KUALA LUMPUR: Huang Sui Bo from Fujian, China, has been married to her Malaysian husband Lee Chee Yien for 14 years.
However, the mother of three children aged 10 to 13 is still staying in Malaysia on a social visit visa, which her husband has to renew on an annual basis for RM600.
Even when the Government finally allowed Chinese spouses in Malaysia to apply for permanent resident status early this year, the 36-year-old’s quest for permanent residency is still fraught with problems.
When she went to the Immigration Department in Putrajaya, she was told to get both the translation and verification of her Chinese identity card and birth certificate from China; where the documents were first issued.
“My husband is a fruit seller and our family income is only RM1,000. It is impossible for me to travel to Fujian to get the necessary documentation,” she said at a press conference organised by MCA citizenship unit chief coordinator Dr Jeffrey Goh here yesterday.
Huang is also required to get a certificate to prove that she was single before she got married to her husband.
“I have been married for so many years already and it would be difficult to obtain the document from China,” she said.
Malaysian Tan Chuan Lai, whose wife Wang Su Ling from Shanghai is also in a similar predicament, said he is worried about her future if anything happens to him.
“If I am not around to renew her social visit visa, she will have to be deported to China.
“Who is going to take care of our two children if that happens?” he said.
Dr Goh said among the other items required is the wedding invitation card.
“This is unacceptable and unreasonable because many of them have been married for years, and the cards had been either lost or thrown away,” he said.
Dr Goh suggested that instead of asking wives to submit verification documents from China, the Home Ministry should use their passports as proof.
He also urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to make the process easier for applicants.
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