Hi Everyone,

This is my first post, I hope I can find advice on from you.
I'm a Singaporean living in Singapore, and I happen to stumble here.
I think you can help.

I would like to marry a Foreigner and I would like to hear advice from those
who have a foreign spouse. Well, looking through the web, there seems to be
quite a few obstacles laid out that I might have to go through. Well, for the sake
of love

I know a marriage does not guarantee PR, let alone citizenship for her. It
really is a pain.

My wife to be is a filipino, a graduate from a recognised university, and
works in a foreign bank in the philippines as a relationship manager.

Some queries

Could you tell me how was it like for you to marry a foreign spouse ?

#1: DId she come over on a short term visa to ROM ?

#2: Now I cant buy a HDB, because after ROM, she is still not a PR.
How did you work this out ? I would prefer to already have a house
when she comes over. Private is not affordable for me.

#3: If the moment after I ROM, I apply for PR, how long would she get it ?

#4: SHe cant work without PR status, which will be difficult for our finances.
If PR takes 1year to get, then it would be quite difficult. How did you cope ?
Is there a work around, like employment pass or something ?
SHould she come over on employment pass before the marriage to find work first ?

I hope to get good advice from you, I really want it to be painless for her.
AFterall, she is giving up everything to come here.

Thanks for reading!!

I married a foreigner and now she got citizenship justs within 3 years so long that you're the local sponsor with evidence of marriage certificate and residing in Singapore all the time.

1.) Of course you need a social visa for her (with a good local sponsor) to visit you at the first place, then go to ROM registered it.

2.) After registered in ROM, you apply PR for her immediately (there will be a few interviews with the immigration officer as they need to assess whether you are capable of providing shelter for her), once the application got approved, then go to HDB.

3.) About 6 months, provided that you have the evidence showing your CPF and income statement for past 3 years that you got stable job with enough income to shelter her.

4.) She can be a housewife for 6 months, provided that your income is stable & sufficient.

The immigration is fussy with Singaporeans bringing foreigners ending up doing illegal activities because of the local sponsor having unstable job and income.

The key is to show the immigration that you're having stable job and income sufficient to raise a family, that's all. No matter how capable is she having master degree whatsoever, she still depend on you for getting a job during her initial social visit. So you must be the local sponsor capable of taking care of all her expenditures.

Hi friend for your situation, you just need to ask yourself how much do you love your wife. If you you truly loves her then have no worry about the issues about immigrations to Singapore. There are many ways which your spouse can come here to Singapore via many schemes like the dependent scheme from ICA or the Long term Social Visa Application. The main thing is are you employed and able to support her while she is in Singapore and if yes prepare to provide all the documents like marriage certificates and income proof. You can go online and register and send your wife the documents for E-VISA without her going to the local Singapore embassy in her country.

As for your questions about how it was like marrying a foreign spouse I guess this is private and you too will have it differently depending on how you two deal with situations that arises.

#1: DId she come over on a short term visa to ROM ?
You have Dependent Visa, Long Term Visa to choose from if your financial situation applies.

#2: Now I cant buy a HDB, because after ROM, she is still not a PR.
How did you work this out ? I would prefer to already have a house
when she comes over. Private is not affordable for me.
Well you may be rushing it a bit regarding the house, you may consider taking time to stay at your own family house first then go out to look for one. As long as you are 35 years of age you can qualify to get a house on your own regardless of whether you are married or not. Also you can qualify for some subsidy or grants from the governments if you are first time home applicants. All this take time to process and it depends on how long before your spouse come to Singapore.

#3: If the moment after I ROM, I apply for PR, how long would she get it ?
After your ROM you and your spouse need to be in Singapore for two years and with proper jobs before you can apply for PR and as for work your spouse can make application at MOM when she is in Singapore to get permit to work.

#4: SHe cant work without PR status, which will be difficult for our finances.
If PR takes 1year to get, then it would be quite difficult. How did you cope ?
Is there a work around, like employment pass or something ?
SHould she come over on employment pass before the marriage to find work first ?
You can either come on employment pass or you can be married and then apply for work permit to look for job in Singapore or when she is here she can look for companies who would sponsor her for work and they will settle the employment pass for her.

Hope this will help you out and if you have other queries you can call ICA and MOM to see what they can advise. Now the most important thing is are you sure about the marriage and is she sure she willing to relocate to Singapore to live and be with you. No doubt there will be issues but if you two really loves each other I believe you can overcome them one at a time. You need to focus on what you have now and which can you do now.