PR applications - Just how long ...

Deefa · Post by **Deefa** » Mon, 19 Mar 2007 7:18 pm

... and is there anything that can be done to expidite this??

As some of you may recall, I made a few posts a while ago about getting back to Singa and that i was applying for a PR (Spouse) Visa as my wife is Singaporean.

We took this path as it gave us the most flexability long term, and applied in mid December 2006.

I have since secured a job (pending PR approval) and am now getting rather frustrated with waiting!!

I may be jumping the gun a bit, but was advised that it should take 3 months to process. Every time i call them i get told "still pending" and nothing else, no way to shake them up or expidite the process at all.

Anyone else here had any experiance of applying for PR

How Long did it take?
Was there anything that could be done to speed the process up? (been 3 months now)
Is there any benefit in getting my prospective employers to talk to them, or will this hinder me as it's not a "work permit" specifically, although they will expect me to work i assume ....

Any advise, past experiances, recomendations (good nes or bad) much appreciated. Just want to get some realistic expectations rather than badgering them every other day.

Made more frustrating because i am still in the UK.

Deefa · Post by **Deefa** » Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:32 pm

cheers for that ... will give them a prod later in the week!! ... Perhaps i am just been too eager !!!

God, i have so had enough of the UK ... cold, snow now, grey, and every morning there seems to be some new way to screw taxes out of me to pay off natioinal debt!!

Roll on the sunshine and the good times......

(and probably working 36 hour days, but hey hum ....)

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:05 pm

Deefa wrote:cheers for that ... will give them a prod later in the week!! ... Perhaps i am just been too eager !!!

God, i have so had enough of the UK ... cold, snow now, grey, and every morning there seems to be some new way to screw taxes out of me to pay off natioinal debt!!

Roll on the sunshine and the good times......

(and probably working 36 hour days, but hey hum ....)

It may also have a lot to do with the race as well. Immigration tends to use the current racial guidelines to determine the quantum of individuals who make up the census figures (citizens & PR's (potential citizens)). At the year end it becomes more critical as the minorities tend to get used up first therefore leaving a bottleneck until the new years dawns with new quotas.

This is not published facts but anecdotal evidence only. However, I have had the same info given to me from an informed source.

Deefa · Post by **Deefa** » Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:56 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:It may also have a lot to do with the race as well. Immigration tends to use the current racial guidelines to determine the quantum of individuals who make up the census figures (citizens & PR's (potential citizens)). At the year end it becomes more critical as the minorities tend to get used up first therefore leaving a bottleneck until the new years dawns with new quotas.

as an Ang Moh, am i concidered to be a racial Minority i wonder ??

Jeppo · Post by **Jeppo** » Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:36 am

Don't know about minority

but can tell you I got my pr in about 3 weeks, applied oct 2005 and received it mid Nov. I guess it just depends on luck. Have been told I got it quickly because I'm an ang mo, but who really knows at the end of the day

Harold_75 · Post by **Harold_75** » Tue, 20 Mar 2007 2:10 pm

I applied for my PR in early December 06 and got it approved by end of January 07. Maybe it was quicker for me since I was already in Singapore under Employment Pass.
I don't know about anything you can do to speed up the process, I guess all you can do is wait.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Tue, 20 Mar 2007 2:32 pm

Deefa wrote:
sundaymorningstaple wrote:It may also have a lot to do with the race as well. Immigration tends to use the current racial guidelines to determine the quantum of individuals who make up the census figures (citizens & PR's (potential citizens)). At the year end it becomes more critical as the minorities tend to get used up first therefore leaving a bottleneck until the new years dawns with new quotas.
as an Ang Moh, am i concidered to be a racial Minority i wonder ??

Yes, you are a 2%'er just like me. But, like me, we are not a danger to the status quo here. It's the 7%'ers & 14%'er that they worry about. However, sometimes family ties count in a point spread that mere mortals like us are not privy to. This is why I said it's only anecdotal and not fact. Nobody is sure how they allocate their points and the weightage given to them. Things have changed considerably since I got my PR and today they are giving PR to people that they wouldn't even accept the application for when I got mine. As long as you haven't been rejected then the odds are that it is only a matter of time. I've never met anybody in 25 years here outside of ICA that could give a definite answer on the inner workings of ICA. They are just like INS in the US. Minor dieties who don't have to explain their actions to anybody. This means if they get up on the wrong side of bed or the old lady cuts 'em off they might just reject for the hell of it. And they don't/won't give a reason even if requested if they do reject you.

