Rationale for Requiring Work Permit Holder to Seek Approval to Marry Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident

6 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower what is the rationale for the requirement that a current or former work permit holder who wishes to marry a Singapore citizen or permanent resident must seek approval from the Ministry when S Pass and Employment Pass holders are not subject to the same requirement.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Work pass holders are meant to be transient. Persons who wish to stay in Singapore for the long-term must meet stringent criteria. Work permit holders (WPHs) are much less likely to meet the criteria than Employment or S Pass holders. As marriage to a Singapore citizen (SC) or permanent resident (PR) does not confer an automatic right of stay, it is better to have conveyed a clear signal in certain cases by not permitting the marriage in the first place. That said, in the last five years, about 8 in 10 WPHs have been granted approval to marry an SC or PR.