Posts

Showing posts with the label Immigration

Useful Information Before Applying for Long-Term Visit Pass

Summary Number of marriages between Singapore citizen and foreigner is increasing. Factors considered when applying for Long-Term Visit Pass, Permanent Residency and Citizenship: Sponsor's occupation. Sponsor's income. Foreign Spouse's education level; degree holders have better chance. Children. Good conduct. Ability to contribute to society. Those who earn below S$1500 a month (referring to sponsor) usually have a harder time to get their application approved. Summary A 34 years old Singaporean man Mr. Leo, managed to obtain PR for his wife from China in less than one year after their marriage in Nov 2011, but he has not forgotten about his fellow Singaporeans with foreign spouse, following was what he said: If the couple is truly in love, really married, they should let them (foreign spouse) come, rather than send one overseas, every month have to go there or what, it's very tiring, yeah, in the end we also will move over there, we also will giv
Post a Comment
Read more

Vietnam Graduate Unable to Obtain LTVP+ (Update)

My last post is here . Today I was surfing the net a bit while at work and found that ICA responded to the story of the Vietnam bride who was unable to obtain LTVP+. Source In Madam Pham's case, her long-term visit pass application was not successful as her Singaporean husband did not meet the criteria then. Nonetheless, we granted her a six-month long-term visit pass on compassionate grounds. Upon expiry of her long-term visit pass in the middle of this year, we will reassess and review her case, given that her husband has recently found employment. So from what I can see, her husband was unemployed when they were applying for the LTVP. I would like to hear more into the story because when you look at her husband's unemployment, plus they paid almost S$20,000 for the delivery charges and they live in a condo, it does sound a bit unusual. Perhaps they have a substantial amount of savings. Anyway, since the reason for rejection was her husband's unemployment, I
Post a Comment
Read more

Vietnam Graduate Unable to Obtain LTVP+

Source How come? Let's look at her "qualifications". Degree Holder. Have a Singaporean boy. Husband is an English tutor (see the comments). They were married in Singapore. They are living in a condominium (richer than me). Let's look at requirements for LTVP+ . 2. Couples who have at least one Singaporean child from their marriage will be eligible to apply for the LTVP+.  For those without a Singapore Citizen child, ICA will look at other factors such as the duration of marriage, and will in general consider more favourably those who have been married for at least three years. So why not? I don't understand why her application was rejected, or at least grant her a LTVP, why totally reject her? The article was published on 12 Feb 2013 and at that time, she was only given a 6 months visit pass which was non-renewable. What is going on? I totally agree with what she said at the last paragraph. What I find staggering is the number of foreigners l
Post a Comment
Read more

Foreign Spouse Support Group (FSSG) - Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People (ACMI)

Image
Source FSSG was formed by ACMI on Jun 15 2013, and ACMI is a catholic organisation powered by volunteers and donations and their aim is to help foreigners in Singapore; yes, they also provide assistance to foreign spouse of Singaporeans. First thing that came to my mind after I read the article was, do we need to convert to catholic before we get help? So I went to ACMI's website and saw this section, ACMI TRAINING CENTRE COURSES & REGISTRATION (TERM 2) 2013 Submitted by acmi on 5 June, 2013 - 11:56 Our training centre centre provides skills training and re-integration courses for foreign domestic workers with valid work permits, regardless of nationality and religion . Location: Blk A, 98 Hougang Ave 8, S’pore 538791 Phone No: 6284 8797 or email: tc@acmi.org.sg So they are providing courses regardless of nationality and religion, so how much does it cost? So I read through their course brochure, ACMI Course Fees So the courses are around S$90 to S$100, th
Post a Comment
Read more

Immigration Phone Scam

Source SINGAPORE: The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said it does not call up members of the public for transfer of funds pertaining to immigration facilities such as extension of stay in Singapore. This comes after ICA received public feedback that some individuals including foreigners had received suspicious phone calls from a caller who claimed to be an ICA officer. The calls made to the victims happened over this week and were from a phone number that is similar to the ICA hotline (6391 6100). ICA said the caller would tell the victims that they had not filled their disembarkation/embarkation cards properly. They were then asked to transfer funds to the caller in order to make their stay in Singapore legitimate. ICA said such calls are not authentic and that the police have been informed of the scam. The public is advised to ignore such calls, and not transfer any money via remittance agencies, banks or any other means to the caller. The public should call the poli
Post a Comment
Read more

This Really Puts Us in a Bad Light

Source ICA warns individuals not to enter sham marriage to bypass immigration laws SINGAPORE: The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has warned individuals not to enter a marriage of convenience to bypass immigration laws. ICA said it will not hesitate to take action against those who have submitted their applications under false representations and have their immigration facilities revoked. It highlighted a case which involved a Singaporean man and a China national. 35-year-old Quek Mu Lian met 28-year-old Yu Dan during a holiday to China in January 2012. Quek, a heavy gambler and unemployed at the time, was tempted to make a quick buck off Yu when she told him that she was keen to stay in Singapore for a longer term. He then abetted Yu to enter a marriage of convenience, and asked her for S$15,000. They registered their marriage some five months later, and Yu obtained a long-term visit pass under Quek's sponsorship. Both were arrested on December 6, 2012 and c
2 comments
Read more

ICA FAQ - Appeal for Visit Pass (for long term stay)

