Aware calls for fairer immigration policies for foreign spouses
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) has called for changes to immigration regulations that, it said, discriminate against foreign spouses of Singapore citizens, ahead of International Migrants Day this Sunday (Dec 18).
It said all such spouses — usually foreign wives — should be granted a Long-Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) and be allowed to work and receive healthcare subsidies.
Foreign spouses should also be granted permanent residency as soon as they have been on LTVP+ for three years, or have citizen children, or when their spouse dies.
In its policy brief released on Wednesday, the advocacy group said: "The right to family life includes the right to freely choose a spouse, regardless of factors such as nationality, income or health. A state that respects this right must not institute policies that put families in constant uncertainty about whether they can remain together. "There are reasons to limit overall immigration, but forming a family with a citizen is one of the clearest and most significant signs of belonging. In migration policy, family ties should be prioritised over economic utility," it added.
LTVP+ was launched in April 2012 amid rising transnational marriages here. It allows foreign spouses to stay in Singapore for three years before seeking renewal, and enjoy healthcare subsidies for inpatient services at restructured hospitals.
The scheme also allows prospective employers to apply for a Letter of Consent instead of an Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit for them, such that they would not count towards the foreign worker quota of the company nor incur a foreign worker levy.
Couples who have at least one child who is a Singapore Citizen from their marriage will be eligible to apply for the LTVP+. Otherwise, the authorities will consider other factors such as the duration of the marriage.
In comparison, LTVP-holders enjoy similar conditions, but do not enjoy healthcare subsidies.
Aware said that even with the enhancement the authorities rolled out in 2014, allowing LTVP applications before a marriage, it "should not be used to justify discrimination".
"The state seems to expect that without the LTVP, the couple should choose not to marry, to live elsewhere, or to accept a compromised family life in Singapore. This effectively penalises them for exercising their right to enter a marriage of their choosing," it added.
Aware also called for more transparency on the approval criteria for PR and citizenship applications. Noting that a child of a transnational marriage may be granted PR or citizenship while the foreign parent may not, the right of foreign wives to remain in Singapore is "endangered" should the marriage end or the husband die.
Although the authorities have said they will generally try to facilitate such foreign spouses to stay on here, Aware asked if the parent will still be forced to leave after the child grows up. The group also said that transnational families will get more stability if foreign wives have a clear idea of whether or when they would be granted PR.
Men who marry non-PR wives can buy HDB flats, but only as singles because foreigners cannot be co-owners.
This will also "prevent divorced mothers and bereaved wives from having to leave their homes because they are ineligible to own or inherit them", Aware argued.
These couples also cannot rent from the HDB, the group noted, reducing their access to housing.
