Leong Sze Hian / Columnist
I refer to media reports about Singaporeans who have been unable to get permission to marry foreigners, despite repeated appeals to the relevant authorities and their members of parliament (MPs).
Singaporeans with lower-income, lower education, or lower-skilled jobs, find it harder to get permission to marry foreigners.
For example, a Singaporean male sales manager in an electronics shop, age 44, earning $1,700 a month, was denied permission, with the reason that his income was deemed too low to support a family. Now, after more than 20 appeals to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), more than four years, a few MPs, the answer is still no despite his salary having gone up to $2,500 now.
I find it somewhat ironic that a Singaporean can go to a neighbouring country like Vietnam, pay a few thousand dollars, and marry a bride whom he has met only a few days before.
In contrast, if he wants to marry a foreigner who has ever been to Singapore on a work permit or S-employment pass, he has to apply for permission.
Surely, a relationship of many years with a foreigner in Singapore, may be a more lasting and lovely one, than a “few days” bride transaction.
Will such policies contribute to more marriage strife and increasing divorce rates? At the end of the day, it may be the children of such failed marriages, who may bear the brunt of the consequences.
There are also cases of Singaporeans who have to travel to foreign countries periodically to meet their foreign wives and children, because permission to marry was denied.
Some of these Singaporeans may decide to migrate eventually.
I find it somewhat contradictory that whilst we are encouraging procreation, and are aware of the increasing trend of Singaporeans marrying non-Singaporeans, which I understand is now at an all-time high of about 4 out of 10 marriages, that we continue to deny permission to marry in genuine cases.
As our constitution and national pledge say equality for citizens, why do we discriminate against citizens on the basis of their income, education and occupation?
If the theory that intelligence is due more to genes than to the environment is correct, are we not in a sense, making the lives of the genetically disadvantaged even harder, by denying their basic human right to love, to marry, and to have children?
I understand that those who have ever worked in Singapore have to apply to the MOM for permission to marry, whilst others have to apply to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
Do they use the criteria of assessment? Why not have just one authority so that the process and criteria may be more consistent?
I would also like to suggest that the criteria be made public, so that Singaporeans don’t fall in love with the wrong people.
With the foreigner population growing at double digits to more than one million now, this problem may continue to grow.
If we are worried about “sham” marriages to get residency in Singapore, we can perhaps learn from other countries like the United States, which has severe penalties for “sham” marriages, whilst maintaining the right of every U.S citizen to marry anyone they truly love.
I also understand that for Singaporean women, getting permission to marry a foreigner is even harder than for our men, as even higher standards of income, education and occupation are required.
Is this a breach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), of which Singapore is a signatory?
References:
“We’re not young anymore” (New Paper, Oct 22).
“If only she hadn’t worked here before” (New Paper, Oct 21).———-
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As long as the person is earning a high income it is enough proof that he/she can support a family whether or not they are marrying a foreigner. If the authorities has to be so strict, then when 2 Singaporeans decide to get married, they should check how much they are they earning too. If one or combined salary does not reach at least SGD4000, then these 2 Singaporeans should not get married either.
Even our rights to marry have to be dictated by the state.
What a joke! This is not gay marriage!
Hope to say bye bye.
Eat until so big still need permission to marry? lol.
The title is misleading. There’s no barrier to marriage. There is however a barrier to importing spouses into Singapore (a policy which I disagree with even though I’m already married).
If one wants to marry a foreign bride, be prepared to live and work in another country. Some people see it as bad, others see it as an opportunity. When enough people leave, you can be sure the policy will change again.
1) loop
Now. now, hush a little …. don’t go putting this kind of thoughts into this govt’s head. It might just well take up your idea.
We have to really come to terms with one thing about this govt. This article proves beyong a reasonable doubt that this govt does not possess the heart (literally) to govern. Probably the lightning bolt has taken the life out of it, I don’t know.
Everything is about money. This is how evil penetrates until they don’t even realise it. PAP has become Evil with a capital E.
