Plight of Foreign Wives Who Are Divorced From Their Singaporean Husbands

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs if he will review the plight and immigration status of foreign wives who have Singaporean husbands who have either died or divorced them and are thus left in a lurch with their young Singapore citizen children.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Marriage to a Singapore citizen does not mean that a foreign spouse will get Permanent Residence (PR) or Singapore Citizenship (SC). We look at several factors in deciding the grant of PR or Singapore citizenship to foreign spouses. These include the financial ability of the SC spouse to support the foreign spouse, duration of marriage and length of stay in Singapore. Foreign spouses who are not granted PR will generally be granted a Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) for them to remain in Singapore. The foreign spouse is allowed to seek employment while on the LTVP. My Ministry is currently studying how we can further help Singaporean families with foreign spouses.

For foreign wives who are widowed or divorced and have sole custody of young Singaporean children, ICA would generally facilitate their continued stay in Singapore through a renewable LTVP. This would enable them to care for and raise their Singaporean children here.

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Help is extended to those who face financial hardship. The Singaporean children receive financial assistance from the Ministry of Education and other agencies for their school fees, textbooks and other needs. The family may also be referred to a Family Service Centre which will help them adjust to their new circumstances and help them get back on their feet.