Long-term Visit Passes Issued to Female Visitors Accompanying Children or Grandchildren on Student Passes

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) for the last 10 years, how many female visitors have been granted Long Term Visit Passes to accompany their children or grandchildren to study in Singapore on a student pass; and (b) what proportion of such persons remain in Singapore after their children or grandchildren have completed their studies and under what circumstances.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: There has been a decrease in the number of study mothers over the last 10 years. As at end 2013, there were about 4,800 female visitors on Long Term Visit Passes (LTVPs) with up to one-year validity accompanying their children or grandchildren studying in Singapore on a Student's Pass (STP), compared to about 6,500 study mothers at end 2004.

Once the student completes his studies, his STP is no longer valid and he has to leave the country. The accompanying mother or grandmother is also not allowed to remain in Singapore.

However, there are certain circumstances where the mother may remain in Singapore, for example, when the mother qualifies for a work pass on her own merits and she stays in Singapore to work. The application for a work pass is a separate process and is not linked to the LTVP that she was earlier issued. We do not have readily available data on the number of such cases.