# Working remotely in singapore for a US employer



## anushap

Hello,
I am a U.S citizen moving to singapore in a Dependent pass.
I recently found that my current US Employer is interested to have me work remotely from Singapore. However, they are not sure on the work auth, tax implications, medical benefits etc would affect if they pay me in U.S taxes.
Please advise.

1. Can a U.S based company apply for a Letter of Consent from MOM ?
2. Can the salary be payable overseas ?
3. Taxes, while as a U.S citizen, I will be required to pay taxes in U.S. would I need to pay taxes in Singapore if salary is paid in the U.S bank ?
4. I would not need medical benefits from U.S company since that would be taken care by my spouse's company. They should be able to cease that ?

What else would need to be considered ?

Thank you so much,


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## Singapore Saint

I'll drop you a personal message as I was in the same situation with a UK company when my wife's job moved us to Singapore from the UK... However, I'm not entirely sure how legal it is and I don't want to post any suggestions on here that might fall foul of the visa police...!


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## simonsays

the law says, if you are working out of Singapore, you must declare it and pay taxes .. 

And same law says you cannot work while on DP.


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## ptrlee

Of course you have to declare what you are doing and pay the taxes as per the rules. Otherwise you can land in a serious problem. You should talk to your employer regarding this and sort out the matter and find a better way, because your employer knows better what he wants from you or your job.


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## simonsays

ptrlee: did you read the question ? it is not so cut and dried .. 

Explain how it will go for somebody who's company is not based here ? or has no office here ?


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## Singapore Saint

ecureilx said:


> ptrlee: did you read the question ? it is not so cut and dried ..
> 
> Explain how it will go for somebody who's company is not based here ? or has no office here ?


I agree with Ecurelix, its not cut and dried - the OP would not be 'working' in Singapore, just living there on a DP and working from home - he is not employed by any entity in Singapore and is not trading / sourcing business for his company in Singapore and is not being paid in Singapore (I believe that on a DP, OP will not be eligible for their own bank account, so can continue to be paid in the US... OP will still be working in the US, just a few thousand miles away. 

OP's current employers would probably have no interest in setting up a company in Singapore to get a visa, as they are not trading in Singapore, have no interest in sourcing revenue from Singapore, so why would they?


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## Traders2012

Singapore Saint said:


> I agree with Ecurelix, its not cut and dried - the OP would not be 'working' in Singapore, just living there on a DP and working from home - he is not employed by any entity in Singapore and is not trading / sourcing business for his company in Singapore and is not being paid in Singapore (I believe that on a DP, OP will not be eligible for their own bank account, so can continue to be paid in the US... OP will still be working in the US, just a few thousand miles away.
> 
> OP's current employers would probably have no interest in setting up a company in Singapore to get a visa, as they are not trading in Singapore, have no interest in sourcing revenue from Singapore, so why would they?


Hi, I am in exact similar situation as your described. Could you also give me one personal message how you handled it? thanks.


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## nexthome

Singapore Saint said:


> I agree with Ecurelix, its not cut and dried - the OP would not be 'working' in Singapore, just living there on a DP and working from home - he is not employed by any entity in Singapore and is not trading / sourcing business for his company in Singapore and is not being paid in Singapore (I believe that on a DP, OP will not be eligible for their own bank account, so can continue to be paid in the US... OP will still be working in the US, just a few thousand miles away.
> 
> OP's current employers would probably have no interest in setting up a company in Singapore to get a visa, as they are not trading in Singapore, have no interest in sourcing revenue from Singapore, so why would they?


I am also interested in how you handled this situation. My job would be in CH, living in SG with my girlfriend (i should get the DP).
Thanks for a quick reply


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## Singapore Saint

The answer is in the post... stay on a DP, get paid into an account back home and just don't source any business in Singapore. As said above, no idea if this is legal, it's probably a grey area but if you approach MOM, you are likely to get a negative response as I doubt they have the flexibility to recognise that you aren't actually working in Singapore and you are not taking a role away from a Singaporean.


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## nexthome

I was asking PwC Singapore for any solutions.

"Unfortunately, for any work carried out in Singapore, an individual would
require an Employment Pass.

As the case is unique, your boyfriend may wish to write to the MOM for advice."

Asking MOM about a solution for "Remoteworkers", i got the following answer:
"...that there is no suitable work passes for your scenario."

Asking about a "sponsorship", i got the same information as published on MoMs website:
"We wish to inform that if the foreigner?s direct employer is an overseas company and does not have any registered office in Singapore, the applicant should be sponsored by a local company.

The sponsor based in Singapore is required to submit an Employment Pass (EP) application under the Sponsorship scheme on the foreigner's behalf. Sponsorship applications can only be submitted manually over the counters at any SingPost office."

Another - more complicated - way would be a Sole-Proprietorship. The only legal solution.


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## goldenarms

I am in this very situation right now. Wife got offered a new job in Singapore. I resigned at my job but they want me to stay on and work remotely from Singapore. What did you all end up doing in this situation? Is there anyway to make it happen?

Cheers,
Dave


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## Singapore Saint

goldenarms said:


> I am in this very situation right now. Wife got offered a new job in Singapore. I resigned at my job but they want me to stay on and work remotely from Singapore. What did you all end up doing in this situation? Is there anyway to make it happen?


