A woman finds herself amid a divorce and a fight to maintain custody of her children. If a relationship breakdown can have an enormous impact on one’s life, circumstances and uncertainties surrounding the divorce outside of home can be even more excruciating.
Jane (fictitious name, since our source requested to remain anonymous) came to Macau attached to her husband’s blue card, and was granted a special stay permit, as many expats in Macau are.
Aside from dealing with the emotional distress triggered by a relationship that ended up falling apart, Jane’s been trying to ascertain all the legal aspects surrounding her situation, especially as to how the divorce will play out in terms of child custody.
“All I need is a job and a blue card and then I can stay and maintain custody of my children. It’s a very complex situation and my position is tenuous. There have been some very ugly scenes,” she told the Times.
Jane, together with many other expat wives, feels she’s left in a particularly weak position to negotiate divorce settlements and custody.
Under the local law, spouses of skilled blue card holders can be granted a special stay permit to live here. However, they’re not allowed to work in Macau because of the specific conditions of their special stay permit.
The permit granted to direct family members of skilled blue card holders materializes as a stamp – now a small white piece of paper – in their respective passports.
In a telephone interview with the Times, lawyer João Soares, who’s an expert in administrative law, explained that a special stay permit can be granted to someone for a number of reasons.
“This stay permit is completely different from the residency status,” he pointed out, adding that according to article 8 of Law 4/2013, which regulates the “Permission to Remain,” a special stay permit can be granted for higher education study and family reunification purposes, among other similar situations deemed admissible.
“This is what we call a true general clause. This particular article gives Macau administration what we call a discretionary power. The legislation provides the administration a high degree of freedom to apply the law,” he explained.
Furthermore, number five of the same article stipulates that “the stay permit given to the direct family of a skilled non-resident worker, whose recruitment has been of interest to the MSAR, is granted for the same period of the non-resident employee’s working visa.”
The entity that has granted the working visa is also called on to provide its assessment of the direct family members’ special stay permit application.
“The latter rule clearly states that their right to remain in Macau relies and depends on the right given to the non-resident worker, the other spouse,” Mr Soares recalled.
There first has to be a stay permit authorization granted to the blue card holder. Only then can they apply for a special stay permit for their respective spouse and children. “The family members can be given a special stay permit. And why is this permit special? Because it is dependent on another stay permit [the one granted to the spouse who has been given a working visa],” the lawyer recalled.
Jane believes that – upon a divorce – blue card holders’ wives face a particularly difficult time, since the non-resident worker appears to wield enormous power.
“There are so many cases. Divorces are on the rise. [This disequilibrium] between partners shouldn’t be there,” she reiterated.
Obtaining legal advice on custody and immigration laws, and specifically on how those two areas interact, is particularly difficult in Macau, according to Jane.
Although she finds Macau’s laws particularly grey in these matters, she has been told that courts have a general tendency to award custody to the mother.
According to our source, in addition to the difficult process of obtaining legal advice on the matter, the topic appears to be sensitive in Macau. Asked why it appears so sensitive, she suggested that Macau seems to have little concern for people of her status, who are dependents on a blue card holder.
If a blue card holder attachee no longer retains that status, the general idea is that she/he needs to leave Macau. “Immigration law takes precedence [over family law]. The laws are at loggerheads with each other,” she stressed.
Mr Soares observed that the law has provided Macau’s administration with a high degree of freedom in their decision-making.
“This means that people in these situations need to be particularly careful and communicate to authorities the whole set of circumstances surrounding their individual situation,” he told the Times.
He added that, “they will need to provide information on their divorce, for instance, whether one of the spouses is exclusively responsible for the divorce.”
Furthermore, “people may need to say that their divorce proceedings are still ongoing, or that they have children and they need to remain here, as they’re going through a custody process.”
“So there are many aspects that need to be communicated to the Macau administration. And the administration, having a high degree of freedom conferred by the law, can authorize or renew the special stay permit of that person, because the law allows the administration to grant a special stay permit in situations it deems admissible,” he reiterated, adding that “admissible reasons [to request a stay permit or its extension] need to be carefully explained to the administration.”
