work most of the time)
• Switching jobs becomes easier, as the new company does not have to apply for a new work permit
• You contribute to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), Singapore's social security savings plan. Both you and the employer contribute a certain percentage of your salary, rates can be found on that website.
• For many things (e.g. health insurance, credit cards), you are (nearly) on the same level as a citizen. E.g., some credit cards require a minimum income of $60,000 for foreigners, but only $30,000 for citizens and PRs
• You are allowed to buy a HDB flat

One "drawback", that should be mentioned, is that if you are a PR and you have sons who are also PRs, they have to do the National Service (NS) here in Singapore. Though in my opinion this is not a real drawback, rather one way to contribute to Singapore's development.

Sometime in June, I registered an appointment to submit my PR application (this should be done around 2-3 months before, though it's also possible with some luck to get an appointment within a few weeks). The actual submission date was the 25th of July, when I went to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). I was warned before that it could take a while, but I was lucky and only spend around 20 mins inside the building.

For the application, a form has to be filled out (can be found on the ICA website), and several other documents have to be presented in their original and handed in as copied versions (e.g. birth certificated, passport, employment pass, degree certificate, tax assessment, payslips).

The average processing time is around 3 months, but depending on the case it can also take longer. For me, it was shorter, after 2 months I received my letter from ICA. Sadly, I was rejected.

The reason? I have no idea, but there are some speculations what could've played a factor:

• due to the crisis, a lot more people than usual applied for PR as they're afraid that they'll get retrenched
• the goverment has decided to raise the bar and accept less applications
• I haven't been here long enough in a continuous stay. Right now, I've been here for a bit more than 2 years, but the longer you are here, the more likely it is that you'll get accepted
• I don't have a high enough "financial stability", as I am a relatively fresh graduate and not working for too long

In the end, it's not really something that I have to see as a setback. Getting PR would've been a great thing, but not getting it doesn't mean that I'm worse off than before. I will probably re-apply in a few months time, depending on my (probably) new situation (maybe new job, different salary, memberships in local organisations, etc.).