Singapore Expats

Hi! Just need your thoughts about this.. me and my partner recently processed PMLA and every single day is a waiting game so I couldn’t stop reading forums regarding chances of getting denied or accepted. I know it’s all up to ICA but your inputs are welcome.

My Profile:
Job: Employed/Sales
Age: 28
Annual salary: S$45k
Education: Degree holder
Housing: Staying with Parents' 4room HDB (although I havent seen this option to fill out when we submitted)

Spouse Profile:
Job: Employed/working remotely
Age:26
Annual Salary: S$12k (really low since she came from a country which cost of living and minimum wage is low but she been working since 2017)
Education: Degree holder

Both of us are Single (no previous marriages)
I have known her for a year but we have traveled to 3 countries already and she have been in and out of Singapore. She have traveled to Singapore approximately 8x and she have stayed here for 2-3 months since she renews her short term pass through ICA and was also allowed.

What are the chances of getting disapproval?

You didn’t mention:
1. How long you’ve been working for
2. Your race
3. Her nationality & race. Some nationalities are flagged by ICA for “sham marriages” even if your relationship is genuine.

Sorry I forgot to mentioned those things.
I have been working since 2022. Previously before army and while I was in Poly, I already did part time jobs then entered Army then during covid I also volunteered then after I went to get my degree then work.
I’m an SC
She’s a Filipino.

What is an SC? Are you Singapore Chinese or does that stand for SGC (Singapore Citizen)

Singapore Chinese and a Citizen as well.

I think it is usually approved a few days before or after the 6 week expected timeframe.

I did it last year and it was approved 1 day before the 6 week period.
I had over 5 years of experience in SG + was on an EP when I applied.

Speaking to friends, they have had similar experiences.

Assume they do this to prevent people from gaming the system.

I am assuming you are the SC as you stay with your parents in a HDB.
My partner who is an SC had similar salary to yours at the time so it shouldn't be an issue.

Singapore Chinese and Citizen at the same time.

If same job since 2022 and gf has been in & out of SG without issues then generally should be ok.

missycole wrote: ↑

Wed, 29 May 2024 4:08 pm

Sorry I forgot to mentioned those things.
I have been working since 2022. Previously before army and while I was in Poly, I already did part time jobs then entered Army then during covid I also volunteered then after I went to get my degree then work.
I’m an SC
She’s a Filipino.

So she’s a pinay… province or city girl? Have you been to the Phils and met her family?

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 29 May 2024 9:02 pm

missycole wrote: ↑

Wed, 29 May 2024 4:08 pm

Sorry I forgot to mentioned those things.
I have been working since 2022. Previously before army and while I was in Poly, I already did part time jobs then entered Army then during covid I also volunteered then after I went to get my degree then work.
I’m an SC
She’s a Filipino.

So she’s a pinay… province or city girl? Have you been to the Phils and met her family?

This is irrelevant to the topic at hand.

jrrrcircle wrote: ↑

Thu, 30 May 2024 4:38 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Wed, 29 May 2024 9:02 pm

missycole wrote: ↑

Wed, 29 May 2024 4:08 pm

Sorry I forgot to mentioned those things.
I have been working since 2022. Previously before army and while I was in Poly, I already did part time jobs then entered Army then during covid I also volunteered then after I went to get my degree then work.
I’m an SC
She’s a Filipino.

So she’s a pinay… province or city girl? Have you been to the Phils and met her family?

This is irrelevant to the topic at hand.

@jrrrcircle Actually it is quite relevant if you look at it from ICA's perspective. Where she comes from within the country or countryside could have a great bearing on the person's life upbringing and associations. Take me dating someone from the USA. Okay you say? Me too. However should I have mentioned she's from Harlem and her family has a reputation for trying to burn Harlem to the ground? Who knows how much of that type of thought processes have been ingrained in her before meeting me. This country tries it's best to filter out the bad eggs before they hatch. Sadly, they do make mistakes but considering the inherent safety of this little island, I think they are on the right track. You are using heart while they are using their brain. No offense meant but I try to see it from both sides and then give you my thoughts. It's yours to do with as you wish. I do wish you good luck though. I crossed the big pond and married a foreigner as well (but from your point of view she married the foreigner as I am here in her country).

sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑

Fri, 31 May 2024 5:57 pm

@jrrrcircle Actually it is quite relevant if you look at it from ICA's perspective. Where she comes from within the country or countryside could have a great bearing on the person's life upbringing and associations. Take me dating someone from the USA. Okay you say? Me too. However should I have mentioned she's from Harlem and her family has a reputation for trying to burn Harlem to the ground? Who knows how much of that type of thought processes have been ingrained in her before meeting me. This country tries it's best to filter out the bad eggs before they hatch. Sadly, they do make mistakes but considering the inherent safety of this little island, I think they are on the right track. You are using heart while they are using their brain. No offense meant but I try to see it from both sides and then give you my thoughts. It's yours to do with as you wish. I do wish you good luck though. I crossed the big pond and married a foreigner as well (but from your point of view she married the foreigner as I am here in her country).

I agree with the majority of what you are saying.

I just thought that the questions were too granular as:

1. ICA will not know whether or not he has met her parents unless they issue a questionnaire.

2. I am not sure if ICA or anyone making an educated fact-based decision would look into birth location within the country (I am open to be swayed on this opinion).

My current team is mostly filipino based.
Most of my colleagues are upper middle class and live in metro Manila.
However, 80% of them were born in rural provinces, moved to the city and never looked back. This is quite normal due to the economic growth over the recent decades for some segments of the population.

If they were to look at current location. It could also skew because we live in an era of working from home. So someone might be living in a cheap cozy mountainous rural area for the lifestyle considering how polluted the cities are (as 2 of my colleagues do).

Therefore, to make a fact based estimate they can only use the information of salary and country of birth/residence.

I think the thing about ingrained thought processes is a generational divide between us and i do not think modern day ICA would do that sort of thinking.
I can see your point of view, but in this day and age of globalisation + being swayed by social media I do not think it would be a reasonable assumption to make.

But I am happy to respect your opinion and disagree on this.
Sorry if I come off as rude. I am a developer/math person so writing and communication is not my forte.

I also don't have the experience and breadth of knowledge of the SG immigration system that you do. So I wouldn't be surprised if you can tell me some stuff that blows everything I wrote away

@jrrrcircle

You’d be surprised at the stuff ICA looks at. I’m very sure they know all of the honey traps, including the long-game (which I believe was invented in the Philippines).

malcontent wrote: ↑

Fri, 31 May 2024 8:47 pm

@jrrrcircle

You’d be surprised at the stuff ICA looks at. I’m very sure they know all of the honey traps, including the long-game (which I believe was invented in the Philippines).

Yeah I am sure they do.

But PMLA is very vague.
It literally only asks for passport details from the Non-Resident, education and income (without asking for documents).
This is based on my application last year.

The actual LTVP information requirements are much more detailed.

Remember PMLA does not guarantee LTVP approval.
It is just an indication based on the early information before it is analysed + a prioritised processing time for LTVP

And for a PR application, they will ask:
- Residential addresses you’ve stayed in for the past 10 years
- Countries you’ve been to in the past 10 years and duration you stayed for
- Your parents’ current residential address and occupation
- Educational certs (if you wanna go all the way back to primary/elementary school). I remembered being a bit surprised that my husband’s suburban high school in a small town in the US being included in the drop-down list. It’s an ulu (remote) location that no typical international tourist would go to unless they have family living in those parts.

We can only guess what ICA wants to do with that data so SMS might not be too far off even though this is just a PMLA or LTVP application.