Unfortunately, rules here are cast in stone – for the good of the nation and the people.
… unless, of course, you are high enough up the food chain to get around it – which will then be for the good of the nation and the people.
The poor guy (in the example) is probably stuck here because of family ties, otherwise, he’d have just gone to the Philippines to marry and settle down.
A prisoner of (social and economic) design – the story of most Singaporeans…
It is a clear that our gahmen is out of touch and out of place from the ground.
Policies that they throw out are what they think are good based on their agenda but do not accurately represent the needs of building our nation.
And if investing in a mini-bond is our personal decision, how come marrying isn’t? Still need permission? KNS
Well, not too sure if this makes any sense or not..
How about they solemnize their marriage somewhere other than in Singapore, like in the girl’s home country..
Welcome to Singapore. It is jammed UNIQUE!
Our system is punitive. If they solemnise anywhere else, the girl can NEVER get any sort of approval to be in Singapore permanently (or even for extended periods for that matter). At present they are hanging on to the HOPE that they will get lucky and it will be approved somehow.
My guess is that the girl may not be highly educated either so no benefit to Singapore (read: government) as the guy has no education and no money (PSLE and $2,500pm don’t count), and the girl has nothing to offer.
In contrast, if he wants to marry a foreigner who has ever been to Singapore on a work permit or S-employment pass, he has to apply for permission.
The key factor here is that the foreign bride is a work permit or S-employment pass holder. This is where MOM permission comes in. It seems the gov wants their labour but don’t want them to stay and become citizens via marrying Singaporeans. But you can’t prevent romance within work place between the foreign workers and locals, so MOM permission is required for marrying foreign workers.
Yes, they can get marry elsewhere but the bride will not be getting Singapore citizenship. I am not sure if she will be able to get long term social visit pass to stay in Singapore as well.
In a free trade economy we can prostitute ourselves to the whole wide world and the whole wide world can prostitute themselves to us.
In the solemn sanctity of marriage, we cannot even decide on the person we can marry especially when the partner falls outside the imposed parameters.
Seems like freedom of choice is falling into the same category as freedom of speech.
Income should not be the only criteria in deciding whether a Singaporean should marry a foreign bride.
The MOM should work on a case-by-case basis to assess the viability of the marriage by gauging the strength of the relationship, perhaps even speaking to several ‘witnesses’ as a form of verification.
Furthermore, I think that whatever the required salary is for such marriages to be approved, the requirement should be lowered. While the man earns $2,500 a month, his wife would be able to work as well to supplement that income. This would probably bring total income to over $3k.
I personally know of families who are surviving on less than that amount, but just that their children will have to rely on bursaries and grants.
I must admit the MOM is in a bind here — too much of low income families would mean a heavier burden on the government. To allow once such case to pass might mean that more would apply to do the same as well. With such limited land to supported a limited population, can the government really afford this?
In such a unique situation such as Singapore’s, a balance must be struck between allowing genuine cases to pass through versus limiting the inflow of foreign brides. The problem is: how much of such ‘genuine cases’ does it receive every month?
Love is unpredictable. While the government may try to discourage foreign workers from sinking roots here, it is inevitable that some will still fall through the cracks. While I don’t think all Singaporean men – foreign maid relationship should be approved, I feel that more consideration should be placed on the fact that the Singaporean man is already 44. With him having little hope of marrying a local girl, why stop him from marrying a foreign one?
It’s the only shot he might have left.
Perhaps regulations should be adjusted to take into account men like these.
“In such a unique situation such as Singapore’s, a balance must be struck between allowing genuine cases to pass through versus limiting the inflow of foreign brides. The problem is: how much of such ‘genuine cases’ does it receive every month?”
“Love is unpredictable. While the government may try to discourage foreign workers from sinking roots here, it is inevitable that some will still fall through the cracks. ”
I like the way you make your insinuation. So it is not so hopeless after all.
