Question:
Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether foreign spouses of Singapore citizens and who have at least one Singapore citizen child together can be granted permanent residence automatically after a specified period of time so that the Singaporean family can be complete and stable.
Answer:
1. Permanent Residence (PR) is not automatically granted to foreigners who are married to Singaporean Citizens (SCs). Each PR application is evaluated holistically on a range of criteria such as the financial ability of the SC spouse to support the foreign spouse. The fact that there are SC children from the marriage would be a plus factor.
2. Foreign spouses who do not qualify for PR yet may be granted a Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or Long Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) for them to remain in Singapore with their families. Those who are granted LTVP and LTVP+ are allowed to seek employment to help support their families.
3. In 2015, ICA implemented the Pre-Marriage LTVP Assessment (PMLA). The PMLA provides greater clarity, prior to marriage, on whether the foreign spouse can qualify for long term stay in Singapore. It helps prospective Singaporean-foreigner couples better plan for the future. Prospective Singaporean-foreigner couples are strongly encouraged to undergo the PMLA before marriage.
