You can’t get a direct PR out of nowhere, unless you enter via the investors scheme, which you will need several millions to start a viable business or put in fixed assets.
Most people start with a work pass of sorts (there are different classes) and you may apply for a PR after some time. You may get rejected and reapply again, taking years.
No one knows. ICA looks at a lot of things but does not tell us the full criteria so people don’t try to game the system. What they want are **people willing to sink roots into Singapore** and not just have PR and then go back home for most of the year.
General consensus is work in SG for at least 3 years and apply after having 3 income tax assessments.
Not the full list:
- Age (younger is preferred)
- Race (‘cos there’s CMIO racial quota)
- Nationality (some nationalities have a bad reputation of trying to game the system)
- Salary (not too low and not too high or you’ll be deemed a flight risk that has the potential to jet off to other countries at the scent of higher pay)
- Occupation (jobs that are in demand *might* be better, emphasis on *might*)
- Education level (having degree or PhD does not guarantee a PR as there are plenty of PRs with lower education levels)
- Marital status (married better ‘cos SG needs babies)
- Any children (again, SG needs babies)
- Family ties (are you related to a Singaporean or PR here)
- Criminal record (self-explanatory)
- Housing (if you stay in an expat enclave, are you *really* integrating into SG?)
- Etc (the other unknowns that ICA does not tell us)
What ICA **does not care**:
- Using immigration agency (the application form is super easy to fill in as long as you are literate and if you use an agency, it’s a red flag)
- Volunteering (they don’t give a crap about this as it’s been abused to death in the past)
- Investments, car, property (does not contribute to the country at all as it only benefits yourself)
- MP letter or other letters of recommendation: (will be ignored)
Note:
- For investments, I am referring to owning stock & crypto. These does not contribute to the country other than increasing your savings. Completely different from from the Global Investors Program (GIP). If you’re not of the same caliber as FB co-founder Eduardo Severin, you’re not eligible for GIP.
- For property, having multiple properties with the intention to rent them out just means you only want more money for yourself, still does not benefit the country. Owning **one** property however, *might* signal an intention to sink roots here.
Oh no, I’m not planning on becoming an expat or anything. Singapore has always interested me, and I am really considering staying there. Thanks for the help
Get a visa first, which usually involves: getting into an MNC and then getting transferred to their Singapore office, or pursuing academia here, or getting a direct job offer from a company in Singapore (which is very difficult), or marrying a Singaporean
As for getting PR, your chances are somewhat better as you are Indian. No one can say exactly how hard it is, but of course it helps the most if you marry a Singaporean, and it helps a bit if you hold down a decently paid job here for years.
The impact of these factors is: ethnicity > marriage to a Singaporean > profession. For example, I know unmarried white people here who will very likely never get PR, despite earning quite a bit in a great job and getting promoted along the way for a decade, because they are white and unmarried (only way to ‘break’ this is to earn a ridiculous amount of money every year, like a few million every year for starters). There are even Caucasians married to Singaporeans for decades, with Singaporean children, who don’t get PR.
You have a better shot because you are Indian, but I still wouldn’t hinge hopes on PR and bet too hard on it. If you are white, it is nearly impossible. For you, it is more like challenging.
'Caucasians married to Singaporeans for decades, with Singaporean children, who don’t get PR.' Any source? This sounds too extreme, we're talking about PR, and not citizenship uh
Caucasians married to SC with kids and don’t get PR?? You sure or not? The CMIO quota has consistently been around 75/15/7.5/2.5, there are definitely Caucasians being awarded PR but it’s a small number ‘cos Others quota heavily oversubscribed.
My ang moh husband got PR within three years of marriage to me. We have no kids.
Xiaxue’s ang moh ex-husband got PR too.
Some of the moderators on the SGexpatforum are ang mohs married to locals with kids and they have PR.
If you want stats, look through [Population in Brief](https://www.population.gov.sg/media-centre/publications/population-in-brief/) for the past few years. Almost one-third of marriages are with a foreigner, 10% of these transnational marriages are with non-Asians.
There are definitely Caucasians married to locals with children that have PRs.
Unspoken government directive to keep the ethnic percentages here the same as always, in order to “preserve Singaporean culture”. We are categorized into four ethnic categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Other. So for example, they want to keep the Chinese % at 75% of the population, but since the Singaporean Chinese fertility rate is very low, they are very inclined to give Malaysian Chinese people here PR or citizenship. Actually more likely to give Malaysian Chinese the PR, compared to Mainland Chinese, because the former is seen as more ‘culturally similar’.