Ask someone who has done it before lah and be very patient lah. Once the gate is there, you need the key to open it. Law of unintended consequences ?
this govt policy is in a way telling the bloke to pick a singaporean wife lah !
remember oldfart mentioned about too many educated spinsters ?
too many of them are playing hard to get. lol
oldfart should retire and play matchmaker or advisor to some of the dating agencies that have many members who are uni graduates.
Sitting next to me is a foreigner working here in Singapore. He is married to a senior nurse from his own country. The wife was granted PR in super quick time because she is a senior nurse and the nursing profession is in high demand.
I asked my colleague how he got his PR and he said it was during the time when there was a worldwide demand for nurses. The wife used this as a bargaining chip to get PR status for her entire family.
He is currently 8 years into an administrative job that can be filled by a Singaporean anytime. His children have been competing for places in primary and secondary schools which otherwise would have gone to Singaporeans.
He is contributing to the traffic congestion everyday because their combined pay packages allow them to drive.
He dwells a flat that otherwise would have gone to a Singaporean.
Most importantly, he has a retirement plan which he is not afraid to share much to the envy of the Singaporeans working alongside him. He WILL return to this 3rd world country home in a few years time and he will enjoy his retirement by the seaside with the money from the sale of his flat, CPF contributions and savings.
I am relating this story partly because I want to ask if there is a difference in the approval process when couples fall into certain categories, see below. If foreigners can get PR so easily, why then is it so difficult to grant citizenship to spouses of Singaporeans – no matter whether they fall into the imposed parameters set out by the govt.
1. SG female professional + Ordinary foreign man
2. SG male professional + Ordinary foreign girl
3. SG ordinary man + Professional foreign girl
4. SG ordinary female + Professional foreign man
5. SG professional + Professional foreigner
6. SG ordinary + Ordinary foreigner
If there is a different answer to any of these, then our policy is totally wrong.
The MOM should work on a case-by-case basis to assess the viability of the …
If you ask MOM to do case-by-case assessment, they will tell you that they do. You can bet every government agency like HDB will show you that they are kind, considerate, and flexible enough to do case-by-case assessment. The question is how often the outcome will be different and any reasonable explanation of the decision will be given.
what makes MOM think that an income of $1,700 or $2,500 was deemed too low to support a family??? what kind of lifestyle are they expecting pple to live, super extravagant……
i’m sorry but singapore is a signatory to the Human Rights Charter. I think i have no need to mention just how much clauses they have breached in there.
Marriage? Are you out of your mind? We’re only worrying about the next meal. Who has time to think about marriage when some of us don’t even have a job? Who has time to think about marriage when communal forces disrupt our careers and our lives? Who has time to think about marriage when our families are being threatened by the community?
That is shocking. I had no idea things were like that.
I thought you find someone and get married. period.
It’s just crazy to think that someone needs permission ( minus the spouse’s parents) to get married.
we are just digit…. u want to married? ….. ask the authority first….. money enough anot first….. u chose these leader who come out with such ruling & to make matter worst , we pay millions for such monkeys.
Thanks for the article. It is an eye-opener. I had no clue MOM actually restricts (or has the right to restrict) marriage in this manner.
Does anyone have the official explanation and justification of the “Marriage Restriction Policy” governing this case?
That’s PAP for you.
Well…the govt merely wants to create a buffer where it would ease them to “dispose” of the services of the guest workers (as termed by them). Imagine the complications that it would create if they were to allow such marriages so easily? Perhaps the latent function that can be seen here is that they want singaporeans to marry singaporeans. Why? well, simply because we seem to have better genes then those coming from third world countries. They do not contribute much to the country’s economy so what are the chances of their offsprings doing the same?
However functional it may seem, the conflicting theory to this is that the government has no use of assimilating more proletariat into its ranks. Sure…foreigners who have the means to contribute to the growth and development of this country would be readily accepted with big wide open arms(remember the 1960′s-1980′s where MNCs were invited?).
Something to think about there…
I remember I have to appeal through my MP twice to married my wife 25 year ago because she was a work permit holder with a partial A level certificate from Malaysia [fail malay.] Permission was granted after I submitted my request accompanied by a application to emigrate if permission is not granted.
