I am a Singaporean.... Really!

It's not easy getting a work permit here.... There are tonnes of documents to submit and many other forms to fill in, and they are all in the Vietnamese language! The poor office staff had to translate all my certificates and CV for me and I had to explain to her slowly what each meant. The authorities even required that I submit proof that I am a Singaporean.... Hmm.... Isn't the passport enough proof of who I am??? Fortunately I have the IC as evidence of my citizenship. Not so lucky for Leonora..... In the Philippines, they do not have ICs and she had to get a special seal from her country to prove that she is a true Philippino......

Another document that they required was a certificate to say that I have no previous criminal records. This would not be a problem if I were in Singapore. But they told me to submit it only when I came over! In the end, I had to go down to the Singapore consulate (there's no Singapore embassy in HCMC) and get my fingerprint impressions done. Then I had to courier the documents, photos and fingerprint impressions back to Singapore so that my parents can get it done for me. If I left it to the consulate to do it, the whole process would take about 6 weeks. But when I sent it home, it took only 2 weeks. So much for efficiency! Anyway, after all the ding-dong here and there, everything is finally settled. I should be getting my work permit soon. But one of the staff told me that it's valid for only 6 months. Does that mean I'll have to go through this whole process again?!?!?! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!