Foreign spouse's consent needed to cancel pass
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A lesser known fact among foreign wives living here is that their husbands cannot cancel their long-term visit pass (LTVP) without their consent.
While a Singaporean husband sponsors an application for an LTVP or long-term visit pass-plus (LTVP+), he cannot ask the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to cancel the pass without his foreign wife's consent, the ICA spokesman told The Straits Times.
Social workers interviewed said many foreign women are worried that their husbands may cancel their LTVP if they leave an unhappy or abusive marriage, and they would be separated from their children.
The ICA spokesman said: "The ICA requires both the Singaporean sponsor and foreign spouse to attend an interview to assess the cancellation request.
"Both parties must acknowledge and sign the necessary documents before the ICA proceeds with the cancellation."
Applications by foreign spouses who need to renew their LTVP or LTVP+ without their Singaporean spouse sponsoring it will be considered if there are mitigating factors for the foreign spouse to stay here, such as if they have Singaporean children, the spokesman added.
The LTVP+ has a longer validity period than the LTVP. The validity of the LTVP and the LTVP+ range from one to five years, said the ICA spokesman.
