LAST year Ko Tun Tun, 25, earned a bachelor of electronics degree (electrical power) from Mandalay Technology Institute and joined a private company.

He earned K60,000 a month at his new job but resigned when he learned that classmates from the institute were making S$1000 a month working in Singapore.

Ko Tun Tun travelled to Yangon and consulted several overseas job agencies, which asked fees ranging from S$2400 to more than S$4000 and also him to show his original passport, CV, recommendation letter and medical check-up certificate.

He then had to sit for interviews with agents from Singapore cooperating with local job agencies, knowing that once a job was found, it could take another month or two to process paperwork before he would actually go to Singapore and start work.

“Some agencies ask for an interview fee of K20,000 to K50,000. In that case you can go to interviews at other agencies as well,” said Ko Tun Tun.

Meanwhile, medical check-up certificates cost K10,000 to K50,000 and are valid for only three months. If a job is not found within that time, a fee must be paid to get another certificate.

“Job agencies send you to a laboratory to have tests run on the blood, urine and heart for problems like hepatitis B, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Ko Tun Tun.

He said some daring job searchers forego job agencies altogether and head straight to Singapore on a visitor’s visa in the hope of finding a job before the visa expires and they must return to Myanmar.

“This option can be risky because you have to spend a lot of money on travel with no guarantee that you will find a job,” said Ko Tun Tun.

The Singapore embassy in Yangon can issue 30-day visas to Myanmar nationals who have a letter of invitation from a permanent resident of Singapore. Once in Singapore, it is possible to extend the visa.

Job searchers in Singapore can look for work on their own or through a job agency, although if they get a position with the help of the latter they will be charged one month’s salary as a service fee.

Ko Tun Tun said a friend of his went to Singapore on his own and spent three months looking for job. When his visa ran out and no work had been found, he had to return to Myanmar K1 million poorer.

“If you have friends or relatives in Singapore it is much easier but otherwise you have to pay a lot for food and accommodation while you are there,” said Ko Tun Tun.

“The best way is to plan everything before you go to abroad,” he said.
In the meantime, Ko Tun Tun is staying in Yangon hoping for his own chance to find work in Singapore through a local overseas job agency.

“I don’t know when I will get a job in Singapore. Right now I’m waiting and surviving on money from home but I’ll be happy when I’m working at a good job overseas,” he said.