Introduction

Singapore is a small country but is still a preferred study abroad destination for international students. Singapore has managed to engrave its mark on the world with some top-notch universities providing potential job opportunities for students. This city-state is known for its world-class educational institutions and is known as an extremely safe city for students to study and work. Singapore is renowned for having some of the cleanest streets in the world and has strict laws on littering, spitting on the streets, vandalism and public urination that can result in heavy fines and/or a punishment. Therefore, Singapore is an excellent country to begin your higher education journey.

There are several universities in Singapore which offer courses in numerous fields to international students. The country is also home to several well-known universities, such as the National University of Singapore, The Nanyang Technical University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) etc.

Despite the fact that the country provides an excellent platform for international students to thrive and survive, the overall cost of living in Singapore is higher as compared to most of the Asian countries.

This article aims to give its readers a fair understanding of the various funding sources that can be utilised by the students in order to study in Singapore. 

Different sources to fund your study in Singapore

There are three types of sources through which students can fund their study in Singapore.

• Self-Funding - This option is selected by the students who prefer this as an only alternative to avoid future debt. Students seeking financial assistance from their family or friends or relatives or are arranging funds from an external party. This is considered as self-funding.
• Scholarships - In the sea of uncertainty, a small help has a huge impact on a student's dreams. Same with the scholarships, as it partially helps students to reduce the baggage of huge debt off their shoulders. Students can apply for multiple scholarship programs, but kindly check the full details before applying, if the scholarship is fully-funded, partially funded or if they just help fund your tuition fees.
• Education Loans - Students are now more career-oriented than ever for which they seek quality education. And to fund education in a top-notch university, a student will require to liquidate all their valuable assets. To avoid this situation, students seek an education loan to finance their education.

As students are required to prove eligibility to avail a scholarship, did it ever occur to you what if a student is not eligible? Then what? Do they self-finance or do they borrow an education loan? There are many students who cannot afford an abroad education program without a scholarship. In such a case where they are not accepted, education loans are the next viable option for such students. If you are looking for an education loan, connect with our team at WeMakeScholars as they will be able to help you out. 

Types of Education Loan to Study in Singapore

An education loan is one of the most prominent sources of funding your higher education in Singapore for Indian students. Singapore student loan are divided into two sub categories. This category is based on the requirement of collateral security.

There are two types of education loan to study in Singapore: 

• Secured education loans: Secured education loans basically involve an asset to be pledged in order to avail an education loan to study in Singapore. The borrower pledges a collateral with the lender to obtain the loan. Majorly acceptable collaterals are house, land with defined boundaries, fixed deposits, Government bonds etc. These loans are provided by prominent public banks in India like SBI, BOB, Canara etc.
• Unsecured education loans: On the other hand, unsecured education loans to study in Singapore do not involve any collateral engagement which means students are not required to pledge any collateral in order to avail an education loan. In fact, students are granted loans on the basis of a student’s academic profile and their co-applicant’s financial profile. Financial institutions providing unsecured loans are very particular about various criteria as they are lending loans keeping in mind the student’s earning potential in future. In India, unsecured study loan Singapore are provided by private banks. 

Since unsecured education loans do not rely on pledging of collateral security, the lenders pay close attention to factors such as global ranking of the universities in Singapore, the overall financial capability of their co-applicants to repay their education loan, etc. When students approach banks directly for an unsecured loan to fund their education to study in Singapore, most lenders do not lend loans easily as it is not present on their list of eligible countries for an abroad education loan without collateral. But students processing through WeMakeScholars for Singapore student loan did not face this problem. In order to be eligible to get an unsecured education loan, students have to fulfil certain requirements;

• Students must acquire an excellent academic profile which includes the clause of having no backlogs.
• Students must have received a letter of confirmation from a well-ranked institution amongst the numerous prestigious universities in Singapore
• Students co-applicants need to meet all the requirements set by the respective NBFCs/Private banks

These are a few basic requirements for a Singapore student loan without collateral. Unless and until all three of the above criteria are not met, it is not possible to get an education loan.

As a lot of students struggle to fund their education with unsecured education loans to study in Singapore, most students opt for secured education loans through Government/Public banks.

