Relocating and bringing Indonesian GF - advice needed

itsnotnews · Post by **itsnotnews** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 4:30 pm

Hi,

Advice sought as I am figuring out the best way to move to Singapore with my GF. Apologies for the length of the post and the fact it sounds like a soap opera now I've written it down! The situation...

About me...
I am a Caucasian male (42) currently working in HK and living with my Indonesian girlfriend (27). My company is looking to move me to SG later in the year. I have a fairly senior role and will receive a salary of approx $250k p/y. Ideally I would like to settle in SG and shoot for PR and possibly Citizenship in the future.

About my GF...
She worked in SG as a helper around 9/10 years ago but as she was only 17 used a fake birth certificate to obtain a passport that showed her to be the minimum age to obtain a Helper Work Permit.

Some years later she moved to HK as a helper using a new passport obtained with her real birth certificate. After the end of her first contract she signed a new contract with her BF at the time and was officially working for him. When they broke up he cancelled her work permit without telling her. She only found this out at a routine police stop when they rang immigration to verify her status. In order to stay in HK she claimed asylum and has been living with me since - not working.

So now as I look to move to SG I really don't know how to ensure I am able to have her accompany me.

If she comes clean to SG immigration about the passport situation they will clearly be miffed and the fact she has previously been as a Helper. They could possibly bar her from entry and this would possibly prevent us from getting married/having a family.

If I hire her as a helper using her current passport we will possibly have limitations on our ability to get married/have a family.

Ideally I would like to have her stay with me on some sort of long term visitor pass with a view to marrying her in the next couple of years.

Any suggestions (not judgements) as to how I navigate this would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

okonu · Post by **okonu** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 5:38 pm

1) Marry her now

or

2) Do what most Singaporeans with Indonesian girlfriends do. Rent her a place in Batam and become a weekly commuter (i.e. you spend w/ends with her, but live in SG by yourself) Now and again she can come stay with you in SG (Indonesians get ASEAN visa free access for I think 14 days at a time) but if she abuses this, expect refused entry/ pointed questions

How is she going to leave HK - unclaim asylum? Does the Indonesian consulate know that she claimed asylum? Could be awkward if it is in her Indonesian immigration data base! (they will let her back in of course, but might have some sarcastic comments...)

bcheng74 · Post by **bcheng74** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 5:46 pm

Applied to work in SG through a fake birth certificate???? I am not sure if she can come again even as a tourist if ICA finds this out.

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bgd · Post by **bgd** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 5:48 pm

That's quite some story.

If you do succeed, be aware that PRs (I think) and SCs (I know) have to get permission to marry anyone who has worked in Sg on a work permit at any time in the past. Failure to do so can result in her being banned indefinitely from Sg.

itsnotnews · Post by **itsnotnews** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 6:23 pm

Thanks for the constructive comments.

Quite a story but I figured it's better to get all the facts out there as I don't know what's pertinent.

I'm aware that PR & SC can have a hard time marrying someone that's previously had a WP, I can't find any info on EP holders tho. I'm also somewhat concerned about any knock on impact this might have to a PR application.

If I did marry her before we moved I guess this would be moot as SG immi can't dictate what people with no residency do although I guess they could still be unhappy about it.

Has anyone had experience of this particular circumstance?

RE. her using a fake birth certificate, this is apparently not uncommon although that's obviously not a mitigation

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 13 Apr 2017 8:32 pm

There are no restriction on foreigners marrying other foreigners either offshore or onshore (but ROM might be hesitant to issue a marriage certificate here if they know about her previous WP though). However, should you get married offshore there are no real restrictions that I'm aware of unless it's changed in the past year or two. Your understanding is okay, SC's & PR's have to get permission to marry a WP holder or even a long since gone former WP holder, even if she's been gone 20 years.

The only other problem is that if it's a new offshore marriage and they find out she was formerly a WP holder, you may well find out the path to PR or SC may hit a snag that they will never tell you about, but you will have no real problem with an EP and a Dependent pass if legally married, but they could be nasty if you got PR first, went overseas, got married and they find out she was a WP, you might have a very hard time even getting her a LTVP.

Good Luck and yeah, you got the makin's for a good soap!

PNGMK · Post by **PNGMK** » Fri, 14 Apr 2017 9:16 am

Ah jeez. Put her back on the shelf and look for a model with less issues? Sorry to be harsh but in this modern world of complicated immigration love and marriage cannot overcome immigration obstacles.

ecureilx · Post by **ecureilx** » Fri, 14 Apr 2017 10:52 pm

PNGMK wrote:Ah jeez. Put her back on the shelf and look for a model with less issues? Sorry to be harsh but in this modern world of complicated immigration love and marriage cannot overcome immigration obstacles.

Love cannot overcome immigration offences - false declarations

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