You’ve lived in Singapore for a while now and
decided that you’re ready to apply for permanent residency. Why wouldn’t you be? The Lion
City has so much to offer that thousands rush to get to the forefront of
it all and become a Permanent Resident (PR). Moreover, for foreigners
living in Singapore, permanent residency is the only gateway towards
citizenship.
That said, as the head of your family, you might
feel a little hesitant about applying for it for everyone else. Your
reservations are understandable. After all, becoming a PR involves more
than just extra paperwork. Permanent residency is a commitment, an
agreement to stay and contribute to the Republic’s growth in exchange
for benefits that are second only to Citizens.
All PR hopefuls
have the option to apply for the status on their own. Singapore offers
several PR schemes, some of which allow you to acquire the status as a
family, but none compels you to include your dependants in your
application. Instead, the schemes below only extends this as an option
to each PR applicant:
● Family Scheme
● Professionals, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers (PTS) Scheme
● Global Investor Programme
If
you do meet the requirements for these schemes, you should seriously
consider including your loved ones in your Singapore PR application.
Why You Should Apply For Singapore PR as a Family
Here are some reasons why you should cast your doubts aside to apply for PR as a family.
Applying
for PR as a family would combine your strengths in an application,
rather than depend on your merits alone. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) assesses PR applications holistically, which
means that they will look at your overall potential to contribute to
and integrate into society.
Acquiring the status together, as
opposed to leaving your loved ones out, also shows your intent to sink
roots in the city-state. Ultimately, those with families are less likely
to move once they have chosen a home, especially if they are all
Permanent Residents. By contrast, PR applicants who exclude their
dependants will raise red flags since the authorities will question why
they have chosen to do so.
When you apply for PR collectively,
your entire family can reap the benefits of permanent residency
together. For countless parents, few better places exist for families to
settle down and raise their children than Singapore. The Lion City is
renowned across the world for its soaring standards of living, including
its widely accessible high-quality education, healthcare and housing.
Is Your Family Eligible for Singapore PR?
Now
that you know why you should apply for PR as a family, start looking
into your combined PR eligibility. You can do this by determining
whether you fit into any of the following PR schemes that allow you to
include your dependants in your application:
1. Family Scheme
This
scheme only allows either a Singapore Citizen or PR to apply for PR on
behalf of their spouse and children. However, note that your children
need to meet the following additional criteria:
● Unmarried
● Under the age of 21
● Born or legally adopted within the context of a legal marriage
2. PTS Scheme
Between
you and your spouse, there has to be at least one holder of an
Employment Pass, Personalised Employment Pass, EntrePass or S Pass. This
work pass holder will be the primary PR applicant. Additionally, your
children need to meet the following additional criteria, identical to
those of the Family Scheme:
● Unmarried
● Under the age of 21
● Born or legally adopted within the context of a legal marriage
Paul Immigrations Reviews
If
all of you do meet any of the above criteria in your choice of scheme,
you might now wonder how to get Singapore PR as a family. If you do not
have a clue, fret not. Paul Immigrations can be of great assistance to
guide you at every step of the process. Here is how the immigration
consultancy firm do so:
1. Profiling Through the Phone
An
immigration consultant (IC) would get in touch with you to find out if
you and/or your loved ones are eligible to apply for Singapore PR. A
series of profiling questions would be asked and if you or your loved
one is eligible, the IC would arrange an appointment with you.
2. Meeting the Immigration Consultant
During
the in person meeting, the IC would verify the information that you
have shared over the telephone conversation. Your actual work pass,
marriage certificate and children’s birth certification may be requested
by the IC for verification purposes. It is also during this meeting
that you will be able to better evaluate your chances of getting the PR
status approved.
3. Compiling Your Documents
Upon
deciding that you would like to proceed to engage the services provided
by Paul Immigrations, your profile would then be passed to the
Immigration specialist(IS) team. They would guide you and assist in
compiling the documents required for the PR application. They will also
ensure that your submission package adhere to the requirements of the PR
application.
4. Crafting the Cover Letter
Apart from
preparing your submission package for the application, the team will
also prepare a cover letter to help highlight the contributions you have
done, strengths and more, to better the chances of getting the
approval. With thousands of applicants vying for the coveted status, it
is not only about how you would blend in with the community, but also
how you stand out amongst the crowd of PR hopefuls in the best light.
5. Applying for PR Online with Guidance
Finally,
you may apply for PR online once all the necessary documents are in
order. As the application starts with logging in to ICA’s e-PR system
with your SingPass, the team will not be able to submit on your behalf.
However, they will be able to guide you in person or over a phone call,
with step by step instructions till you hit the submit button.
The
entire process with the team would take approximately 1-2 months
depending on how quick the correspondences are and another 4-6 months
for ICA to evaluate your application. To get in touch with Paul
Immigrations, feel free to fill up their enquiry form. If you do meet the requirements for these schemes, you should seriously consider including your loved ones in your Singapore PR application.
