bringing my lady to Singapore

[deadbard]

hi everybody,

i'm a Singaporean and my lady is from Japan. She intends to move over to Singapore to be with me for a few years. Most social visit passes allows for max 2 months of stay... what are the options to stay longer like a year?

We intend to invest in an apartment here as well for the next few years.

Thanks for your advice.

dead bard

[sundaymorningstaple]

Type "de facto" into the search facility located at the upper right side of the page just below the Profile link. This will more than answer all of your questions.

SMS

[deadbard]

thanks for the suggestion. Read all of it.

but where can i get a de facto certificate in Singapore? Some suggested going to the commissioner of oath... will that be sufficient to sponsor her for a LTSV? Is there any documents i need?

cheers.

[durain]

hi everybody,

i'm a Singaporean and my lady is from Japan. She intends to move over to Singapore to be with me for a few years. Most social visit passes allows for max 2 months of stay... what are the options to stay longer like a year?

We intend to invest in an apartment here as well for the next few years.

Thanks for your advice.

dead bard

get down on your knees and marry the darn lady!

[sing_sling77]

Any chance she plans to work here? If so there are visa's you can get for 3 months for the purpose of seeking employment. You could do that first.

If you want to sponsor her there is nothing to stop you. Search my previous post - I'm a PR from UK and sponsored my Thai spouse. If I can do it, then surely you can!

You will need something to show evidence of the de facto status - Commisioner of Oaths or some such. Not sure how/if they actually recognize de facto status for Singaporean though ???

[sing_sling77]

Sorry - just reread your post. If you want affidavit (comm o/oath) you don't need any document (just your IC). All it means is that you are making a sworn declaration - you do solemly swear that <name> is your de facto spouse - in front of a justice for the peace as your witness.

Get a lawyer friend to write you a declaration, take that to a CoO and they'll arrange the chop for about $20 ....

[mark1234]

Hello,

I'm a Danish national and since three years I have a Singaporean girlfriend. Save the first months when she was working in Denmark, we have been having a long distance relationship.

Last year I have quite my job to finish a master degree. Now that I have completed it, I want to join her in Singapore. Of course I have been applying for jobs already, but so far no luck. That's why we want to apply for LTSVP first and settle in Singapore while continue to look for a job.

I have been looking at the ICA website (http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=175&secid=171), but it gives me no information on unmarried couples. The threads on this forum are mostly related to foreign couples, rather than one of the partners being local.

Sing Sling suggests that an affidavit would be sufficient for us to get me a LTSVP. Is that correct? Other than declarations from our families and her employer (international bank, which is my former employer), we only have 3 years of holiday pictures to proof our relationship.

Thanks in advance!

[econoMIC]

As you have not been co-habitating it should be rather difficult for you to get an LTSVP. ICA does not really consider long distance relationships as a relationship for visa purposes. Usually people get their high commissions/ embassies to issue a letter confirming that they have had a relationship but that is if you are living together... not long distance. Also please note that an LTSVP does not give you the right to work.

The only thing you can do to make things water tight is marry her and then apply for PR.

[taxico]

i don't support the marriage idea.

while a long distance relationship might work over the internet, it may not work in real life over the many months/years of real life close quarter interaction (not that naked sort).

you really should find a visa/permit based on your own merits coz if the marriage fails down the road, it might be more problematic...

also, instead of doing it from singapore, can your embassy/country legitimize such a relationship?

[mark1234]

Thanks for your replies.

So chances are too slim to try, or should we give the ICA a call to find out about any potential success?

For us, the option of marrying for a dependents pass is something we'll try to avoid as long as possible: maybe we are a bit old-fashioned but we want to marry for our own reasons. (Of course the outlook of not being able to live together will quickly become "our own reason".. )

Unfortunately the embassy can't (or doesn't want to) help us because my girlfriend is local. Maybe this would have been different if we would have been living together in Denmark.

I understand I need an EP when I have found a job. The LTSVP would make it easier for me to stay in Singapore until I have found a job.

Again thanks for your replies!

PS I will apply for an EPEC as soon as I receive my master degree, we just hoped this would be a good backup plan in case I get rejected.

[taxico]

good luck mark. check back in with any progress or rants.