Singapore has introduced measures to help foreigners married to its nationals to explore job options in the country by reducing the waiting period for long-term visit pass to up to six weeks instead of six months.
From January next year, the process of applying for a Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) will be revised.
Couples are encouraged to jointly submit an application for a Letter of LTVP Eligibility, which will be valid for an year, before getting married, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has announced.
The couple can then use the letter to support their application for an LTVP after marriage.
Under this process, the waiting period for the issuance of an LTVP will be reduced to up to six weeks, instead of six months or more for couples who only submit their application after marriage.
According to the MSF and ICA, the joint application will "help prospective spouses have sufficient pertinent information about each other before committing to a marriage".
The move will also provide greater clarity, prior to marriage, on whether the foreign spouse qualifies for a long-term stay in Singapore, based on the circumstances of the couple at the time of the LTVP application.
The LTVP allows a foreign spouse to stay in Singapore for one year, before the visa needs to be renewed again.
It will also be easier for spouses on LTVP to seek employment.
The Manpower Ministry will issue a Letter of Consent, tied to the LTVP, to foreign spouses who want to secure employment.
Such spouses will not be counted against the foreign worker quota and employers need not fork out a foreign worker levy to hire them as is the case now.
Upon the issuance of a Letter of Consent, the validity of the foreign spouse's LTVP will be extended to two years upon renewal of the pass.
However, the authorities said that marriage to a Singaporean does not automatically qualify a foreigner for a long-term stay in Singapore.
"All applications will be assessed on a set of prevailing criteria, including the ability of the Singaporean sponsor to support and look after the family," authorities were quoted as saying by the Channel News Asia.
