Moving to Singapore - Pregnant wife to give birth - Process

[risky]

After lots of searching of the forum as well as Google in general, I'm still confused on the requirements for foreign pregnant women wishing to enter Singapore to give birth. In our case we will be relocating for work to Singapore when my wife is around 32 weeks pregnant. We would be seeking to get an Employment pass for me and Dependent pass for her, if that changes anything. Let me start with the simplest confusion.

On this ICA page 103 (http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=103) it says,

Pregnant women who wish to deliver their child in Singapore must apply for permission through a local sponsor before their arrival.

(bolding mine)

Following the link on that page, you reach page 237http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=237. On this page it says

Female visitors may apply for a Visit Pass (Long Term) for the purpose of delivering a child in Singapore at the Visitor Services Centre, ICA.

(bolding mine)

So on one hand it says to apply before arrival, then it says to apply at the ICA in Singapore.

I know that the rules changed about a year ago where previously all pregnant women over 6 months needed permission to enter even for a visit and now they don't, but I'm not certain that women intending to give birth in Singapore can just turn up and enter without prior permission. Does anyone know?

[ksl]

I'm not certain that women intending to give birth in Singapore can just turn up and enter without prior permission. Does anyone know

If you are intending to give birth, then prior permission is required and you maybe issued with an LTVSP, otherwise, otherwise I would think you would get a tourist visa depending how close you are to giving birth, there maybe restrictions. Though I don't see much point in giving birth in Singapore, other than paying ridicules fees as a tourist, as the baby cannot get citizenship, if the father is not Singaporean. ICA can answer all your questions.

[risky]

We are relocating to Singapore prior to the birth for work reasons, so we don't really have any choice but to give birth in Singapore. We have no need or desire for Singapore citizenship of the child as he'll already be eligible for 3 nationalities upon birth.

How approachable/easy are the ICA to deal with? i.e. can I email them, and have a sensible human respond and clarify, or alternatively can I reach a human by phone who will be able to find out answers? We've been living in India for 1+ years so I am in a state fo mind where I never expect any common sense or helpfulness from government departments!

[sundaymorningstaple]

ICA is very helpful and efficient as are most Singapore government agencies.

[ksl]

We are relocating to Singapore prior to the birth for work reasons, so we don't really have any choice but to give birth in Singapore. We have no need or desire for Singapore citizenship of the child as he'll already be eligible for 3 nationalities upon birth.

How approachable/easy are the ICA to deal with? i.e. can I email them, and have a sensible human respond and clarify, or alternatively can I reach a human by phone who will be able to find out answers? We've been living in India for 1+ years so I am in a state fo mind where I never expect any common sense or helpfulness from government departments!

If you are relocating for work, then your wifes application for dependant pass should be applied for at the same time you apply for employment pass, your company should apply for you, your wife can then give birth and the baby will recieve LTVSP . ICA do respond, so you can check out the website for a contact number or email address. Though it is your employing Company that need to submit application through MOM for your EP, and dependant pass for your wife not through ICA and your income must be above $2500 a month before family are allowed to come with you.

www.mom.gov.sg www.ica.gov.sg

[risky]

Thanks for your help, ksl. Of course in the end I will make sure to verify everything with ICA and post the results, but in the meantime I was hoping someone had done it before (relocating to Singapore with a pregnant wife is surely not a first).

I should be eligible for a P1 EP so hopefully the dependent pass is also not a problem. Are you saying that if my wife has a DP, then that may be all the "visa" she requires to enter Singapore, and then after that we can go through all the normal procedure for an expat to have a child? The only concern I have is that it seems that although the EP and DP can be applied for and approved prior to arrival, you only officially get them once you're inside Singapore. Therefore any assumption that the DP provides her the equivalent of an LTVSP would seem to be based on the second assumption that the "In-Principle-Approval letter" is enough to enter Singapore in the first place while pregnant.

My concern is that I miss some clause or paperwork and we get turned down for the flight either at Singapore immigration or even before boarding!

[ksl]

Thanks for your help, ksl. Of course in the end I will make sure to verify everything with ICA and post the results, but in the meantime I was hoping someone had done it before (relocating to Singapore with a pregnant wife is surely not a first).

I should be eligible for a P1 EP so hopefully the dependent pass is also not a problem. Are you saying that if my wife has a DP, then that may be all the "visa" she requires to enter Singapore, and then after that we can go through all the normal procedure for an expat to have a child? The only concern I have is that it seems that although the EP and DP can be applied for and approved prior to arrival, you only officially get them once you're inside Singapore. Therefore any assumption that the DP provides her the equivalent of an LTVSP would seem to be based on the second assumption that the "In-Principle-Approval letter" is enough to enter Singapore in the first place while pregnant.

My concern is that I miss some clause or paperwork and we get turned down for the flight either at Singapore immigration or even before boarding!

The dependant pass is better than the LTVSP as your wife can seek work and only requires a letter of consent. You will get dependant pass and not LTVSP at the same time your company applies, the dependant pass is tied to your employment pass. Though coming out of India maybe a problem if you are Indian without a Singapore visa, So maybe you should get a Visa from the Singapore embassy in India to enter Singapore for you and your wife just show the embassy your IPL.

If you are Indian you may have a problem getting on the plane to Singapore without a Visa, The In principle letter I believe is not enough to get on the plane for Travel....So maybe you and your wife get a tourist Visa then you can pick up the EP and dependant pass on your arrival.

There are a few people from India that have been through this process, so maybe they will reply to you!

[risky]

Sorry for the confusion, actually I'm Australian and my wife's Swedish, so we can normally just enter Singapore without any visa or trouble.

[Mad Scientist]

We are relocating to Singapore prior to the birth for work reasons, so we don't really have any choice but to give birth in Singapore. We have no need or desire for Singapore citizenship of the child as he'll already be eligible for 3 nationalities upon birth.

How approachable/easy are the ICA to deal with? i.e. can I email them, and have a sensible human respond and clarify, or alternatively can I reach a human by phone who will be able to find out answers? We've been living in India for 1+ years so I am in a state fo mind where I never expect any common sense or helpfulness from government departments!

I think we need to clarify one thing here.

Can your wife board the plane when she is at 32 weeks pregnant. Most airlines if the woman is on 3rd trimester will not allow her to board the plane fearing complication. Have you check that with the airline ?

Now if I can add on what KSL said if you and your wife is good to go.
Once your wife and yourself received AIP EP and DP, you can enter SG without any fuss. You will enter under short stay SVP. Go to MOM to get your EP and DP .
Upon your wife given birth to your child, register the child Birth Cert at the hospital. Go to OZ Embassy and Swedish Embassy for child BC and PP. You have 42 days to do that. Once you have done that go to ICA and apply for DP for child .
You can register your child's birth in Singapore and attain a pass either DP or LTSVP but you cannot get PR nor Citizenship even if you wanted to. Hence you do not have to worry about fourth nationalities for your child

[risky]

Here is Singapore Air's policy:

For uncomplicated single pregnancies, Singapore Airlines restricts expectant mothers from travelling beyond the 36th week of pregnancy (calculated based on the expected date of delivery).

For uncomplicated multiple pregnancies, Singapore Airlines restricts expectant mothers from travelling beyond the 32nd week of pregnancy (calculated based on the expected date of delivery).

Thanks for the further details!

[Mad Scientist]

Here is the link from ICA

http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=144