APPLICATIONS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE, 1992 - 1993

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will state (i) the number of Singaporeans who applied for permanent residence for their spouses in 1992 and 1993; (ii) the success rate by gender breakdown; and (iii) the economic profile of the unsuccessful applicants.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: (a) In 1992, 6,546 spouses of Singapore citizens applied for permanent residence. The figure for 1993 was 6,929.

(b) The success rates for 1992 and 1993 for male spouses were 68.7% and 77.8% respectively. The corresponding figures for female spouses were 76.5% and 78.5% respectively.

(c) Immigration Department does not keep data on the economic profile of unsuccessful applicants. However, a sampling of the rejected cases showed that:

(i) Amongst the foreign husbands, 44% were unemployed while 52% were working outside Singpaore.

(ii) More than 40% of the foreign wives could not obtain PR because their Singaporean husbands were not gainfully employed. The balance of 60% were not successful for various reasons e.g. they were ex-work permit workers and had married their Singaporean husbands without the prior approval of the Ministry of Labour. Official Report - REVISION OF TIMES OF PARLIAMENT SITTINGS (Cols. 551 - 552)