I am surprise that this rule still exist today after quarter of a century. On the other hand, I should not be surprise since all of our leaders justified a rule or law with proclaimation of “If it is not broken, why fixed it?”
Our ministers are not leaders but dumb followers of an old and outdated Emperor and his prince.
To my best understanding, only work permit holder need to seek Ministry of Manpower (MOM) permission to engage in a marriage with the local. However, there seem to be a shift in this policy when more and more engineering and managerial level man choose to marry PRC girl working in the factory.
Suddenily, you call the MOM and they actually tell you that you don’t have to seek their permission anymore. However, to play safe, many of these engineers and managers know better and still continue to ask the department for paperwork to avoid future complication.
I think why this sudden change is because:
1. They are engineers and managers and should be able to afford a foreign wife and thus not becoming a liability to the Government.
2. They do not want the current Singapore Chinese population to become the minority because the young generation simply do not want to commit with children in early part of their marriage (open national secret I suppose) .
Often when you go to the ICA to apply PR for the foreign bride, you will find that these officers like to pull MOM into the picture if your bride happened to hold a work permit in their computer record. Even when MOM tell you over the phone, you don’t have to involve them. That makes me conclude that all Ministries actually run on it own and when policy changed, they will not inform one another which explain the poor efficiency.
As matter of fact if you look at the work permit, there is a mention that Permit holder are not allow to get married in Singapore. On the other hand, you don’t see that in a Employment Pass. So, I believe the message is very clear. If you want to marry a foreigner. Either you can prove with your income you can support him/her. If not she have to prove that she has a qualification to find a descent (wash plates, clean toilet is not a descent job, preferably executive level) job here in case you left her for the marriage.
#16) squidsquid
“what makes MOM think that an income of $1,700 or $2,500 was deemed too low to support a family??? what kind of lifestyle are they expecting pple to live, super extravagant……”
We all know how much they think a peanut cost… How to have 3 meals a day when 1 peanut is already so expensive?
First they bring in all the foreigners to keep our salary low, and now they tell us we can’t marry who we want just because our salary is too low? Salary is one thing, but love and marriage is in another category entirely. I’m surprised that there aren’t more outraged people. I know I was when I first read the article in the news, and still am.
Maybe it would be best if the govt disallowed marriages between a grad and nongrad. Grads can only marry grads, and non grads can only marry non grads.
And non grads are not allowed to have children. That would clear up most of the riff raff on the streets. I’m sure LKY would be happy to implement this.
In the first place, LKY already admitted his mistake explaining that the reason for Singapore man not able to find a Singapore wife is because he allows too much education for the Singapore woman.
This comment actually raised a lot of eye brown and he actually got shot in the forum by the general public especially the woman. This is mentioned not because I agree with him but to show a bigger picture that this is due to his PAP administration failure of “GOOD” government. They had effectively created more and more social problem.
Personally, I felt that he had seen the picture wrong way. Problem is not the education but lie on the fact that Singaporean man has to go National Service and not woman. It is this part of the life that totally changed the prospective of life between the man and woman of Singapore. While army teaches the men discipline, team work, the real world actually exposed the woman earlier to material needs and reality of the society. This creates big gaps in the advancement of Singapore man and woman thinking.
In the past, majority of the Singapore woman do not have the opportunity of education had somehow slow down this gap and moreover Singapore at that time is very much poorer (everyone is thinking of how to make ends meet).
For this I concluded that PAP in the past until now did not think “10 years down the road” even till now. If they did have the sage vision of where Singapore is going “Two is enough Policy” will not even exist which linked to so many social and administrative problem now? Just think about the current introduction of more foreigners into our country to fill up the gap. Isn’t that start from “Two is enough”? Yes, enough indeed. Enough problem for the nation.
BTW. Singaporean have no right to decide on “right to love, marry and procreate” if you introduced a poor woman or man into the country. This is because, they eventually become a liability to the country thus the Ministers has to cut their pay to support them.
