Search
Contact
Login
Share this article
IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Singapore is growing more stringent in its review of applications for Long-Term Visit Passes for unmarried common-law partners of Employment Pass holders.
What does the change mean? The Ministry of Manpower is applying more scrutiny and may reject applications for unmarried partners whose home countries do not legally recognize common-law marriages. MOM has also recently questioned the documents normally accepted for partners whose countries do recognize common-law marriage.
Background: Long-Term Visit Passes are often used by unmarried partners or stepchildren of Employment Pass holders to stay in Singapore. Until two weeks ago, Singapore had accepted notarized statutory declarations by work pass holders stating that their common-law relationships are recognized in their home countries. Those declarations were part of the Long-Term Visit Pass application process, but MOM recently rejected them as insufficient without further explanation. It is unclear what brought on the change. It is also unknown whether Singapore will extend its heightened scrutiny to stepchildren’s applications.
BAL Analysis: What is clear is that Singapore has made it significantly more difficult for Long-Term Visit Pass applications to be approved in some circumstances. This not only makes things more complicated for partners of Employment Pass holders, but could eventually have a negative impact on Employment Pass applicants themselves if their partners cannot join them in Singapore. The situation remains fluid and Employment Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass applicants with concerns about the heightened scrutiny should contact their BAL attorney for advice.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced it will fully decommission the legacy Permanent…
The government of Cuba has launched a new electronic visa platform, known as Evisa. Key Points: The new Evisa replaces…
The Qatari government has extended the validity period for the multiple-entry work visa (MEWV) for nationals of Bangladesh, India, Nepal,…
In this week’s episode, BAL’s Chad Li and Kyle McLaughlin discuss common questions about the PERM process and identify four…