PR for male foreigner through marriage and NS

[juicywatermelon]

Hi, I'm French and plan to marry my Singaporean girlfriend soon. I'm currently still living in France.

I've read through all the info I could find in the internet but can't find the answers to the following questions. If anyone has some idea, it would be great if they can answer them.

After marrying my girlfriend in Singapore, do I have to have a job before applying for PR? I looked at the application form and they ask for the salary earned. Ideally I would like to get married in Singapore, apply for PR while still in France and migrate to Singapore only when it's been approved (reason being I don't want to leave my present job before everything's confirmed).

I've read that first generation PR's are exempted from NS but only if you're EP holders etc. Do marriage PR's have to go for NS?

Thanks!

[Horangi]

Hello/Bonjour,


If you get married with singaporean girl, u 'll receive your PR without any problem and then it 'll be easier to find a job as PR.

I think as you are not yet married u cant apply for PR from France . All the forms should be fill in Singapore !!!

About NS I don't know but I guess that you dont have to do it
(Car ici c'est pas 3 jours mais 2 ans )

Bonne chance dans tes formalités
a+
H.


PS: as-tu visite ce site ? http://app.ica.gov.sg/serv_visitor/index.asp

[dot dot dot]

I tend to disagree with horangi here, it is not easy as such.

I am a PR here now: Married a Singaporean woman in Singapore, then we went back to The Netherlands, my homecountry (she applied and received a permit to stay and live in Holland).

We didnot like it and we then decided to come back to Singapore. Now my wife got herself a job again easily, so she had a Singapore income, when we applied for my PR. I applied for the Singapore PR, whilst being in Holland. You can get the application forms from the Singapore embassy in your country of residence. Although the Singapore authorities will not exactly tell you what the criteria are, it is important that your history shows good credentials, no criminal past, good income history (very subjective that is) and good education (also not defined in detail).

When the authorities here in Singapore decide that you will contribute to the growth of Singapore (income, education AND FUTURE KIDS), your PR will be Approved in Principle. With the AiP PR, you can then come to Singapore and either apply for the "full" PR by having your wife to "sponsor" you (she has to have a more than average income to support both of you), or you get your "full" PR when you manage to find a job. As soon as you have the job, you will get it as well, in case you do not chose for the "sponsoring" option through your wife.

Note: It is by NO means an automatic process, in fact you will be told very careful, when registering for you marriage here in Singapore (ROM), that the marriage as such will give you NO rights to stay and live in Singapore. You will sign for that.

Basically: getting married, have a good education, good income history and produce kids for Singapore, that's all it takes for a PR here

And yes, you will have to do your NS as well, if not older than 35 years of age.

good luck!

Eric

[juicywatermelon]

Thanks for the info horangi and eric. I expected it would be more complicated than what horangi has described.

The requirement for good education shouldn't be a problem for me as I have a master's degree. My present pay is okay, hopefully it'll be enough to convince them.

Eric, it's good to hear from someone who's in the same position as I am. When I arrive in SG with an AiP PR, how long do I have to find a job? Does it expire? Asking my girlfriend to sponsor me may be a problem as her income is so-so. Most probably I'll be doing what you have done - get married in SG, apply for PR in France, back to SG with the AiP PR and try to look for a job there.

Good to hear about the age limit for NS cause I'm 36 years old! Where did you hear about that?

Regards, John

[Horangi]

Thanks for the clarification Eric, cos it seems that my informations were not accurate and also about the NS ..... I'm bellow 35 so I'll wait to apply for PR

Cheers
H.

[dot dot dot]

All this information is stated in the AiP you will have to get.

Here's a detail:

"The in-principal approval is valid for 5 years from the date of issuing. During this period, you are required to either take up full-time employment in Singapore or relocate your family to Singapore, to be granted full permanent residence status".

"Upon production of satisfactory evidence to show that you have taken up full-time employment in SIngapore or have relocated your family to Singapore (e.g. by way of your children studying in Singapore schools) and subject to the result of your medical examination, you will normally be conferred full permanent residence status".

So you get 5 years to either "produce" school going children ot get a full-time job

NS regulations were being told in the interview here, when I went to SIA headquarters for my ID.

Hope this helps, it should work out fine then.

Oh, marrying a (Chinese) Singaporean woman in Singapore can turnout to be quite costly, so start saving money there!

Eric

[juicywatermelon]

that's great. i think i shouldn't have any problems then. 5 years should be enough to secure a job or start a baby factory

how true about saving money for the chinese wedding. a friend of mine married his chinese girlfriend in London where he held a banquet for his family & relatives, then another banquet in SG for his girlfriend's family & relatives... he ended up with huge debts!