Simple as that. Wait! I thought with all those taxes and revenues that the PAP had collected from us, we should be rich enough to support our country man? Oh, I forgot. It has all went into the construction of “5 Stars” police station, court house, government building etc and most importantly failed investment overseas.
The gorverment has a unwritten policy of selectively discriminating who can marry a Sinagporean men. Not long ago it quietly allowed Chinese factory girls to marry Singaporeans while holding a Work Permit without having to aplly to MOM or the ICA. I came to know about this when I went to collect the Work permit of a China girl. It came in the form of a letter stating clearly that the Work Permit holder is allowed to marry any Singaporean without any restriction.
In contrast, Malaysians who are on Work Permit and housemaids in general are not allowed to marry Singaporeans without MOM clearance. MOM, to my knowledge have not approved any such applications. What is the reason for this double standard, nobody really knows.
Wow. You mean there’s such a ruling here? We are first world country right?
30) roland Soh on November 14th, 2008 10.27 am
What is the reason for this double standard, nobody really knows.
Reason is simple, creating more citizens to vote for these MIW. Since you people are being kept from the truth behind, can there be a attached creteria that voting for the MIW is compulsory before they are allow to marry each other? who will know?
I too find this policy not letting those work permits holders married Singaporean are really violated Human Rights. These work permit holders have integrated into our society and must have like our country to work here for many years, they are more adaptable than those brides who cannot may not able to speak our language.
If our ministers consider a singapore male earning $1500 and a work permit woman earning $1200 (total family income $2700) cannot afford a family, what about 2 singaporean earning $2700 can afford a family!
Our MIWs are not keeping in touch with our society, they are living in ivory towers.
ive been with my fiancee for 3 years now and we still thinking and stressing out this matter…im a local woman earning 1400k a month and he is a foreigner which earn less in his state which is nepal..but we still work hard to be together here in singapore…i want to make things very clear here…why is it so difficult for a social visit pass to get marry to singaporean woman and get a SPR??my husband to be is well educated,bachelor degree.He told me he dare not work in singapore because the government here is so strict.Sometimes i wish i was not born in singapore.Almost all my freedom was taken away by the law.Why can’t we just get married and earn a living in spore in just 1 peace.All im asking for now is to let us be together.How do you feel if your in my shoe?
Hi dilemmaz
Have you applied for permission to marry your fiancee? Appealed to your MP?
Cheers
Leong Sze Hian
Why should we even have to appeal to our MPs, and over marriage of all things? It’s totally absurd that the government’s permission is needed to marry.
34) dilemmaz
Hi,
The equation is very simple. You said your partner is a degree holder but you did not mention the degree was obtained from where. Was it in Nepal? Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be funny or anything.
You see, I have working alongside me, degree holders who are working as clerks in the department. I have doctors working as clinical coders who performs the sort of clinical administrative jobs. You know why? Because their degrees are not recognised in Singapore. Their PHDs are not recognised even though they are full fledge doctors in their own countries.
You are not alone.
Now, I read that you are earning $1400 a month which means also that you are probably in the non-executive group which also means you probably have as high a qualification of at most a diploma. No, you do not have to answer me if this is right or wrong. It’s ok, you need not tell nor do you have to comfirm this.
Based on what I have surmised above, I can see clearly why your partner will have problem getting PR in Singapore. The Singapore government very hardly takes into consideration when granting PR to foriegners, the qualifications of Singaporeans. They would more often look at the foreigner and see if his field of expertise, his profession, is sought after in Singapore.
On the other hand, this is where the biaisness of Singapore policies come into play, and I will only quote one example, I have a foreign PR, who was granted PR because his wife is a senior nurse, a profession very much in demand.
I had casually asked my colleague how he was granted his PR when others were finding it so difficult to get theirs. His reply was, they (his wife & him) ‘bargained’ with the authorities that his family be granted PR if not they would pack up and leave Singapore for UK, which had at that time been scouting for nurses in Singapore.
He is now working as and administrative assistant in my department even though he has a degree that is not recognised by Singapore.
