Applications for Long-Term Visit Pass and Permanent Residency for Foreign Spouses

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs from 2000 to 2010 (a) how many Singaporeans with locally-born children applied for long term visit pass and permanent residency for their foreign spouses each year; (b) how many of their spouses were granted long term visit pass and permanent residency; and (c) which countries do most of these foreign spouses come from.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: From 2000 to 2010, the number of Singaporeans who applied for Long-Term Visit Passes (LTVP) and Permanent Residence (PR) for their foreign spouses each year averaged 12,100 and 8,700 respectively. Over the same period, an average of 10,300 and 4,600 foreign spouses of Singaporeans were granted LTVP and PR respectively each year. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority is unable to further break down the data by whether the applicants had locally-born children at the time of application.

The majority of these foreign spouses granted LTVP or PR are from South East Asia.

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