Will Divorce Affect My Singapore PR Status If My Spouse Sponsored Me? Will It Be Revoked?

This is a frequently asked question, especially by individuals whose Permanent Residency (PR) was granted under the Family Ties Scheme. If you’re in this situation, it’s essential to understand how divorce might impact your residency status.

The short answer: No, your PR will not be automatically revoked. However, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) may reassess your status based on the change in your marital relationship.

Any of PR must be done in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration Act (Chapter 133) or the Regulations thereunder. While your PR may be sponsored by your spouse, your renewal of REP will be assessed on your own merits if you are divorced or under-going divorce cancellation.

If your Singapore Permanent Residency(PR) was granted under the Family Ties Scheme, where a Singaporean citizen or PR sponsors their foreign spouse, your PR status is implicitly tied to the continuation of that marital relationship. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) explicitly states that the Family Ties Scheme applies in such cases:

Spouses of Singaporean citizens or PRs are eligible to apply under this scheme. For married couples, this can facilitate family unification and long-term settlement in Singapore.

This shows that eligibility to apply for PR is predicated on being the legal spouse of a Singapore citizen, and the objective of the scheme is to promote family unity through lawful marriage.

Therefore, when that spousal relationship ceases to exist by divorce, ICA has the legal discretion to reassess your PR status, even though PR is not automatically revoked.

The legal power to cancel PR lies under Section 14(4)(c) of the Immigration Act. The section is reproduced as follows:

Where any person has entered or remains in Singapore by virtue of a permit or certificate, and the Controller is satisfied that —

1. any material statement made in or in connection with the application for the permit or certificate was false or misleading;
2. the person is a prohibited immigrant; or
3. the holder of the permit or certificate has contravened any provision of this Act or the regulations or any condition of the permit or certificate, [Act 31 of 2023 wef 31/12/2024]

the Controller may cancel the permit or certificate issued to that person, and may declare at any time after the date of the entry or date of the issue of the permit or certificate that the presence of that person in Singapore is unlawful.

While ICA does not publish the precise “conditions” imposed on each PR grant, it is accepted that continued eligibility under the Family Ties Scheme is contingent upon maintaining the marital relationship that justified the PR in the first place. Hence, ICA can invoke section 14(4)(c) to review (and potentially cancel) PR after divorce, if they conclude that the “basis” for PR no longer exists.

Please note that PR status is not automatically revoked upon divorce, as the Statute explicitly states that the Controller “may” cancel the permit or certificate issued to that person. There is only discretion granted to the Controller in doing so, it does not mean an automatic revocation of PR status.

In re-assessing the eligibility of your PR status, the ICA looks to the following factors:

ICA takes into account factors such as the individual’s family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile and length of residency, to assess the applicant’s ability to contribute to Singapore and integrate into our society, as well as his or her commitment to sinking roots in Singapore.

The ICA evaluates PR applications holistically, considering factors such as family ties to Singaporeans, length of residency, integration into society, and commitment to sinking roots in Singapore.