These are the sort of nonsense that pisses me off.
Hi,
I actually don’t know where is the justification! I am holding a managerial post with $6000 monthly income and a master degree. The MOM rejected my application via MP twice to marry an ex-work permit holder. My wife is now suffered from stroke due to depression and stress leaving her right arm loses feeling. Can you see what this outdated Marriage Restriction Policy has caused to the normal citizen like us!!
Hi Desperado,
My heart goes out to you and this is as much as I can offer you.
It really makes no sense does it.? We welcome foreign talents with open arms but when one of its own citizens chooses a life partner of his or her own, the welcome is reserved for those who fit in to the profile of a foreign talent, never mind the talented Singaporean.
I am afraid that there won’t be any recourse for you now that your wife has suffered a stroke due to depression. I am so sorry to hear this, if it helps at all.
I do not know if any of the opposition parties would want to politicise your case to bring public attention to your kind of situation. It might be worth a try with the GE looming over the horizon.
Take good care.
Hi Gemami,
Thank you for your showing your sympathy with me, though there is little i can do about it!
Any ray of hope of advice from anybody will be much appreciated!
Thanks again!
I married a permit holder in her own country when she went back after her permit expired. When she returned to Singapore, I tried to apply her a long term visa but was rejected. ICA also imposed an entry ban on my wife, not letting her enter Singapore. Reason is that I didn’t ask them permission first and wait their approval to get married. They insist they need MOM’s clearance first. Can anyone please tell me how long will this will take. Just for them to lift the entry ban so I can apply her a long term visa so she can come in and out of s’pore as and when.
Entry ban for illegal immigrant (those that caught working when on social visit pass) should be 2 years. However, for your wife case is special, since her work permit was cancelled in good term (I assume with good employment record and it was cancelled because end of the contract?).
The mistakes you make (Sorry, not that I am bugging you)
1. Should seek permission from MOM to get marry (because she hold a work permit before, I believe your wife should know that because she might have seen some of her co-worker married the local)
2. To the rest of the bloggers here that has the intention to marry foreigner somewhere in the future. Even after you seek approval from MOM to get marry, it is advisable to marry in SINGAPORE rather than FOREIGN country (I ever witnessed in ROM the number of documents required to convert your foreign ROM certification is unbelievable.
As for solution for this situation, there are few issue to consider:
1. How much the husband earn every month (ideal usually $2,700 gross, but I personally think safer side will be $3k and above).
2. Did your wife has any bad record during her employment in Singapore?
If the above satisfied. Then you should consider write to MOM first to explain the reason why you did not inform them before your marriage? Your objective is to get a letter from them that they accept your reason.
With this letter, you then go to your MP and get another letter. Then finally, you go to the ICA. Hope this help
Seriously to all:
I believe this policy on the foreigner marriage is due to the fact that in the past a lot of foreigner and Singaporean had abused the system. Even up till now, we have false marriage to earn money or even foreigner that married Singaporean to get PR and then later divorced the partner. Generally speaking, it is protect we Singaporean but however, when our government own agenda include “liability” of the foreigner to the country was included into the equation. The problem became much more complex that it already is!
The line drawn became very narrow and rigid. on the other hand, current Singapore situation where the male and female mindset becoming very much far apart also must be included into the consideration. What I see that Singapore government must do are:
1. Consider how to make Singaporean marriage internally rather than foreigner
2. If foreigner marriage is the direction, then how the line should be drawn.
You see, a lot of time, the root problem of the foreign marriage was because the fundamental problem on the standard of living such as minimum wage, rising cost which make Singapore female expectation on their counterpart singapore male higher. It would be right to say that our government had effectively allowed capitalism evil grow out of proportion! Unless all the social issues are straighten out, there might not even a solution for this problem!
I wish to thank RED-man for his response.