[dot dot dot]

It all depends. For us westerners, we are used to have big celebrations at weddings, but it is nothing like a real chinese wedding with all the big tables, hundreds fo guests, food, food and more food.

Then there is your photoshoot for your wedding album, prior to your wedding, the ang pow's for the family etc etc.

It depends on how big you do the wedding, but I advise you to seriously and openly discuss this with your wife to be, as this can truely turn out quite expenisve. The good thing is: you will get a lot of money in return from all the local people here in Singapore, all married couples have gone through the same and knwo it is a costly event

Eric

[Nge]

Hi there,

This is our experience to share. My husband is a filipino and myself, a singaporean. Year 2003 around Feb, he flew here trying to get a job
and get married. As he held a work permit before, we have to get
approval from Ministry of Labour to get married (if we din go thru this
procedure, he will be banned from Singapore!!). After the day of ROM
in Singapore, we go to immgration to apply for PR. About 2 weeks later, immgration wrote to us requesting additional document, a letter from my employer stating my length of service and salary. Another week later, he got the approval letter for his PR.

He is a civil engineer however, no luck for this kind of job in Singapore
due to the bad shape of construction industry. Now, he is under sponsorship of nursing course.

Now, we have a cute daughter of 14 months old.... Hope everything go well & smoothly.

[Nge]

Oops! forgot to mention about NS.

My husband need not have to go thru NS and he is 31 years old.
He is considered as first generation. No need to go thru NS whatever his age.

However, if we have a son and when he reach NS age, he has
to decide if he want to go thru NS. If he does, he can continue
with this PR and even be a Singapore Citizen.

[juicywatermelon]

Hi Nge,

thanks for sharing your experience. I'm happy for you that your husband got his PR relatively easily. 2-3 weeks seem to be quite fast... hopefully mine will be as fast too!

I've never had a SG work permit before, so I won't need any approval from Ministry of Labour. I gather from your post that you sponsored your husband? My girlfriend's pay is not exceptional. I'm not sure if it'll get approved. Anyway, I'll try to get tha AiP PR and then look for a job myself.

Good luck to your husband and thanks!

John

[votentia]

So does this mean that my husband (British citizen) who just got is AIP has to serve NS (he is under 35)? Will he have to serve the full 2.5 years or will he just do the operational annual duty? to tell you the truth, I have never seen an 'ang moh' in the army unless their mother was a PR or singaporean (mixed/eurasian). We applied for PR from the UK. I asked the singapore immigration department but they were unsure themselves.

[goodness gracious me!]

Geez... Votentia, simply put your 'ang moh' husband doesn't have to undergo NS as he's consider first generation. Your repeated posts about this NS obsession matter doesn't seem to cease despite countless posters' answers to your question, and after reading from other peoples' postings. Most of all, 'Nge' has already plainly stated that first generation doesn't have to go through NS judging from her personal experience. From your written background, it's obvious your 'ang moh' husband is first generation so what more do you have to worry about?!!

[votentia]

There is just a lot of inconsistencies out there about MIDEF policies - Eric from Netherlands who went through the same PR application process as my husband said that a foregn husband who applied for PR thorugh his wife (no work permit or emplyment history in Singapore) under the age of 35 had to do NS.

Nge's husband had a Singapore work permit prior to marriage - so he had applied under the Professional and Techical Skills Scheme (PTS) - which means that he was definitely exempt from NS (this is plastered all over the net)! I am no fool! I am just covering my tracks!

My husband has never worked in Singapore in his life so he did not get his PR under the PTS scheme but he went on the 'Family Ties' route - as such he got his PR on the basis of being married to me and not because he was a Singapore work permit/employment pass holder - there is currently no info out on the web or through the ICA that clarifies if he has any NS liability. This is where the difference lies. So don't bad mouth me goodness gracious me!

Has anyone who has applied for PR for their husband who has NEVER BEEN TO OR WORKED IN SINGAPORE in his life? What is your story?

[Nge]

hi votentia,

of course, there are few types of catagories of applying SPR. Definitely, and very sure that my hubby has applied under Spouse/Child of a SC/SPR scheme (Form 4).

My hubby held a work permit from year 1997 to 2001. Then, he went back in year 2001 after the 4-year contract. He is not in Singapore between Jun 2001 to Jan 2003.

When he was back to Singapore in Feb 2003, he was not holding a job. As he was not holding a job in Singapore, he sure not able to apply under PTS (Form 4A). Under PTS, he has to be working in Singapore under P, Q or S work pass holder.

Actually, I din come across that the first generation male SPR has to go thru NS Maybe you can call up and find out. remember to ask the name of the person!!