Where there were once over 70,000 new PRs in 2008, recent figures have plunged into a deep, low plateau. This continuing trend in limited annual PR approvals is bound to further intensify the competition for all applicants.

Rejection letters do not come with any justifications or reasons, making the chances of securing an approval letter highly uncertain. How will you ensure that your application even stands a chance?

Preparing to apply for PR is incredibly tiring and demands an eye for detail. A single mistake can negatively impact your submission, forcing you to wait for another six months before you can try again.

Did you know that the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) only approves an estimate of 30,000 Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) applications each year? If you are planning to apply for permanent residency in Singapore, this means it is vital for you to ensure every single aspect in your application meets ICA’s requirements to prevent any chances of it being considered invalid.

What most applicants do not know, however, is that the whole process of applying for permanent residency can be tedious. With the amount of information that needs to be completed and various paperwork that has to be uploaded, making mistakes is entirely possible. Read on to find out more on the three common mistakes to keep in mind and avoid when preparing your submission:

1. Incorrect/Incomplete Information in the ICA PR Application

Depending on which scheme you are applying under, you will be required to fill in the personal details of the main PR applicant and/or dependant(s) on the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) online portal, the electronic Permanent Residence (e-PR) service. This means that you will have several sections that need to be completed, all of which — without question — needs to be accurate. If you either accidentally miss out on a section or fill in incorrect details, your application will be considered incomplete, which may result in an invalid submission.

2. Not Uploading All Documents in Your PR Application Within the Given Timeline

ICA requires every applicant to complete their submission on the e-PR service within seven days (or 168 hours) from the time they start on their application. If you miss this deadline, you will have to start all over again from the very beginning, rendering the time you spent previously wasted.

To prevent this from happening, it is advisable for you to prepare all of your paperwork even before you begin your online application. Prepare a list (or refer to the document list ICA has provided on their website for each PR scheme) and ensure you have everything checked off before starting the process of applying for permanent residency. This will reduce the chances of accidentally leaving out any paperwork as well as prevent you from missing the deadline.

3. Not Providing English Translations of Non-English Documents for Your ICA PR Application

If any of your original paperwork are not in English, you will be required to obtain copies of their official English translations to be submitted to ICA. Failure to provide English translations of your non-English paperwork may cause your submission to be invalid.

However, not any translation service provider will do for this particular task. You have to acquire the English translations by one that is approved by ICA. These include translations that are:

• Given by the embassy of the country where the document was issued
• Created by a notary public in Singapore or the document-issuing country
• Done by a private party that is authenticated by the embassy of the country where the document was issued
• Done by a private party that is notarised by a notary public in Singapore or the document-issuing country