A Square Peg in a Round Hole

When one imagines Singapore, what often comes to mind is a modern, bustling metropolis; a melting pot of cultures and experience; and a place where one expects to find the latest in innovative gadgets. What expats sometimes fail to appreciate, though, is that despite appearances, Singapore remains a conservative society with traditional views of the family unit. As such, sometimes the local immigration regime fails to accommodate some of more flexible structures found elsewhere.

Immigration and non-traditional families Singapore

In practical terms, this means that only your legally married spouse and biological children will be eligible for Dependants’ passes attached to the Employment Pass. While there are categories of passes available for parents and common-law (de facto) spouses, these are not always as easy to obtain as one might think.

Take step-parents, for example. Unless your step-parent has legally adopted you in childhood, they will not be eligible for any Long Term Visit passes in Singapore that would otherwise be connected to your Employment Pass despite being legally married to your biological parent. I have recently seen a case where the EP holder’s mother passed away while he was a toddler. His step-mother raised him since the age of about two, and he was able to provide affidavits attesting to the proof of their relationship. The only missing piece was that she had not formally or legally adopted him when she married his father. So despite the fact that she may have had legal rights as a parent in the home country, in Singapore she was unable to obtain the pass due to the lack of official paperwork to substantiate the relationship.

It has also become increasingly difficult to obtain Long Term Visit Passes for de facto or common law spouses. While previously the Singapore authorities allowed a personal statement as to the existence of such relationship, the documentary requirements have tightened up in the past eighteen months or so. In order to demonstrate this relationship, applicants are now required to provide either a common law marriage certificate; a letter from their Embassy attesting that the relationship is recognized in their home country; or an Affidavit, witnessed by an appropriate authority, setting out that the relationship is so recognized. Where none of these documents can be provided, there is a high risk that the application will be rejected.

I recently worked on a case where a couple who have been together for over ten years, and had a child together, but were unable to provide the requisite documents and as a result the dependant pass application was rejected. While I fortunately, was able to help the individual secure the pass on appeal, that may not always be the case.

The two examples above are by no means the only instances where non-traditional family units may face some obstacles in having their status recognized by the Singapore authorities. With this in mind, any relocation to Singapore will need to take into consideration the family set-up. Please do reach out to your immigration professional for detailed advice should your family unit not fit the traditional model.

For further queries, please contact [email protected].