This is a “cut” I delivered during the Committee of Supply debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ budget on 1 March 2021.
Around one in three marriages in Singapore is between a Singaporean and a non-Singaporean. Currently foreigners married to Singaporeans can apply for a Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or LTVP+. LTVP+ provides access to additional benefits like subsidised healthcare and permission to work. However, LTVP+ is not the same as permanent residency (PR) in terms of benefits.
PR is much more difficult to obtain. Of the many Singaporeans I meet at my Meet-the-People Sessions who are appealing for their foreign spouses’ PR applications, the overwhelming majority of them are from lower income groups, with spouses from countries like China, Vietnam or Indonesia.
Are economic considerations and educational qualifications given more weight than family ties in determining PR application outcomes? If so, this would disadvantage the low-income.
May I suggest that for PR applicants who have a Singaporean spouse, child or parent, family ties should be the primary consideration for approval of their PR. Their close kinship with Singaporeans makes them part of the Singapore Core and we as a society should try to integrate them into our fold.
