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Change Your Life! |
Lower-income men face dim marriage prospects in Singapore |
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May 22, 2000
SINGAPORE, MAY 21 (AP) - Singaporean men with low income and education face an uphill battle in finding wives at home and abroad, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Women in the affluent city-state tend to look for wealthy men or university graduates as husbands, The Straits Times newspaper said.
Frustrated by Singaporean women's standards, more men are choosing brides from other Asian countries. But those who do still face tough immigration policies, the newspaper said.
The number of Singaporean men marrying foreign women rose from 3,830 in 1997 to 4,272 in 1998, The Straits Times said, quoting government figures.
In both years, about nine out of 10 men with foreign brides were non-graduates, the report said. Singapore has a population of 3.2 million.
Specialized agencies in Singapore arrange overseas tours and even dates for single men looking for wives, often in countries such as Vietnam and China.
Foreign wives of graduate men are usually granted permanent residence in Singapore within a year. But those who are less qualified or earn under 2,000 Singapore dollars (dlrs 1,158) per month may wait three years or longer, the newspaper said. Singapore's immigration department and community development ministry offices were closed for the weekend.
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