Jane’s case is particularly sensitive given that there are children involved.
The Hague convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction 1980 stipulates that one parent is not allowed to take a child from his or her country of “habitual residence” without the consent of the other parent. Any request to leave the country must be settled in the family court of that country. The Hague convention will be reviewed in 2017.
And while the couple is married, children are only allowed to travel out of Macau with the approval of both parents.
“Although we often hear that the administration is not sensitive towards people’s problems or that the Chinese system does not understand these situations – I’d say this is not true. In this particular legal area I can guarantee that there are people in the public services and even within the Secretary for Security’s cabinet that hold great ability to understand these situations, with great sensitivity towards people’s problems, specially when the situation involves children,” lawyer João Soares noted.
Mr Soares says he’s convinced that the administration will consider all aspects surrounding each individual situation and – if there are admissible reasons from a human point of view – will award the person a special stay permit or its extension.
“This means that one is not necessarily forced to leave,” he explained, although noted that since blue card holders’ attachees are not allowed to work here, they’re left in a weak position and they may have to explain to the administration how they can provide for themselves while remaining in Macau.
Asked whether her expat experience brought added strains to her marriage, Jane said, “probably, yes.”
She recalled that the dependents’ visa in Macau is nigh on worthless, “a slip of paper.” “The paper is equivalent to toilet paper. [The government] can’t even spend money [to give us a proper card],” she said.
Life for dependents becomes increasingly difficult, because even simple daily tasks have to be done with the blue card holders’ authorization, such as opening a bank account, or joining the local library, she recalled.
Julia (also a fictitious name), an expat living in Macau who also went through a divorce process, shared a similar feeling. “Being attached to the husband’s blue card means we need to do everything together. Even applying for a China visa,” she told the Times.
She acknowledged that her relationship had deteriorated prior to moving to Macau, and recognized that joining her former husband here was a last-ditch effort to make things work.
“This puts a lot of added pressure on a relationship. Women are now so independent, but while being attached to the husband’s blue card we cannot work or volunteer,” Julia lamented.
She added that being given a special stay permit is about reuniting families. “So you bring them here and then force them to be nobodies in society. What do I do? Wander in the casino?” she questioned.
Julia’s story ended happily. She was able to find a company to sponsor her, and was granted a blue card of her own.
The Times contacted the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) to ascertain how it supports women or men in expat divorce situations. In a written reply via email, the Bureau acknowledged that, “it has received some requests for help” from expat wives in divorce processes, including from non-resident workers, blue card holder attachees, and also women who came attached to their husbands’ Macau ID.
IAS assured MDT that, “upon receiving these requests for help, it has provided them with adequate assistance, assessing their individual situations and needs, namely by providing counseling, temporary accommodation, and support by contacting other social assistance services.”
Executive charged for 5-year-old son’s murder in Singapore
Philippe Graffart, head of Asia Pacific fund distribution at Nordea Investment Management in Singapore, was charged in a Singapore court on Wednesday for the murder of his five-year-old son. According to the Straits Times, it is believed that Graffart, 41, “had been fighting for custody of the boy with his former wife.”
The suspect will be remanded for psychiatric observation. He didn’t enter a plea and his next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28. He wasn’t represented by a lawyer. If convicted, he may face the death penalty.
Singapore Police said on Tuesday an injured man was found outside a police center at 5:11 a.m. After preliminary inquiries, officers went to an apartment unit, where the man’s son was found lying motionless in a bedroom, according to a statement on the Singapore Police Force website. Paramedics pronounced the boy dead at 6:17 a.m.
Magnus Nelin, a spokesman for Stockholm-based Nordea, confirmed in an e-mailed response to queries that Graffart is employed by the bank.
“We are aware of this very tragic event and our thoughts go out to the family,” Nelin said. “We can’t comment further at this stage. We have to wait for the ongoing investigation and the court’s ruling.” MDT/Bloomberg
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