Four in 10 S'poreans marry foreigners

Globalisation creating more chances for locals to meet, tie the knot with non-citizens
By Mavis Toh

Ms A.L. Koh is 36, has a master's degree in business administration and works as a marketing manager in a multinational company.
When her Singaporean boyfriend of six years broke off their engagement in 2005 due to objections from his mother, she dropped the idea of marriage totally.

But last December, she walked down the aisle of a church in France and said 'I do' to a Frenchman.
The two had met at work - the 40-year-old man is a project manager in the same firm - and they have now set up home here.
Like Ms Koh, nearly 40 per cent of Singaporeans who tied the knot last year married either a permanent resident or a foreigner.
Of the 20,775 marriages involving at least one citizen, 8,086 Singaporeans were hitched to non-citizen spouses. Of the 8,086 people, 6,200 were men and 1,886 were women.
There were 8,406 and 8,161 such marriages in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Close to 90 per cent of these non-citizen spouses last year were from Asia.
These figures were released recently by the National Population Secretariat but the real figure may be even higher as some Singaporeans marry their partners and register their marriages overseas.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) attributed the trend to globalisation.
It noted that Singaporeans routinely travel overseas for work, study and leisure, and as the country becomes more vibrant and cosmopolitan, many foreigners also choose to live and work here.
'This provides more opportunities for interaction between Singaporeans and foreigners, and it is not surprising for some to fall in love and marry,' said a MCYS spokesman.
Sociologist Paulin Straughan attributes the high figures in recent years to Singapore's open-door policy towards foreign talent.
She added that the largest group of Singaporean male singles are usually lower educated while the female singles are usually higher educated.
'The educated women are more likely to travel overseas or meet Caucasian spouses at work here. The men turn to foreign brides through matchmaking agencies,' she said.
While figures on the nationalities of foreign spouses are unavailable, The Sunday Times understands that Malaysians form the bulk. But the mushrooming of matchmaking agencies has brought an influx of brides from Vietnam and China.
There are about 200 dating and matchmaking agencies here.
One of them is Blissful Marriage Consultants whose owner Han Lin Zhuo matchmakes about 10 couples yearly, charging $5,888 for each case.
His agency, set up in 2004, deals specifically with Hainanese brides because they are 'more virtuous and family-oriented' than Singaporean women.
'If Singaporean men do not want to date career-minded Singaporean women, I give them an alternative to date virtuous Hainanese women,' he said. He has contacts and an office in Hainan which generate a constant pool of Hainanese women looking to pair up with Singaporean men.
He added that most of his clients, aged between 28 and 50, had tried dating Singaporean women before turning to him.
'They date for three to five years and the girls are unwilling to settle down. The men want to start a family and don't want to risk going through the dating process again,' he said.
At another agency, Life Partner Matchmaker, owner Janson Ong said many men had joined dating agencies before seeking help from a matchmaker.
'They join these agencies and waste a number of years without getting a life partner. So they come to us - it's faster and the stigma of going to matchmakers has also gone down,' he said.
But his business - the women come from Vietnam - has been affected by the economic downturn since August last year. Now, he gets only one case every few months. Previously, he could get up to six cases monthly, charging $10,000 for each virgin bride.
He added that 40 per cent of his clients are degree holders with good jobs.
'They do well in their careers but when it comes to women, they're shy and have no courage to ask them out,' he noted.
Ms Annie Chan, co-founder of Club2040, a matchmaking agency and social dating club, said most of its clients still prefer to date local women because of their 'similar upbringing'.
She said men may turn to foreign women because they find local ones too 'career-minded' and 'driven'.
But Ms Chan said: 'Local women feel that men here don't understand that our education system has pushed them to pursue such high-powered careers. After a while, they feel that perhaps foreign men will appreciate this part of them.'
Ms Koh agrees. Her former boyfriend had often complained about her long working hours and felt insecure that she made more money than him.
'At work, we are conditioned to fight like a man but at home, they still expect us to go soft and take care of their every need,' she said.
'Foreign men are different; they know how to take care of their women.'
With trans-national marriages taking off, one issue has surfaced - citizenship for the children of these couples.
Dr Straughan said: 'These kids have one foot in each culture and country but Singapore may end up losing talents if the other parent is from a First World country.'
For businessman Jerome Phua, 43, it does not bother him which citizenship his son Ethan, three, takes up.
His wife is Indonesian and they met while he was on business in that country.
'Such marriages and 'mixed kids' will just add to the cosmopolitan flavour of Singapore. After all, we're already a rojak society,' he said.

mavistoh@sph.com.sg
What are your views on the trend of Singaporeans marrying foreigners? Send them to suntimes@sph.com.sg

With globalisation and Singapore's policy of attracting foreign talent, it's natural to see more Singaporeans marrying foreigners. While the Singapore women marry the Caucasians from the developed countries, the Singapore men marry women from the less deveoped countries such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Would you marry a foreigner?