Source 1. How can I appeal if the application is not approved? Do I have to fill up any form(s)? You may appeal in writing. No verbal appeal will be accepted. When writing in, please indicate applicant's full particulars (i.e. name, date of birth and Foreign Identification Number) and our file reference number in the letter. You do not have to fill up any form if you are sending your appeal letter via post, email or through our Information Counter. However, if you wish to obtain a queue ticket to submit by hand at our counters, you will then be required to fill up an application Form 14 and attach your appeal letter together. 2. What should I write in my appeal letter? You may include any information that you deem relevant in supporting your appeal for the pass that you wish to apply for (e.g. relate your needs to the application) and enclose any additional supporting documents that you think might be beneficial in justifying your case. 3. How long does it take to proces
Post a Comment
Read more

Thailand Household Census List

First of all, I'm not sure for other countries but in Thailand, they do have this document; it's actually a booklet. So what is inside this booklet? In the first page of the booklet, it will contain detailed information of a house i.e. the house address, registration number and official verification (signature and stamp). In the following pages, it will contain detailed information of persons living in the house i.e. identity card number, birth date, date when this person started living in this house and official verification (signature). When applying for Permanent Residence (PR) in Singapore, you need to bring along this document, don't forget.
7 comments
Read more

Cost of Applying or Renewal of Long-Term Visit Pass for Foreign Spouse

1. Processing Fee After successfully submitting application or renewal of long-term visit pass online via e-VP , you need to make payment of S$30 as processing fee. Note that the processing time can take up to 6 weeks. 2. Issuance Fee Within 6 weeks, your application should be approved in-principle, you will then have 14 days to make payment of S$60 as issuance fee. 3. Medical Check-up Once you have made payment for the issuance fee, you will need to print out a medical check-up form, the foreign spouse is required to go for Tuberculosis X-ray and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing. This can be done at any General Practitioner (GP) clinic. My wife as example, the HIV testing was done at our neighbourhood GP for S$38, the X-ray was referred by the GP to a nearby clinic with X-ray equipment, and done for S$12.80. Note that before submitting the results to ICA, it's valid for 3 months, after submission, it's valid for 2 years, what this means is that for all new
8 comments
Read more

Long-Term Visit Pass IRAS/CPF Statement

Source Not sure when it was updated but from now onwards, when applying or renewing Long-Term Visit Pass, the sponsor can choose to sign a form to allow ICA to obtain sponsor's Income Tax and Central Provident Fund information so that the sponsor don't have to print out and bring along both. "Local sponsor's Income Tax Notice of Assessment for the last 3 years and CPF Statement showing monthly CPF contribution for the last 12 months. Alternatively, the sponsor may choose to complete Appendix VP to give consent for ICA to obtain and verify financial information provided in respect of this application with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) directly instead. "
3 comments
Read more

Long-Term Visit Pass - Plus (LTVP-PLUS)

http://www.ica.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=12665 Good news for those of us who cannot get PR for our beloved spouse, because the Singapore government has come up with a enhanced long-term visit pass called LTVP-PLUS or LTVP+. I'll sum up the key points in the FAQ provided by ICA so you don't have to go through one big page. Do let me know if I missed out anything or correction is required by dropping a comment. GENERAL LTVP+ will be in effect from 01 Apr 2012. LTVP+ holders will enjoy extended duration of residency, public healthcare subsidies and easier access to employment. No separate application required for LTVP+; an application for LTVP will automatically include your spouse for LTVP+, if eligible. LTVP applications submitted from 01 Feb 2012 will automatically be considered for LTVP+. The first approved LTVP+ will grant 3 years residency and subsequent renewal will be 5 years. Current holders of LTVP will be considered for LTVP+ on next renewal. If holde
444 comments
Read more

Popular posts from this blog

Long-Term Visit Pass - Plus (LTVP-PLUS)

http://www.ica.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=12665 Good news for those of us who cannot get PR for our beloved spouse, because the Singapore government has come up with a enhanced long-term visit pass called LTVP-PLUS or LTVP+. I'll sum up the key points in the FAQ provided by ICA so you don't have to go through one big page. Do let me know if I missed out anything or correction is required by dropping a comment. GENERAL LTVP+ will be in effect from 01 Apr 2012. LTVP+ holders will enjoy extended duration of residency, public healthcare subsidies and easier access to employment. No separate application required for LTVP+; an application for LTVP will automatically include your spouse for LTVP+, if eligible. LTVP applications submitted from 01 Feb 2012 will automatically be considered for LTVP+. The first approved LTVP+ will grant 3 years residency and subsequent renewal will be 5 years. Current holders of LTVP will be considered for LTVP+ on next renewal. If holde
Read more

How to Marry a Thai in Singapore

Image
You should refer to here -  https://www.rom.gov.sg/reg_info/rom_marriage.asp Please spend some time to go through and understand the information on that section (legal provision, other information, filing of notice, solemnization and etc), if your still not sure, feel free to drop a comment here or you can use their FAQ . The ROM website did a really good job of putting together the information that you need in a well-organized manner. I've done it once and I think the guide is very easy to follow. The only hiccup I've had with my marriage is during the  Appointment for verification & Statutory Declaration where both of us were required to read out a wall of text and my wife had difficulty getting past the first few lines and the counter guy got fed up and told my wife to stop. Definitely my oversight as I didn't arrange for an interpreter beforehand but luckily, there was a licensed interpreter at the scene and we managed to get her to do the interpretation fo
Read more

Commission Calculator for DBS Vickers SG Stocks

Made this little tool to help me calculate the costs of buying or selling a stock, just enter number of shares and price and it will show both buy and sell costs at the same time. Can even choose by cash upfront, online or phone and it will calculate using respective rates. Cash Upfront ONLINE By Phone Shares: Price: Value: Commission: Clearing Fee:
Read more