Persons who receive negative results under pre-marriage long-term visit pass assessment

Question:

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of persons who have received a negative assessment under the Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass Assessment since its implementation; and (b) whether there is any recourse available for persons who have received a negative assessment but nevertheless choose to proceed with the marriage.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. Since the Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) Assessment (PMLA) was implemented in 2015, about 4,300 applications were processed by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) annually, of which approximately 950 applications received a negative assessment.

2. While couples may marry even with a negative PMLA assessment, they are unlikely to be successful in their LTVP application unless there is a material change in their circumstances.