# Unpaid work in Singapore - need a visa???



## StineMaria

Dear all,

I hope that somebody out there can help me in this visa matter... Talked to Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Danish Embassy without luck :-(

I am currently living in Singapore studying at NTU and holding a Students Pass. This will expire 14. december 2012 as I am only taking one semester abroad as part of my BSc from Copenhagen Business School.

From Jan-Apr. 2013 (3 months) I need to do an UNPAID internship as part of my BSc as well. I really want to stay here in Singapore and do it (my boyfriend is here on an EP).

I got an internship with a private company out here, but they say that I need to fix the visa myself (!?).
My options are:
1) To apply for Training EP - but is Copenhagen Business School going to be an "acceptable institution"? (ref MOMs homepage)
2) To apply for Training WP - but what are the requirements for my "specific skills"? (ref MOMs homepage)
3) To get a LTVP through my boyfriend, but can I work for free on this visa??
4) To just get a tourist visa - but illegal to work on, right?

Hope that someone out there has the insider information I need and cannot obtain through MOM themselves!

THANK YOU in advance!


----------



## sgporc

Hi,

Let me provide my opinions on your listed options...

4) yes, it is illegal to work on tourist visa, plus it's not the proper burden that you should be putting on your internship employer. 

3) LTVP - MOM only recognizes blood ties and legal relationships (marriages, adoptions etc.), so I don't think your boyfriend would be able to get you a LTVP.

2) WP is mostly for lower-skilled or trade vocations. As a undergraduate you should go for the Training EP.

1) I think you should try for this Training EP. First, I would like to ask if you had tried to approach Contact Singapore (Contact Singapore - Launch a Bright Future in Singapore!). It's a joint MOM/EDB government agency and will probably be more talent-friendly in answering your queries than probably your front-desk MOM officer handling all sorts of cases. They might be able to advise you better. In addition, I would suggest that you make your application as strong as possible. Write a proper cover letter explaining your reasons wanting to intern here (proper work related reasons ok? , your proposed internship job scope, your qualifications (I see that CBS is ranked by ft.com in 2011 as 40th in europe, even higher than Cambridge's Judge Business School; http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/european-business-school-rankings-2011; exploit this fact!). If your internship company is a big name company, even better...

Finally, I would like to suggest yet another option. How about extending your study abroad program at NTU for another semester, and register for their (NTU) internship modules (if there is such a thing). In this case you'll still be an exchange student at NTU (with your extended student visa) and you are allowed to work as an intern as part of your course module fulfillments. but of course you would also need to check with your danish school that they accept the ntu internship module etc. Do the necessary checks.

Hope this helps...


----------



## simonsays

sgporc is right - yes, it may sound odd, but even unpaid work is not allowed, simply because one too many unpaid worker turned out to be really working with payment in other ways 

You can opt for Training visa .. max 6 months .. 

BTW, NTU arranges Research Assistant Jobs, did you try that option ?


----------



## StineMaria

I just lost my loooong reply due to a site error..
Here I go again, but in short:

THANKS for your help, highly appreciated! 

I can get LTVP, just need to be "common-law" spouse of the EP holder. This means that we should be able to document shared bank accounts, common address for a number of years etc. The Danish Embassy will also write a letter to kind of endorse our relationship. But now it has been sorted out that I cannot work on this pass, even unpaid, so thats not an option.

Internship through NTU is not an option either (for me, due to strict rules from CBS), but its a good idea.

I will go for the TEP and thanks so much Sgporc for suggesting the cover letter, brilliant idea.

Thank you!


----------