Here’s an overview of Secured Education Loans To study in Singapore.

Secured Education Loans To study in Singapore

As secured education loans are offered on the basis of collateral security, a huge chunk of students tend to avail collateral based loans to fund their education abroad. The prime reason behind this is that these loans are granted by Government banks such as SBI, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Canara, etc.

The best part of processing through a Government-funded financial institution is the trustworthiness they offer. The  trustworthiness of secured education loans outweighs those of unsecured education loans. In order to be eligible to borrow a collateral based loan, students must acquire sufficient collateral security. Most students who seek an education loan to study in Singapore often tend to approach government banks like the SBI and Bank of Baroda as these institutions are governed directly by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and also offer some of the most competitive interest rates on their education loan schemes for overseas studies.

Some of the salient features of Government bank education loans are:

• Lower interest rates: As of August 2022, the education loan interest rates offered by prominent government lenders vary between 7.65% to 9%. These figures may change with the change in the market conditions. Therefore, students are advised to connect with our team at WeMakeScholars to know the exact values.
• Payment-free moratorium period: Students are not obliged to pay even a single penny during their moratorium period in Government banks as they offer payment free moratorium period to the students.
• Government banks offer a repayment tenure of 15 year excluding moratorium period.
• The processing fee charged by Government bank does not exceed INR  10,000 + GST.
• Female candidates are eligible for an automatic deduction of 0.5% in their interest rates for almost all the government banks.
• Students coming from economically backward sections are eligible to apply for an education loan interest subsidy under various government schemes. They are also eligible to apply for an income tax exemption under Section 80 E of the Income Tax Act.

In order to know about the exact particulars of the education loan scheme which best suits your profile, do get in touch with the financial team of WeMakeScholars. WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education Finance and all the support and services offered by us are completely free of cost.

Visa to Study in Singapore

A student visa is the most crucial part of the study abroad process. The requirements placed by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Singapore Government for the candidates will be discussed here. 

Procedure: 

• Firstly, students have to apply online using the E-Service. 
• You are advised to apply for an entry visa within 30 days prior to arrival in Singapore.

Note: Students are not required or expected to be in Singapore while their application is being processed. They cannot extend their stay while processing is underway. If the student’s application is approved, then they are allowed to enter Singapore to complete the formalities required to issue their visa. 

Documents required for students who have enrolled in Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in Singapore: 

• The acknowledgement letter from the School/University that the student’s plan to attend.
• Travel biodata page and birth certificate
• Student’s personal information like the countries student have previously resided in, their educational qualification and profile, employment history and financial background
• Student’s parents, spouse, or siblings details (if applicable)
• Residential and other contract information in Singapore
• Student’s recent passport-sized color photograph taken within the last three months

Students have to strictly abide by all the photo guidelines mentioned by the ICA for which they can refer to the official website of the ICA or click on this for more information. 

Other documents required for an Entry visa in Singapore are: 

• Form 14A - Duly completed and signed by the applicant as the information on the visa will be dependent on the information declared in this form by the student.
• Form V39A - Duly completed and signed by the local contact (only if applicable)
• Applicant’s recent (not earlier than 3 months) passport-sized colored photograph is required
• A photocopy of the applicant's passport bio-data page is required (valid for at least 6 months)

If there are any requirements by the ICA, they will update it on their official website. Kindly keep a tab on the official website for the latest updates.

Students willing to study in Singapore mostly look for a study loan to fund their education but there are certain requirements demanded by the banks in order to be eligible for one. So, to know the requirements and other eligibility, get in touch with our team at WeMakeScholars to get a study loan Singapore. 

Fees:

A S$30 non-refundable processing fee is payable online using a Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card or AMEX card or Internet Direct Debit or through PayNow. 

Processing time:

Your application will be processed within five business days (excluding the day of submission). Some applications may take longer to process but it will be considered on its own merits. 

These are a few requirements as per the ICA. If you are looking for more details, kindly visit the official website of ICA for more information. And if you have any confusion regarding your education loan to study in Singapore, get in touch with our team at WemakeScholars as our financial team will assist you with the entire education loan process.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education Finance. We are associated with 10+ public /Pvt Banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, New Zealand, France among others.