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Singapore Permanent Residence (PR) application under the Family Ties Scheme
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Apply for Singapore Permanent Residency under the Family Ties Scheme
If you are (a) the spouse of a Singapore citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR); or (b) an unmarried child aged below 21 years old, born within the context of a legal marriage to, or have been legally adopted by, a Singapore citizen or PR; or (c) an aged parent of a Singapore citizen, you are eligible to apply for Singapore PR under the family ties scheme.
On this page, we set out below the Frequently Asked Questions for Singapore PR applications under the family ties scheme and the services we offer at different stages of such applications.
Frequently Asked Questions for Singapore PR Application under the Family Ties scheme
No. If you are a foreigner and your spouse is a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR, you will not be automatically granted Singapore PR status after marrying your spouse.
If you are interested in becoming a Singapore PR after marrying a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR, you will need to make an application for Singapore PR status to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) and your spouse (who is a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR) can be the Sponsor for your Singapore PR application under the family ties scheme. Your PR application will be subject to the approval of ICA and there is no guarantee that your PR application will be successful.
Presently, there is no fixed requirement on when you can submit your PR application under the family ties scheme after getting married to a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR. Based on our experience, the applicant will have a better chance of getting the PR application approved under the family scheme after marrying a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR for at least 2 years.
If you are a male and granted your PR status through your PR application under the family ties scheme (being the spouse of a Singapore citizen or a Singapore PR), you are required to register for NS. However, in that case, it is possible that you may get a waiver from MINDEF for serving NS, depending on your age and profile.
If your unmarried male children (under the age of 21) are granted their PR status by being included in your PR application under the family ties scheme, such male children will be required to serve NS.
The list of supporting documents required for applying PR under the family ties scheme can be downloaded from ICA’s website, and ICA may update such list from time to time.
If you are the spouse of a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR, the commonly required supporting documents will be your passport, identity card, birth certificate, and highest academic certificates (including all tertiary qualifications). If you are gainfully employed, you will also need to submit your work pass, a current letter of employment and the last 6-month pay slips. As for the Sponsor (i.e., your spouse who is a Singapore citizen / Singapore PR), ICA will require (amongst other documents) the Sponsor’s identity card, official marriage certificate, highest educational certificates (including all tertiary qualifications), a current letter of employment and the last 6-month pay slips.
At Galactic Spark, we will guide you on exactly what documents you need to prepare after having a thorough discussion with you and the Sponsor on your application case, with a goal to highlighting the merits of your case and maximising the chance of success for your application. The documents we require from you and the Sponsor may not only be those required in ICA’s documentation list, but also any other supporting document we assess (through our experience) that might best enhance your application package.
After you provide us with scanned copies of the supporting documents, we will review all the supporting documents carefully, ensuring their completeness and accuracy and providing you with our feedback.
After we work with you to get all the supporting documents ready, we will guide you on downloading and filling out the application form for PR application under the family ties scheme.
The downloaded application form is a fillable PDF file. It is crucial to fill in all the details on the form accurately with a good strategy to highlight the merits of the case.
At Galactic Spark, we will review your entire draft application form carefully and provide you with our valuable comments or proposed amendments (if any) on the various parts of the form.
ICA does not require the applicant to submit any cover letter for PR application under the family ties scheme. We will discuss with you whether it will be beneficial for you to have a cover letter. If yes, we will be happy to prepare a customised cover letter for you as an additional supporting document for your application.
If a cover letter is to be prepared, the purpose of such cover letter is to highlight the merits of your application based on your and the Sponsor’s profile. We will work with you together to finalise the cover letter.
Presently, the submission of PR applications to ICA is 100% done online through ICA’s e-PR system, introduced by ICA on 18 December 2017. There is no need to go to ICA to submit the application form or supporting documents.
To submit a PR application under the family ties, the Sponsor must log in to ICA’s e-PR system using his/her SingPass.
At Galactic Spark, we will not request your Sponsor’s SingPass login credentials from you or your Sponsor, as your Sponsor should keep his/her SingPass login credentials strictly confidential.
For submitting your PR application under the family ties scheme, we will arrange a meeting with you and your Sponsor (either a Zoom meeting or a face-to-face meeting). Most of our clients prefer having a Zoom meeting with us for the online submission process.
If you and your Sponsor prefer to have a Zoom meeting with us for the application submission, after your Sponsor has logged into ICA’s e-PR system using his/her SingPass, we will request your Sponsor to please share his/her screen with us, and then we will guide your Sponsor step-by-step throughout the entire online submission process, ensuring that the application form and each of the supporting documents are properly uploaded under the correct category to ICA’s e-PR system.
If you and your Sponsor prefer to have a face-to-face meeting with us (with a scheduled appointment) for the application submission, after your Sponsor has logged into ICA’s e-PR system using his/her SingPass, we will (with you and your Sponsor’s presence) assist in uploading the application form and each of the supporting documents, ensuring that the application form and each of the supporting documents are properly uploaded under the correct category to ICA’s e-PR system.
At the end of the application submission, you and your Sponsor will sight ICA’s acknowledgement webpage containing an application reference number. Your Sponsor can check the status of your application by logging into ICA’s “MyICA” services using his/her SingPass.
Based on our experience, the current processing time for a PR application under the family ties scheme is approximately 6 to 9 months from the date of application. Some cases may take even longer.
Your Sponsor can check the status of your PR application under the family ties scheme by logging into ICA’s “MyICA” services using his/her SingPass.
At the time when the outcome is available, ICA will send the outcome letter by post to your Sponsor’s residential address stated in your application form submitted to ICA during the online submission process.
During the application processing time, ICA may contact your Sponsor through email or mail for further supporting documents or information. If that occurs, don’t worry; we will provide our post-submission support. You just need to provide us with a copy of ICA’s correspondence sent to your Sponsor, and we will advise you on the actions required for the next step.
During the application processing time, if there is any change in the following information, please inform us the soonest possible. We will guide your Sponsor on updating the information with ICA through ICA’s “MyICA” portal for your PR application under the family ties scheme: –
- your Sponsor’s residential address;
- your or your Sponsor’s employment (i.e., new employment, promotion, and increment);
- your marital status; or
- your or your Sponsor’s educational qualifications (i.e., new qualification).
All PR applications under the family ties scheme are subject to ICA’s approval. Like any other immigration consultancy firm, Galactic Spark cannot guarantee the success of your PR application. Our key role is to provide valuable advice and approach to assist you in presenting a well-prepared application package to ICA for ICA’s consideration.
If your PR application under the family ties scheme is successful, your Sponsor will receive an in-principle approval (IPA) letter from ICA.
The IPA Letter will list out the actions you and your Sponsor need to take to complete your PR registration formalities with ICA.
Upon your Sponsor receiving the IPA Letter for your PR application, please send a copy of the letter to us as soon as possible, and we will guide you and your Sponsor throughout the process of completing your PR registration formalities within the validity period of the IPA Letter.
Once you have completed the PR registration formalities with ICA, you will officially become a Singapore PR. Congratulations!
If your PR application under the family ties scheme is unfortunately unsuccessful, your Sponsor will receive a rejection letter from ICA.
The rejection letter from ICA usually does not state any reason for rejecting your PR application.
Upon your Sponsor receiving the rejection letter from ICA, please send a copy of the letter to us as soon as possible. We will discuss with you and your Sponsor in detail the next course of action, for example, whether your Sponsor should make an appeal to ICA or whether your Sponsor should try to submit a new PR application for you after a period of time.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your application case with us, please get in touch with us now for a complimentary one-to-one consultation session!