Yes my wife had a good employment record and she left after her contract expired. I will strongly consider your suggestion. I have gone to my MP to write to MOM, after which the appeal was declined. Could you please tell me the objective of the letter from my MP. I am unclear where exactly the MP’s letter should be addressed to, Just the objective will help me start thinking. I await your kind response. Thanks
Dear Logical Son
Don’t mentioned it. Just sharing what I know. First of all, there are a few invisible lines that the government do not want to address properly when come to local and foreigner marriage.
1. The foreigner that hold permit before (except employment pass, because they are deem professional).
2. The foreigner that was caught illegal working in Singapore and given a so-called white card. Usually when their case is settle in court, they will be depot back to their country. Passport usually held during this period of time. Ban from Singapore for a period of 2 years, but I suspect even after that, they might have difficulty applying visa.
3. Foreigner who do not hold any work permit or bad record.
For No.1 and No.3, is very important to know that husband income weigh a lot when come to approval of their bride visa. Like I mentioned above, $2,700. But for sure, $3000 will be a more comfortable zone for approval.
For your info, I understand from many of my co-workers that MOM actually approve foreign permit holder request to marry to the local when asked. It is not so strict compared to the past. I think main reason is because, they want more PRC (to increase Singapore Chinese population). Yes, it is a open state secret! You can call it bias.
Now, come to your question. DO NOT go to your MP unprepared. To my understanding, they are incompetent and most of the Government Department don’t give them face. Usually, if you get the approval, it is your own credit. Not theirs (Personal experience). My wife is a foreigner but not a permit holder. At the same time, I know the DO and DON’T. But most important is that my income is more than enough to get her PR approved.
Unless you are in AMK where your MP is LHL. If not, do some homework. Your problem is MOM. So that is where you should spend your time in (Not with your MP). He can’t do anything! Objective is to explain to the MOM that your wife left Singapore in good term and due to some reason (better be a strong one) you forget to ask their permission to get marry. Maybe you can say that:
1. She had already went back and you have no idea that you still need approval from MOM even when she went back. Btw that why you marry in her country.
2. Tell MOM, that your wife is currently barred from Singapore and would appreciate if they can give you a letter that they have no objection to this marriage. (This is where you want to highlight her good employment record).
You need to keep bugging MOM until you got this letter from them. After you got this letter, go to ROM to ask about converting the marriage certification to Singapore cert. She need that anyway, if she can come back. You will find that you need it for your children, work almost anything you apply in the future. (That is the reason why, I mentioned it is very unwise of you to get married overseas).
Armed with:
1. MOM letter (forgiven letter)
2. Local marriage cert
3. Go look for your MP, with these document, he will know how to write.
4. Then cross your finger and go to ICA.
Now, if at this stage, it still don’t work. I suggest that you write to the Prime Minister Officer. In army, we call it chain of command. Remember? Okay, I really wish you luck. However, I hope your income satisfy what I stated above. This is pretty much very important in this SinkaBloodypore.
BTW, is your wife given a white card?
Go to this website and click MOM
(almost all big shot is here. Get your MP to contact them)
http://www.sgdi.gov.sg/
Or go to here to bug the office on your wife case. You will be invited to a small room for interview with CCTV recording the whole process:
Foreign Manpower Management Division
Ministry of Manpower
120 Kim Seng Road
Singapore 239436
(refer from this link)
http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/header/contact_us.html
****NOTE:
Don’t go to Work Pass Services Centre (WPSC), they issue pass only.
My wife was never given a white card. Where can I obtain her good employment record? As for my income, I’m at a comfortable level. I married her in PI because her parents are elderly her father wanted to witness the ceremony. Respect for elders. Only now I have to do homework to proceed cautiously because I never ask their permission. Next month will be the 6th mth since the ban started. When the ban started I called MOM and a person told me to start applying after 6 month. Actually I was enquiring how long do I have to wait or if I can pay a fine to close the case.
My goodness, not long ago MM says something about graduate parents produces graduate childrens which already offending so many people here, and now they even want to put a restriction on how we are going to get married. What the hell is he trying to do to the people of singapore? its getting out of hand.
Dear logical man
Write to me directly at my email: mob_1001@yahoo.com.sg