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,

[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...!

[ecureilx]

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.

[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.

[ecureilx]

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 ?

[Singapore Saint]

Originally Posted by ecureilx

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?

[Traders2012]

Originally Posted by Singapore Saint

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.

[nexthome]

Originally Posted by Singapore Saint

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

[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.

[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.