EI FAQ Series

How to Write an Effective Singapore PR Application Appeal Letter

Singapore PR Application

A large number of applicants that apply for Singapore PR and Citizenship each year get rejected. Months of hard work got wasted in a matter of moments that is upsetting and frustrating for many candidates. Another problem that Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) does not provide any reasons for rejecting your application. It is entirely possible that you have carefully followed all the instructions from ICA’s website, submitted all the mentioned documents, and even used templates from various sites to supplement your application. All these efforts, and yet you got rejected. That’s why there is an option to appeal ICA’s decision.

APPEAL LETTER – DEFINITION

To appeal on the ICA’s decision of rejecting your Singapore PR/Citizenship application, you can file an appeal letter. The appeal should be made if there are improvements or significant changes in your profile during the waiting period. The appeal letter should focus on those changes and enhancements, highlighting why you want ICA to reconsider their decision.

If there are no such factors which you can highlight then frankly there is no benefit of appeal letter.

WHEN TO FILE AN APPEAL LETTER?

An appeal letter must be submitted within six months from the date of the rejection of your PR/Citizenship application. However generally it is best to submit as soon as you get the rejection.

HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD ONE WAIT FOR THE OUTCOME OF APPEAL

There is no precise way to know how long it will take for your appeal to get heard. It depends as the ICA has complete discretion over the approval or rejection of your appeal. Based on what we have noticed, some appeals take a few weeks. However, in some cases, it may take 4-6 months to get a reply.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE SUBMIT AN APPEAL LETTER

You are only allowed to make ONE appeal for each rejected application. Therefore, the appeal option should be used wisely. ICA must not believe that you are abusing it without showing any significant improvements regarding your qualifications, situations, credentials, etc. For instance, the social integrity aspect of your profile was weak when you filed your Singapore PR application. You can improve this field by volunteering for a few more hours before your file an appeal.

ONE IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE

Having a good Appeal letter is not enough. You need to decide carefully if you want to file an appeal. Once you file an appeal, ICA will take 4-6 months to reply to it. In this period, you can not file a new application. If an appeal is rejected, then there is also no point in reapplying immediately (You will want to wait for some time). What it means is, filing an appeal can delay your plans of reapplying PR or Citizenship. Therefore you should file an appeal only if there is a fair chance of success.

In our experience most of the appeal letters will not be successful. You will need to apply for PR / Citizenship again and next time you apply you should consider what additional documents you can attach.

GET A FREE APPEAL LETTER DRAFTED FOR YOU

You can get a free appeal letter drafted for your case. Submit your rejection letter on this page with some additional information and our team will provide a personalized appeal letter for your specific case in 2 days.

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TIPS TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE APPEAL LETTER

It is not simple to create an effective appeal letter that could overturn the ICA’s decision of rejecting your PR application. It is highly recommended to file appeal when you have made significant changes in your profile or when some strong factors of your profile were not disclosed in the application itself.

The angle and tone you use in your letter are crucial. It has to be convincing with supporting documents to back your claims. A PR or Citizenship application appeal cannot be written in a fixed manner. It is not wise to use a web template from the internet for your appeal letter. Avoid them at all costs.

A common mistake many applicants make is that they over-emphasize Singapore’s attractiveness. They mention Singapore’s excellent healthcare, social stability, security, education system, etc. The problem with such appeals is that ICA has already received thousands of such. You must understand that the objective of your appeal letter is to build a strong case on why YOU out of thousands of people are an ideal candidate for the Singapore PR/Citizenship and why ICA should re-consider their decision of not to grant you PR or Citizenship.

There are also additional tips you can incorporate to make your Singapore PR appeal strong:

If you have any significant change in your profile (Since the submission of the original application), then this should be mentioned as the first point of your letter
Any other strong points of your profile should be mentioned subsequently
The length of your appeal letter should not be more than 1 or max 1.5 pages. Remember this is not a cover letter. You need to precisely tell ICA why you feel they should reconsider and that’s it.
Do not make a mistake of writing all achievements, social integration efforts etc in the letter

CONCLUSION

Appeal letter is an option to the applicants to request ICA to re-consider their decision. However it needs to be exercised cautiously and you also need to write a clear and concise appeal letter.

Epica Immigration is a leading consulting firm in Singapore. We can assist with your PR/Citizenship application to ensure that there will be no need for an appeal letter. With our team of professionals working on your profile, your rejection chances get really low. A successful PR and Citizenship application helps you save time and money. You will also avoid the anxiety, stress, and irritation that one might face due to rejection.