Timeline for Marrying my Foreign Spouse and applying for her LTVP 2021/2022

[Spartan117]

Hi Guys,

I benefited from the information posted on this forum when I married my foreign spouse and applied for her LTVP. So I decided to share my journey/experience, which might help others in a similar situation.

Myself
Male, Singaporean, 30, South Asian ["Other" race], was making 4.8K at the time of getting married, Graduated from local uni, and working in the education sector.

Spouse
Female, 28, South Asian ["Other" race], Overseas graduate working in Tech.

Timeline

• Applied for Pre-marriage long-term visit pass eligibility assessment in Late Feb 2021. Received a successful outcome within one week.

• Got married to my spouse overseas in December 2021. Those who plan to get married overseas, do check the requirements of the foreign country. I had to get a notarized affidavit stating that I am unmarried and there is no impediment to me getting married. The total cost was 230 dollars including the apostille fee for the Singapore Academy of law.

• We moved back to Singapore in late December. To apply for the LTVP, we had to get the overseas marriage certificate stamped by the foreign embassy in Singapore. Both my spouse and I had to submit affidavits stating that we were married to each other. The total cost was 50 dollars for the affidavits + the fee charged by the embassy. In hindsight, it would have been cheaper/hassle-free to get the marriage registered in Singapore instead.

• Applied for LTVP on 4th January 22. Received the LTVP IPA on 10th Feb 22. Completed the formalities and received the LTVP card a week later. Received the PLOC from MOM, the day after the issuance of the LTVP card by ICA.

• At the same time submitted this form with all the supporting documents to update our overseas marriage record with the government of Singapore.

The key takeaways from our experience are:

• Apply for the Pre-Marriage LTVP eligibility assessment.

• Register your marriage in Singapore to save the cost/ reduce the amount of paperwork needed.

Cheers.

[ftealim]

Hi @Spartan117,

Thanks for sharing your LTVP journey here!

I am in the midst of a similar situation as you, and applying for a LTVP for my husband who is currently overseas. We have some urgency as we require a valid LTVP to complete a house purchase, so I'd like to understand the timeline a little more!

Our application status is current 'approved In-Principle (pending documents)'- we'll need to submit a medical report along with another declaration form. We don't except any other hiccups once we submit the outstanding documents (fingers crossed).

1) May I know if you had also gone through this step for medical report and declaration form before receiving the 'full' IPA, and if so, how long from the point of submission to obtaining the full IPA?

2) Upon receiving the IPA, how long did it take for you to book an appointment to complete the formalities to receive the LTVP card; was it difficult to secure slots with ICA?

3) Was your wife have to be physically present to collect the card? My husband is currently overseas and it seems like we have to get him to fly in all the way from Europe at a moment's notice if the physical collection is non-negotiable.

Hope you can shed some light on this as it is close to impossible to get through to ICA and the uncertainty in timeline is very unsettling!

Thanks!

[MOCHS]

1. It varies for each application. How long is a piece of string? We have seen LTVP taking months to be approved this year ‘cos it’s taking a long time to proceed to the next step.

2. Usually earliest appointment is one month later but can try your luck by walking in for an appointment by queuing up before ICA opens. If you walk-in much later part in the day, there is a high chance you’re turned away.

3. It is listed on the terms & conditions that both sponsor & foreigner spouse have to be present. ICA has to verify the spouse is who they are by checking their face against the passport photo. ICA will also record the spouse’s thumbprint & iris image. Everything must be done in person ‘cos sham/scam marriages have made ICA very cautious.

[powerrangers]

Just curious, did ICA requested you to get your overseas marriage certificate stamped by the foreign embassy or you did that on your own before applying? Thanks