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Earlier this year, Ms Gerai Vito decided to give up her position as a nurse at a hospital in Singapore and move to Leeds in Britain, even though the take-home pay would be lower.
It was not a difficult decision, said Ms Vito, 34, who had worked for six years in Singapore. Her salary in Leeds is about the same as in Singapore – about $8,000 a month – but Britain’s tax rate is higher.
Still, there were no regrets.
Ms Vito, who is from the Philippines, said that as a foreign nurse in Singapore, she had already reached a career ceiling. She was a senior staff nurse, and could not expect to be promoted unless she applied to become a permanent resident or citizen, which she found daunting.
“I couldn’t be promoted as a manager or as a clinical educator. That was it for me,” she said.