Deefa · Post by **Deefa** » Tue, 20 Mar 2007 6:52 pm

cheers folks ... guess its just a case of wait and see now !!!

beurocrats, the lot of them !!!

Guess mine may have been sidelined by the various festivities that happened straight after application (christmas, new year, chinese new year etc etc)

either that or some beurocrat's old lady is realy not giving him any action

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Tue, 20 Mar 2007 8:49 pm

Deefa,

I have had privy to the inner working of an immigration officer. Albeit, a US INS officer here in Singapore. I used to share an office with him in International Plaza when I worked with the US Refugee Program from '88 to '91 resettling Vietnamese Boat People during the mass exodus after their releases from "Re-education Camps". We did the casework prior to their meeting with the Immigration Officer. It was via his knowledge a lot of the ways they operate came to light. He spent around 5 or 6 years here before going to Cambodia I believe. Just hang in there. If your qualifications are not from mainstream schools on their vetted list, they may have to delve a little further before granting.

chixchix · Post by **chixchix** » Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:37 am

For my hubby ,,he had been sailing for a local company before... I am a Singaporean ..and we applied for the PR..he got his in about 5 months ,,what I did was to go and see my area's MP,,, and told him " some bullshit story " ..and he faxed a letter to the ICS asking them to speed up.

It was very nice of him,,then in a month,we got the PR... his name was I think Mr Chen Hng Kiang...i know he is the Minister for Finance as well. We were in the Dover area that time... maybe those who got Singaporean spouses wanna do that .

Deefa · Post by **Deefa** » Wed, 21 Mar 2007 5:40 pm

chixchix wrote:For my hubby ,,he had been sailing for a local company before... I am a Singaporean ..and we applied for the PR..he got his in about 5 months ,,what I did was to go and see my area's MP,,, and told him " some bullshit story " ..and he faxed a letter to the ICS asking them to speed up.

It was very nice of him,,then in a month,we got the PR... his name was I think Mr Chen Hng Kiang...i know he is the Minister for Finance as well. We were in the Dover area that time... maybe those who got Singaporean spouses wanna do that .

Thanks for the tip ...

and thanks to all the others as well ... guess i just hang in there!!

HunBunny80 · Post by **HunBunny80** » Wed, 21 Mar 2007 5:48 pm

Deefa is in London so I thought the Singapore High Commissioner might be able to assist as the wife is a Singaporean.

Any suggestions?

kirstyL · Post by **kirstyL** » Tue, 27 Mar 2007 6:32 pm

if your wife is a singaporean, i have found the best way is to ask her or her family to appeal to the local MP for assistance. He will write a letter to immigration asking them to speed it up. Worked for my childrens citizenship applications and for my long term social visit pass. Now waiting my PR if any problems i will do the same

HunBunny80 · Post by **HunBunny80** » Tue, 27 Mar 2007 8:43 pm

kirstyL wrote:if your wife is a singaporean, i have found the best way is to ask her or her family to appeal to the local MP for assistance. He will write a letter to immigration asking them to speed it up. Worked for my childrens citizenship applications and for my long term social visit pass. Now waiting my PR if any problems i will do the same

Hi KirstyL, I have spoken to my father to get his local MP for assistance so we shall see what happens. It is a real pain in the bottom. What does it always happen to me?!?!?!?!

kirstyL · Post by **kirstyL** » Wed, 28 Mar 2007 1:33 pm

dont worry its not only u! I feel the same way, it all seems so difficult to me all the time. But if you fight for it it'll work out. What i think is that your application is always looked at by some lower worker who decides yes or no and it all depends on their mood. But when you appeal against the decision with MP or whoever backing you then some one high up is forced to look at it and the lower person usually does a back flip on their decision.

For example when i first applied for a long term social visit, i got the reply that they would give me an non extendable six months. Now to me and half the english speaking world that would mean that at the end of six months i have to leave. But once we appealed, the guy says oh no that just means that you have to apply again at the end of six months and they will look at the case again. stupid right?

Anyway good luck with your application.

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PR applications - Just how long ...

PR applications - Just how long ...

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