<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>How ICA can help PR mothers who work
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I HAVE been a permanent resident (PR) for the past four years and have enjoyed every bit of my stay in Singapore. It was a conscious decision to move to this city-state, considering the quality of life, pro-family approach and proximity to my home country, India.
Recently, I gave birth and was glad when my mother agreed to take care of my child for the first year. It came as a great relief, especially as I do not trust a maid to give as much care as a family member, and considering the criticality of such care and attention for a good upbringing.
However, when I applied for my mother's long-term visa, it was rejected not once but twice. I have appealed again, but the response is not expected to be favourable.
Why is this so? Why would a country that prides itself on its pro-family approach and encourages women in the workforce to consider childbirth reject an application for a long-term visa, despite clarification with proof that the application is to allow my mother to take care of a newborn child?
In my case and that of a friend who is in the same boat, the response from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been that the maximum stay is 90 days, and the visitor must wait at least a month before returning to Singapore for another 90 days. So who takes care of the child when the mother returns to work after 90 days of maternity leave?
I understand that flexibility is possible in applications for long-term visas. My appeal is that the ICA approves genuine applications by facilitating extended family support for newborns of working PR women.
Radhika Bangaru (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I HAVE been a permanent resident (PR) for the past four years and have enjoyed every bit of my stay in Singapore. It was a conscious decision to move to this city-state, considering the quality of life, pro-family approach and proximity to my home country, India.
Recently, I gave birth and was glad when my mother agreed to take care of my child for the first year. It came as a great relief, especially as I do not trust a maid to give as much care as a family member, and considering the criticality of such care and attention for a good upbringing.
However, when I applied for my mother's long-term visa, it was rejected not once but twice. I have appealed again, but the response is not expected to be favourable.
Why is this so? Why would a country that prides itself on its pro-family approach and encourages women in the workforce to consider childbirth reject an application for a long-term visa, despite clarification with proof that the application is to allow my mother to take care of a newborn child?
In my case and that of a friend who is in the same boat, the response from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been that the maximum stay is 90 days, and the visitor must wait at least a month before returning to Singapore for another 90 days. So who takes care of the child when the mother returns to work after 90 days of maternity leave?
I understand that flexibility is possible in applications for long-term visas. My appeal is that the ICA approves genuine applications by facilitating extended family support for newborns of working PR women.
Radhika Bangaru (Ms)
