MM2C Podcast by Ben Alagnam

SEARCH the Related FSW Canada Topics HERE!

16 February 2015

My Longest Resignation Notice in Singapore

I really hate goodbyes!

Few months ago, when I was in Singapore, a meeting was held at the General Manager's office, together with the Director of the company.  Three of us were inside a closed door meeting.  I was clueless of what they'll be discussing with me then.

There were lots of thoughts and that includes finding out that I blog sometimes during my working hours.  But I was wrong.

I also thought that they will fire me because the company was not making money. But, based on the load that I got that year, it couldn't be possible.

What Was Discussed During the Meeting?
The moment of truth came when I was told to take a seat in front of the General Manager, and the Director was sitting 2 meters away from me.

As they opened their mouth to say the first words, my heartbeat was in full capacity, with a 220/110 blood pressure (like a power supply, haha).

To my surprise, they informed me about their plan to help me bring my family (wife and 2 sons) in Singapore and will help me get the Permanent Residence status and added that they want me to stay with them forever.

By the way, just in case you haven't read some of my posts, I was holding a Singapore Employment Pass (EP) that time, but was degraded to SPass later on 2013, as a foreign worker.

The plan was to increase my salary to meet the criteria for the PR status and I can now sponsor my family to stay in Singapore as dependents.  The salary will also cover the cost of renting a house in a HDB residential building.

After they've finished laying their cards on the table, I started to explain my plan for my family.

What Was My Plan?
They were looking at me with excitement, while waiting for my response.  Although the offer is too great to resist, my facial expression hasn't change a bit.  I started to open my mouth and this is what I told them...
"Thank you for the trust that you've given me for the past years of my stay here in XXXXX Pte. Ltd.. Your plans are overwhelming.
But, I regret to inform you that I am planning to immigrate to Canada..."
I can see the change of mood on their faces.  They were so surprised to hear those words from me.  I have not mentioned anything about Canada since the start of my employment with them.
 "...You see, I was working here in Singapore and I tried to apply for my Permanent Residence here, but with no luck, the government rejected my application and even degraded my Work Pass from EPass to SPass.  So, what's next?
 I love working here, you can see that I stayed and sacrificed for X years leaving my wife and kids in Philippines. 
It came to a point that I decided to be with them for the rest of my life..."
They nodded, while I was explaining to them my part, a gesture that they'd fully understood my situation.  I don't know what they felt during that time but I assume that they are crying deep inside.

So, I continued...
"...I really appreciate your plans for me,  you are like my second family and you have treated me well, like a brother, but I have to follow my heart.  I don't want to have a life, like this, forever. 
Without a stable status in this country, not knowing when the government will change their rules for foreign workers, is not for a lifetime goal for me.   
We're not getting any younger here.
In addition to that, it was my longtime dream to go to Canada and have a new life there together with my family.  I started sending my application, few years back, trying my luck.
Now, I'm in the process of getting our Medical Examination done and in a few weeks or months, I'll be able to get my Immigration Visa." 
I can see their worried faces while listening to my drama. They were still speechless...
"I'm not sure if  Canada will give us an Immigraton Visa.  If it's fine with you, your plan of having me get a Singapore PR will be my second option.  That means, if my application with Canada will fail, we'll go on with your plan.
But, the 3rd option is to go back to Philippines if your plan also fails.  I will not stay here in Singapore as a foreign worker until the end of the year.  "
They looked at each other with their signs of agreement.
"It would be unfair for you if I won't lay out my plans.  This is the good opportunity for me to inform you that this is my last year of working with you. I don't want to leave your company without a fully trained replacement.
Please find a new guy so I can train him as soon as I can.
I will stay here until he's competent to do the job and until the year ends..." 
At that moment, I had just given them the longest resignation notice in my life...

Working with them for the past few years was rewarding.  I gained a lot of knowledge with regards to my field of expertise and those were the things that I'm grateful to have them as my employer.

Is this information useful? Please tick the Like button below.
__________________________________
If you have any questions regarding this post or requests, you can leave a comment below or email me at benalagnam@yahoo.com.

Enter your email address:


Delivered by BenAlagnam's FeedBurner

HAVE MORE ON THIS BLOG
 EMAIL    RESOURCES      ASK ME    ARCHIVE    SUGGEST

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello po.
I submitted my FSW application via an agent last December and I have received a PER email this month. By God's grace, my husband and I will be moving to Canada from SG din po. Sobrang nakaka-relate po ako sa inyo sa PR application sa SG and being able to stay in a country na stable ang status. Hopefully po, we will receive the request for medical and police clearance po. Madami na po talagang mag apply sa ibang countries na kaibigan ko who are also in SG. Salamat po for the inspiration. God bless po.

Ben Alagnam said...

I'm glad to hear that good news from you. Hoping that you'll receive the MR and PC request soon. Let me know if you'll be in Toronto so we could meet. Keep in touch.

Unknown said...

Dear Ben,

Good day. Really thanks for all of your information and very helpful. I have some questions regarding about Canada as per below.

1) When landing at Port of Entry, do we need to fill the PR form IMM 5444E? if yes, I want to fill in advance, please let me know.

2) As my COPR will be expire on 23-Oct-2015, after we enter into Canada, did CIC give you the Re-Entry Permit (In Singapore, after I received Singapore PR, they gave me Re-Entry permit striaght away which is valid for 5 years) or some documents to re-enter again to Canada because our PRs card will only received around 3 month laters?

3) As I am planing to stay only a few days in Canada in order to complete our first landing before Visa Expire (my Visa will expire on 23-Oct-2015). I am planning to land at 28th September 2015 with my wife and my baby, stay for a few days and back to Singapore on 02-Oct-2015. After 3 months later,one of my friend who stay in Vancouver received our PRs card, he will send to me to Singapore by DHL. How do you think? It will work?

4) For driving license, now I have Singapore valid driving license issue date is 2006, IDP and Extract of Driving license Record. I need to take Theory Test and Practical driving test in Canda in order to have Driving license from Canada right? For Theory Test, how many days you need to wait? and For driving test, how many days you need to wait?

5) For SIN, did they give you straight away at the airport when you landing or you need to go to Service Center on next day ?

6) For Medical Insurance Plan, did you do already? As we need to wait for 3 months before approved, how do you buy private insurance for your family?

Thanks in Advance for all of your help.

Best Regards,
Myat (email: myatthusoe80@gmail.com)

Ben Alagnam - MeMovingToCanada