SINGAPORE: An American leadership coach who has lived in Singapore for the past dozen years said that she regrets not applying for permanent residency when they first arrived, as it had been much simpler back then.
They were busy building their lives and business, so they did not prioritize applying for PR. And when they finally decided to do so four years later, the process had become much more difficult, Ms Brenda Bence told YouTuber Max Cherno.
Since then, they’ve applied three times without success but will keep on trying and keep a positive outlook.
“We have not received the PR yet… would we like it? Yes. Do we trust the government in their decision? Yeah.
If we’re not the right people then we’ll respect that but we’ll be here as long as we can and make a contribution to society.”
Ms Bence appreciates many things about living in Singapore, where she and her family moved from Bangkok.
She says it’s the place where they’ve lived the longest, and even simple things such as workmen showing up on time in Singapore were a plus.
“For the first time in years, we’re like, ‘we could get used to this.’”
In Singapore, she added, “people actually do what they say they’re going to do and it’s well done, so that was a really pleasant surprise.”
Ms Bence noted that she truly appreciates how Singapore manages diversity, saying it’s “not unusual to be dealing with many different nationalities every single day”.
As someone who’s lived overseas for so long, for her, “there’s nothing more joyful than that diversity. And to celebrate the diversity with various public holidays.”
She added, “I think learning how to blend the various nationalities, belief systems, the various, like Singapore has, is really exciting. I like that.”
Ms Bence’s interview has got nearly 50,000 views since it was aired on Sept 10 (Sunday). /TISG