VISA application for same-sex spouse

[chace082]

Hi all, i have seem some similar threads but not managed to find any solid answers. My EP has been recently approved and I am in a battle with the immigration agent hired by my company to get them to apply for LTVP or even DP for my husband. Their refuse to do so on the argument that the online submission form does not allow them to enter the same gender for the applicant, but i understood from online that this can be bypassed by submitting a mannual application instead? I am hoping to know if there are any successful cases so i can continue to push them to do so. For context, we are legally married in the UK. My employer is a big bank and stated they are happy to sponsor. any advise/gudiance will be greatly appreciated.

[malcontent]

We have seen similar Q’s on this forum. I get the feeling that it can be done, maybe through the back door. Nobody seems willing share whether or how they were able to make it work. It’s possible they want to keep it hush-hush, as broadcasting success could make it harder for future applicants.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If memory serves me right, same sex marriages are only viewed if the union was a legally registered marriage in the country of origin. But how many of them were actually approved is another story. Don't have any data for that but I would guess it is very small. It's even difficult to get common law marriages approved here and then it has a lot of hoops that have to be cleared IF they are lucky. I don't have a link for this information as it is anecdotal at best. Ministry of Home Affairs could possibly address it.

[Strong Eagle]

I judge that you are going to have a very difficult time obtaining any kind of residency document for your spouse. It was only in 2023 that the gahmen decriminalized homosexuality with the repeal of 377A of the penal code. But, the constitution was amended at the same time to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. So, local gays still can't get married and it's thoroughly unlikely that a gay someone on EP is going to be granted married status when local gay marriage is prohibited. Singapore remains a conservative country.

I joined this board in 2004, and in all that time I recall exactly one alleged gay marriage couple getting a DP while on EP, and I'm not sure that actually happened. I recall a bunch that were not successful. First, any DP for a spouse requires a marriage certificate, and gay or hetero common law, you aren't getting that DP without a certificate. Now maybe when homosexuality was illegal, the ICA slipped a few under the fence since marriage wasn't specifically defined as between a man and a woman, and so the ICA honored the marriage certificate, but now that it is defined, it will be an uphill battle to get your same sex marriage recognized, probably requiring court action, although I doubt you would have standing as a foreigner.

[malcontent]

I would caution against doing anything noisy, including trying to get a court action. Singapore is unlikely to bend over due to pressure or noise, in fact, you can end up with just the opposite effect.

Your employer should be working those back channels and speaking discretely to their MOM contacts to get advice on how to proceed. They need to look for some kind of rear entry that can satisfy everyone, and the less who know, the better.

For example if the online form only accepts the opposite sex, maybe try leaving it blank, or if that doesn’t work, select female and explain somewhere in a free text box that the wrong sex was indicated due to a technical issue — the correct sex is male. As long as this is stated clearly and openly on the form, ticking female should not be deemed false information. Again, lean on your employer, they need to take care of you.