Singapore Expats

First, I just want to say I'm a newbie to this forum so forgive me if my post doesn't contain all pertinent info or the right format (if there is one). Second, the reason for my posting this is to try and help others in my shoes or to maybe give hope.

My info:
Age: 48, female
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Vietnamese
Degrees: Master's in Counseling, Bachelor's in Psychology (both degrees are from the US)
Children: 0
Employment: none
Income: $0

Husband's info:
Age: 52, male
Nationality: Singapore
Ethnicity: Chinese
Degree: Bachelor's in Computer Science (Australia)
Children: 0
Employment: IT Project manager
Income: $120,000/annum

My husband and I met online when I was living in Bangkok. That was tail end of 2019. Well we know what happened in March of 2020 so we didn't even get to see each other for 2 years. My contract in Bangkok was winding down March of 2022 so that's when I moved to Singapore. We got married April of 2023. We applied for my LTVP immediately after (May 2023) and it was approved til May 2024. While we hadn't been married long, he and I decided to apply for my PR Nov 2023. I know that this was a big gamble since I have read the standard "wait until you've been married at least a year or 2 before applying" but we had $100 burning in our pocket so we went for it.

There were 2 strange things to note during my PR application process. 1) Since my LTVP was expiring May 2024 and they told us we can apply for the extension 6 months ahead of expiration date, we went ahead and applied for the extension Dec 2023. It was approved right away. However, it was only approved til Dec 2024. I was expecting a full 1 year (May 2025) but all they gave me was 7 months. I was like WTH??? I remember asking my husband "Do you think they only gave me til Dec 2024 because my PR will be approved by then?!" (wishful thinking that actually came true ). 2) During the whole PR application process, I never saw the "upload" button that everyone on here talks about. Whenever we went in to check on the status, it simply said "pending" with nothing else.

So just a recap so far, I applied for PR Nov 2023. Yesterday (30/5) my husband received IPA that my PR app was approved! I was shocked because I was prepared to wait at least a year until we heard anything but this early surprise was amazing!

I don't know if it helped my application any but I should mention that I did do some volunteer work at the library. I also registered my husband and I for a public event a few months ago held by Families First organization. They had an event celebrating married couples in Singapore and space was limited but I got myself and husband in.

So that's my journey. I'm happy to answer any additional questions that you may have to make your PR journey a successful one like mine.

Congratulations!!!! Wishing you all the best in your new PR journey!

Reading your account has given me some hope as I have some similarities with yourself.
Currently on LTVP and and applied for PR a few months ago with less than 2 years of marriage on record.
Am also in the "others" category just like yourself.

However some key differences from your case:

- It is my wife who is the SGC (Chinese also).
- I have over 5 years of ongoing work experience in SG.
- We are both in our early 30s

Awesome to have you report on this for us to update our learnings.
A lot of people in this forum are very hard out about the 2 year rule (with good reason) so I am curious to see what the possible exceptions may be as we learn more.

I am quite surprised you were given PR since ICA generally prefers applicants of child-bearing age and with kids too. But hey, thanks for sharing the data.

Is your husband working in government sector…? “IT project manager” is quite vague.

jrrrcircle wrote: ↑

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 11:34 am

Congratulations!!!! Wishing you all the best in your new PR journey!

Reading your account has given me some hope as I have some similarities with yourself.
Currently on LTVP and and applied for PR a few months ago with less than 2 years of marriage on record.
Am also in the "others" category just like yourself.

However some key differences from your case:

- It is my wife who is the SGC (Chinese also).
- I have over 5 years of ongoing work experience in SG.
- We are both in our early 30s

Awesome to have you report on this for us to update our learnings.
A lot of people in this forum are very hard out about the 2 year rule (with good reason) so I am curious to see what the possible exceptions may be as we learn more.

Thanks so much! Since you're both in your 30s and are of child-bearing age, I think you have a really good chance. Plus, you've been working in SG so that's a plus too. Good luck and I hope you'll get to update us that your application was successful.

MOCHS wrote: ↑

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 2:23 pm

I am quite surprised you were given PR since ICA generally prefers applicants of child-bearing age and with kids too. But hey, thanks for sharing the data.

Is your husband working in government sector…? “IT project manager” is quite vague.

TBH, I was really expecting rejection since he and I are way past child-bearing age.

At the time of application, he was a contractor with MOM.

congrats!

korosensei wrote: ↑

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 9:14 pm

congrats!

Thanks!

Congratulations! Being married to a SGC was definitely the major factor in your case. You do know about the U.S. FTA and the favorable ABSD that entitles you to in Singapore?

I’m an American myself and have lived in Singapore since 1996. How long have you lived in Asia, and what brought you over here? Being $0 income is great from a U.S. tax perspective. I’ve not been as lucky in that regard, but Uncle Sam hasn’t taken too much of a bite, and I’ve fully funded my Roth.

malcontent wrote: ↑

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 1:35 am

Congratulations! Being married to a SGC was definitely the major factor in your case. You do know about the U.S. FTA and the favorable ABSD that entitles you to in Singapore?

I’m an American myself and have lived in Singapore since 1996. How long have you lived in Asia, and what brought you over here? Being $0 income is great from a U.S. tax perspective. I’ve not been as lucky in that regard, but Uncle Sam hasn’t taken too much of a bite, and I’ve fully funded my Roth.

Thanks! I do not know anything about the US FTA and ABSD that you mentioned.

I started first living abroad in S. Korea in 2012. Then I moved to Bangkok and I'm now here bcos of my husband.

sgnewbie76 wrote: ↑

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:04 pm

malcontent wrote: ↑

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 1:35 am

Congratulations! Being married to a SGC was definitely the major factor in your case. You do know about the U.S. FTA and the favorable ABSD that entitles you to in Singapore?

I’m an American myself and have lived in Singapore since 1996. How long have you lived in Asia, and what brought you over here? Being $0 income is great from a U.S. tax perspective. I’ve not been as lucky in that regard, but Uncle Sam hasn’t taken too much of a bite, and I’ve fully funded my Roth.

Thanks! I do not know anything about the US FTA and ABSD that you mentioned.

I started first living abroad in S. Korea in 2012. Then I moved to Bangkok and I'm now here bcos of my husband.

I hope that you at least know your US tax filing obligations, plus the reporting of foreign accounts/assets… and you know what a PFIC is and how to avoid them?

I have to admit, I was very naive and ignorant when I first moved overseas. Although I knew enough to file US income taxes, I had no idea what an FBAR or PFIC was, and had a bunch loose ends by the time I finally woke up to reality.

There are so many threats and opportunities in the tax code that you have to both watch out for and take advantage of as an overseas American.

Heartiest congratulations!

congrats!
For spouses of SC's I doubt age is a big deciding factor. I'm guessing they look closely at the sponsor more than anything, and of course if the marriage looks legit. My spouse sponsored me for SC when I was 50, and we don't have kids. We'd been married 25ish years so way legit already.