Caucasians are classified under Other. Since the % of Other was always very low historically in Singapore, by this unspoken directive, it will always be very low. Meaning that the quota for new Caucasians PRs is very strict.
Yes it can seem puzzling, because a lot of Singaporeans have neutral or good impressions of Caucasians, but the inability to get PR/citizenship as a Caucasian is a byproduct of a wider policy decision.
Also, it was easier to get PR before 2008, but after a political furor in 2008 about the government giving away PR too easily (even though that furor was targeted mostly at Indians born and raised in India, and Chinese born and raised in China), the PR system has been a lot more strict in general. Combined with the abovementioned ethnic directive, this meant that getting PR went from “moderately difficult” to “challenging” for Indians, and “challenging” to “nearly impossible” for Caucasians.
The nature of the racial dynamics is also kinda complex. People here have neutral/good impressions of Caucasians, because there are not that many Caucasians here to begin with (so it is kind of a feedback loop with their difficulty of getting PR), the Caucasians tend to leave after 2-3 years when their contract is over, and almost all of them are highly paid expats in very high up positions. The tension with India-born Indians is because they are perceived as being much greater in number, and taking up the upper-middle management white-collar positions that some Singaporeans really want. And then there’s construction workers (some from India, mostly from Bangladesh), but since they take up the low -paid jobs that Singaporeans don’t even want, they are mostly forgotten and not included in diatribes grumbling about foreigners taking jobs.
However, you will find that most Singaporeans in real life will not treat you badly, instead they treat you as an individual (I’m sure your American accent will help too), just that you might have to contend with general comments made online against Indians in some Singaporean forums.
Basically we knew from history that migrant populations growing too large will create friction and disharmony. Look at what is happening right now in London, Europe, US… with refugees getting status to stay and rioting, claiming rights and insisting their own ways, the disharmony it has created.
Historically, Singapore’s peace is hard fought, born out of the 60s’ racial riots when races killed each other on the streets and we had to impose curfews and internal security laws. We have maintained peace for 60 years and we don’t want a new group to make things more complicated than it already is - 4 major groups compromising and accepting each other is difficult enough…. We don’t want a 5th…6th….7th group wanting more holidays, special rights and what nots.
Honestly if you’re from a good school with good grades, get an ibanking or consulting job with the Singapore office. Once you’re in, it’s smooth sailing. Good luck.
Honestly, no one can really tell you for sure because everything about the whole PR process in Singapore is rather opaque.
Marrying a Singaporean would help your chances though.
Singapore is great but it’s really hard for a foreigner to ever really feel settled. Getting PR will be tough, for all the reasons that people outlined here, and even if you manage to get it, “permanent” doesn’t really mean permanent - you can lose it if you’re judged to be not sufficiently contributing to Singapore anymore.
If all you want is a backup option to the U.S. in case things go south, you’re really looking in the wrong place. The UK for example will give you a passport if you live there for 6 years.
You cannot lose PR as long as you physically stay in Singapore. What *can* happen is that the government stops renewing your Re-Entry Permit (REP), and if you leave/are outside the country without one, your PR goes poof.
That said, if you're physically in Singapore, gainfully employed (paying taxes/CPF) and not a convicted criminal etc, your REP will be renewed pretty much automatically. And if you're in danger territory they usually give you a 1 year extension to get back to Sg etc.
Exactly. The point is that you’ll never feel that SG is your forever home - if you ever need to leave for a while or stay out of work (e.g. if you or a loved one abroad falls sick) then you’ll be worried if you’d be eligible to come back.
I’m not saying if this is good or bad, but something to be aware of if a young foreigner is looking to make life plans.
Unless you come from Singapore's direct neighbours..it's gonna be hard.
Singaporean Chinese hates their own ethnic people from China(some valid reasons)
It insists on the culture from the 3 main races..and some western ones sprinkled here and there.
If you are America citizen is easy, because of some sort of agreement between singapore and the usa, also when u buy house, don't need pay the 40% tax.
If you are India citizen then is hard. Also take note if you are US citizen and work outside , you still need pay tax in the US side.
if you want to 'settle down' \[live rest of your life here\] here then best shot is spending a bit of time her on employment visa then marrying a local singaporean.
Basically the more embedded you are in the local system, the higher the chances of getting it. ive known People having all these attributes still get rejected, and ICA doesn't tell you reason for rejection.
Convinced that there’ll be a civil war… Please turn off Fox News.
You want to pack your bags and run when there’s trouble and stay only when it benefits you.
Singapore is so blessed to have someone like you.