I worked from home and kept quiet.. I wasn't sourcing revenue in Singapore, wasn't promoting the company in Singapore, wasn't getting paid in Singapore, I had no dealings with any companies / clients / suppliers in Singapore, I was just sitting at home, on my laptop, dealing with clients in the UK, so there was no paper trail at all indicating that I was working. All my work was in the UK, I just happened to be sitting at home in Singapore while doing it.

As per the other posts, it's a grey area and I certainly don't want to be seen to be promoting any activities that are illegal, but unfortunately the MOM aren't flexible enough to recognise these situations, so if you speak to them, they will say no, you can't do it. In reality though, it's easy enough to do if you are moving there with your wife as I did.


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## BBCWatcher

Let's stick to the legal options. I can think of a couple:

1. Singapore Permanent Residency.

2. The Singaporean wife could establish a small business (sole proprietorship or partnership most likely) in Singapore and then apply for a DP letter of consent to hire her foreign husband. The husband works full time while the wife manages the firm (signs the company documents, etc.)

3. Another qualified party, perhaps a preexisting party (such as a services company of some kind), could do the same thing. The U.K. company would sign a contract with that company with a clause that they reserve the right to cancel the contract if there's a staffing change. That company would employ the husband (assuming a DP letter of consent is obtained).


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## SwissSing

Hi BBCWatcher,

I'm interested in the 2nd option. My situation is like this
I'm a Singapore citizen and my husband is Swiss/English and we have been married and living in Switzerland for past 8 years. We plan to move back to Singapore soon. I'm not working and my husband is currently working as a freelance translator. His clients are all Swiss companies based in Switzerland. 
- Should I set up a sole proprietorship or Private Limited Company ?
- Which is easier to get ? an Employment pass or DP/LOC so he can work as a freelancer in Singapore legally. 

Thanks for your advice





BBCWatcher said:


> Let's stick to the legal options. I can think of a couple:
> 
> 1. Singapore Permanent Residency.
> 
> 2. The Singaporean wife could establish a small business (sole proprietorship or partnership most likely) in Singapore and then apply for a DP letter of consent to hire her foreign husband. The husband works full time while the wife manages the firm (signs the company documents, etc.)
> 
> 3. Another qualified party, perhaps a preexisting party (such as a services company of some kind), could do the same thing. The U.K. company would sign a contract with that company with a clause that they reserve the right to cancel the contract if there's a staffing change. That company would employ the husband (assuming a DP letter of consent is obtained).


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## BBCWatcher

The major differences between a sole proprietorship and LLC are personal liability (more for the former) and paperwork complexity (more for the latter).

Actually I think I'd ask him to apply for an LTVP+ (Long-Term Visit Pass Plus). Assuming you've been married 3+ years or have a child he'll probably qualify. Then he can apply for an LOC. (LTVP+ holders are now eligible for LOCs.) If for some reason he doesn't get an LTVP+ and only the LTVP he can then try applying for an employment pass under the sponsorship of your company, but he can do it from Singapore since the LTVP gets him in.


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## SwissSing

Hi again,

Thanks for your quick reply.

We have been married for about 8 years but have no children. I was looking the LTVP+ option before but when I look at the application forms, one section requested for the sponsor's ( that's mine) occupation / salary. Since I've been living in Switzerland I have not work or paid taxes in Singapore. So I'm not sure if the chances for my husband to get a LTVP+ is good or not. So I thought I'll also explore the option of setting up a Private Limited Company and apply for an EP for him so he can work as a freelance translator in Singapore.

Appreciate any input from anyone in the forum in similar situation as us
Thanks again 
Pauline





BBCWatcher said:


> The major differences between a sole proprietorship and LLC are personal liability (more for the former) and paperwork complexity (more for the latter).
> 
> Actually I think I'd ask him to apply for an LTVP+ (Long-Term Visit Pass Plus). Assuming you've been married 3+ years or have a child he'll probably qualify. Then he can apply for an LOC. (LTVP+ holders are now eligible for LOCs.) If for some reason he doesn't get an LTVP+ and only the LTVP he can then try applying for an employment pass under the sponsorship of your company, but he can do it from Singapore since the LTVP gets him in.


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## benfree

We are in a similar situation and would like to know what is the legal way to handle the situation - Wife gets EP to work for SG affiliate and paid in SGD as local employee. Husband gets permission to work for US company remotely. Husband is on DP and may have to travel to Asia business sites. 

With DP alone, can a person working for a US company do business travel without facing immigration questions? 

Thanks,
Ben


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## Ana343

To speak as a lawyer: it is not legal to work with a DP. Your US company can not apply for your EP it only can do a Singapore local company. So your US company can consider to open a branch in Singapore and employ you, however tourist visa allows you to visit Singapore for BUSINESS and leisure. Also you can work remotely for your US company is Singapore but not to conduct any business meetings or arrangements in Singapore.

To speak as a human: whatever is not known by immigration is ok. So be careful: printing business cards with Sing address is not really nice thing to do with DP as immigration can do a personal search and such bc can be used against you. And be careful with business meetings and ppl. Reporting illegal worker in Singapore is an easy thing to do.


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## BBCWatcher

Ana343 said:


> To speak as a lawyer: it is not legal to work with a DP.


It is legal with a Letter of Consent from MoM, but that must be requested by a Singapore (not U.S.) employer and isn't guaranteed.

I'm not so sure about online work. It's still work in Singapore and taxable in Singapore. Which wouldn't match up well with DP status. It's obviously work that can be performed in Singapore, hence the government has a concern about it.

DP holders are free to travel independently, though they must have Singapore multi-entry visas to do so.


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