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I'd like to spend a year living with my Singaporean citizen partner (not married) in Singapore. I'm an EU citizen and have a full time remote-work job. If I have to leave briefly and come back once or twice, that's ok, but want to spend as much of the year as possible there.

I know Singapore doesn't have a digital nomad visa. I'm pretty sure I can get a 90 day STVP and apply to extend it for another 30 days. Beyond that I don't know. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs website says

"There is strictly no extension of visa validity or change of visa type. You can submit a fresh application upon the expiry or upon utilisation of your current visa. However, please note that each visa application is assessed on its own merits."

So I could apply for a second visa immediately after the first expires. Does anyone know how likely they are to grant that? I can show I have a place to stay and significant savings. Alternatively, is there another option we haven't thought of?

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    Do you meet any of the eligibility criteria for a long term visit pass?
    – Traveller
    Commented Aug 6 at 20:15
  • Hey thanks, no I don’t think so. I’m not a spouse/parent/child of a Singapore citizen, not a grandparent of a student and not looking to give birth in Singapore. I am a higher learning graduate and I guess I’m looking for a job in the sense that if I saw a great job opportunity I’d be interested, but wasn’t really thinking of it specifically.
    – ludog
    Commented Aug 6 at 20:56
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    This site is for short term travel, like vacations. You will probably get better answers on our Expatriates site which deals with living and working abroad.
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Aug 6 at 21:44
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    @ludog This site says that common law spouses of EP and SP holders are eligible for LTVP visas. Common law means you don't have to be married, but you do have to be in a long term relationship. How long have you been together?
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Aug 6 at 21:48
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    Is your partner a Singapore citizen? Resident? On a work visa?
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Aug 6 at 22:01

2 Answers 2

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Your only legal options to do this would be to either acquire a Long-Term Visit Pass, which is not possible unless you're married to a Singaporean/PR, or a Dependent Pass/LTVP with working rights, which requires that your partner (married or common-law) is there on a working visa. Since you've stated that your partner is a Singaporean but you are not married, neither is applicable to you.

There are no borderline options for a year long stay either: after your initial 90 days is up, if you try to return for another long visit Immigration is very likely to ask you some hard questions about why exactly a tourist is spending more than three months in Singapore. And illegally overstaying is obviously a colossally bad idea that involves caning if caught over 90 days over the limit.

Your least bad option is likely to acquire a digital nomad visa in a nearby country, with Malaysia's Professional Visit Pass (90 days extendable up to a year) being the obvious option. This will let you live in Johor Bahru right across the border, or KL if you want a bigger/more interesting city 35 min away by plane, and frequently visit Singapore without raising too many hackles from Immigration. And of course your partner can travel the other way as well. More exotic/affordable options include Thailand (1.5 hrs by plane to Phuket, 2 to Bangkok) or Indonesia (30 min by ferry to Batam, 2.5 hrs by plane to Bali).

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  • While this answer is not wrong as such I believe that an LTVP can be issued to the spouse of someone in Singapore on an Employment Pass, S-Pass and various other visas, and that "spouse" includes common-law spouse, so the OP may be eligible. visaguide.world/asia/singapore-visa/long-term-visit-pass
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Aug 7 at 0:53
  • Thanks. Any idea how long I’d need to be gone after the first visa to have a good chance of getting a second 90 day? I could come back to Europe for month or two.
    – ludog
    Commented Aug 7 at 6:26
  • @DJClayworth That's meant for foreign common-law couples moving to Singapore. OP has clarified that their partner is a citizen, which means this is not an option.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Aug 7 at 6:29
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    @ludog You'll be under the microscope if you return after even a single 90-day visit to Singapore. It's a small island and actual tourists run out of things to do within a week.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Aug 7 at 6:37
  • I see. Just to be certain I understand, I was thinking perhaps of doing a 90+30 STVP, then leaving Singapore back to Europe for a couple of months, then going back to Singapore for another 90+30, then leaving again for good. You're saying they're not going to want to give me the second STVP in this case?
    – ludog
    Commented Aug 7 at 8:08
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If your partner is in Singapore on an Employment Pass, S-Pass or Personal Employment Pass then you may be able to get a Long Term Visit Pass, which allows you to stay in Singapore for up to two years. You are eligible for an LTVP issued by the Ministry of Manpower (yes, that's really what they call it) if you are the common-law spouse of someone in Singapore on one of the above visas. There are some others too. This LTVP is different from the ones issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, which are the most usual and easiest ones.

I've not been able to determine exactly what the qualifications for "common-law spouse" are - presumably you need to have been in a relationship for some significant amount of time. Your partner would have to apply for the LTVP for you. The rest of the details are in the link above.

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    The documents required to apply as a common law spouse give an insight into what is meant by the term: Any one of the following: Copy of the common-law marriage certificate. An affidavit by the work pass holder and their spouse declaring that they are in a common-law relationship recognised under the laws of their home country/region. The affidavit must also be notarised in their home country/region. A letter from the home country/region's embassy of the work pass holder or spouse acknowledging that they are in a common-law relationship recognised under the laws of their country/region.
    – Traveller
    Commented Aug 7 at 1:37
  • Does this work if my partner is a citizen, or only if she’s on a work visa?
    – ludog
    Commented Aug 7 at 6:27
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    @ludog It does not apply to citizens. The government believes in traditional family values and does not encourage Singaporeans to cohabit until married.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Aug 7 at 6:35

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