Nicole Seah Instagram – Met a diverse bunch of Singaporeans at our rainy but cool Hammer Outreach in Tampines. One encounter was a family of Singapore citizens who were originally from the Philippines – An animated and charming couple as they shared how they raised six children (!!!). My heartiest respect to them for being able to do so as it takes a village, alongside much dedicated time and effort to build a family. On the other flip side was another family, with a spouse also originally from the Philippines, who lamented that they had been living in Singapore for twenty years and applying for PR, but with repeated rejection with no reason provided. The Workers’ Party has previously spoken up on granting citizenship to foreign spouses of Singaporeans, especially pertinent when they have sunk roots in the country and wish to build a life for their children here. Couples with a Singaporean and foreign spouse are exempted from certain rules that would otherwise apply to SC/PR families such as qualifying for BTO, healthcare subsidies or even receiving employer CPF contributions. While these measures might seem like a negligible difference, they do add up as increasing costs on top of an already high cost of living for such families.