If you are a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident (PR) and are married to a partner who is a foreigner, it can be a good idea to help him or her obtain a PR too. The benefits are great — you’ll be able to buy affordable housing flats, and employers will be more open to hiring a resident as it saves them the trouble of obtaining foreign work passes.
However, it is not an easy task to achieve PR status for your spouse. This is due to a number of factors, and these may restrict your chances of getting a successful application for him or her. Let’s take a deeper look at some of these issues and how they could affect him or her.
1. Stricter Policies
Since 2012, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been aiming to prevent sham marriages. These sham marriages typically involve two parties — a local citizen and a non-local resident. The non-local resident compensates the other party to marry them, solely to make themselves eligible to apply for permanent residency, thus allowing them to stay in Singapore indefinitely.
This is why PR applications for spouses are under more scrutiny than before. The process becomes even more tedious and the checks become more stringent — all of which are potential issues that he or she can face.
2. There Is No Automatic Approval
Just because you are married to a Singapore Citizen or PR, it is not a guarantee that you will be able to get permanent residency status either. Having a local partner only qualifies you to apply for PR status — your submission will still go through the rigorous checks to see if it meets all the qualifications.
3. Long Waiting Times
The entire process can be rather exhausting and may take quite some time. You’ll need to prepare a long list of documents, and when you send in your paperwork, it will take at least 4 to 6 months before you will know if you were successful. If you missed out on a single detail, your documentation will be rejected. A reapplication may only be done upon the time specified on the letter sent. This means that you will need to wait another 4 to 6 months on top of the wait time for submitting again.
If you need help and want the best chance to get a first-time approval, our team of professionals are here to guide you through the journey and increase your chances of getting your paperwork approved.