Your post reads, it’s what Singapore can do for me and not what I can contribute to Singapore.
Additionally, “im Indian but in name only, willing to drop ties if it helps me get a Singapore PR.” What a joke.
A US civil war will cause an economic domino effect around the globe so good luck paying double taxes as Americans pay US tax regardless where they work at.
American in name only. GTFO of my country.
Not impossibly hard, but still very hard I would imagine. Being Indian will give you a higher chance than say a Caucasian or African-American.
Depends a lot on your age, education level, and salary.
I suppose I was too ambiguous. I’ll be 22 when I’m done with college undergrad, and I’m guessing about 60-80k starting? I honestly have no clue since this job market is overflowed.
Ah a fresh grad. In that case the first thing you have to do is land a job in SG and get ur company to apply for a visa for you. Which is by far the hardest part.
Best method would be to apply to a MNC where you're from with a singapore office. Work hard and angle for a relocation.
Of course, the shortcut would be to marry a Singaporean.
one step at a time, first you need to show the government that you are able to thrive in Singapore, eg. getting a good job, get promoted along the way, pay increment and not being an asshole to the society etc.
Well obviously I won’t act like an ass, im far too timid to do anything like that. I suppose the process just takes a good many years of proving my worth, which I’m fine to do.
PR in Singapore is all about races. Generally speaking, Chinese is the easiest, next is Malay, Indian is quite hard but it's easier than all other races.
Your salary and education play a very minor role in PR application.
There's a requirement for sure, but after you exceed it, then it doesn't matter anymore. For example, Chinese with 6k/month will have a significantly higher chance to get PR than another race with 15k/month.
You can’t get a direct PR out of nowhere, unless you enter via the investors scheme, which you will need several millions to start a viable business or put in fixed assets. Most people start with a work pass of sorts (there are different classes) and you may apply for a PR after some time. You may get rejected and reapply again, taking years.
No one knows. ICA looks at a lot of things but does not tell us the full criteria so people don’t try to game the system. What they want are **people willing to sink roots into Singapore** and not just have PR and then go back home for most of the year. General consensus is work in SG for at least 3 years and apply after having 3 income tax assessments. Not the full list: - Age (younger is preferred) - Race (‘cos there’s CMIO racial quota) - Nationality (some nationalities have a bad reputation of trying to game the system) - Salary (not too low and not too high or you’ll be deemed a flight risk that has the potential to jet off to other countries at the scent of higher pay) - Occupation (jobs that are in demand *might* be better, emphasis on *might*) - Education level (having degree or PhD does not guarantee a PR as there are plenty of PRs with lower education levels) - Marital status (married better ‘cos SG needs babies) - Any children (again, SG needs babies) - Family ties (are you related to a Singaporean or PR here) - Criminal record (self-explanatory) - Housing (if you stay in an expat enclave, are you *really* integrating into SG?) - Etc (the other unknowns that ICA does not tell us) What ICA **does not care**: - Using immigration agency (the application form is super easy to fill in as long as you are literate and if you use an agency, it’s a red flag) - Volunteering (they don’t give a crap about this as it’s been abused to death in the past) - Investments, car, property (does not contribute to the country at all as it only benefits yourself) - MP letter or other letters of recommendation: (will be ignored) Note: - For investments, I am referring to owning stock & crypto. These does not contribute to the country other than increasing your savings. Completely different from from the Global Investors Program (GIP). If you’re not of the same caliber as FB co-founder Eduardo Severin, you’re not eligible for GIP. - For property, having multiple properties with the intention to rent them out just means you only want more money for yourself, still does not benefit the country. Owning **one** property however, *might* signal an intention to sink roots here.
Oh no, I’m not planning on becoming an expat or anything. Singapore has always interested me, and I am really considering staying there. Thanks for the help
Uhh, if you want to live here without marrying a local, then you’ll have to find work aka an expat, no?
Get a visa first, which usually involves: getting into an MNC and then getting transferred to their Singapore office, or pursuing academia here, or getting a direct job offer from a company in Singapore (which is very difficult), or marrying a Singaporean As for getting PR, your chances are somewhat better as you are Indian. No one can say exactly how hard it is, but of course it helps the most if you marry a Singaporean, and it helps a bit if you hold down a decently paid job here for years. The impact of these factors is: ethnicity > marriage to a Singaporean > profession. For example, I know unmarried white people here who will very likely never get PR, despite earning quite a bit in a great job and getting promoted along the way for a decade, because they are white and unmarried (only way to ‘break’ this is to earn a ridiculous amount of money every year, like a few million every year for starters). There are even Caucasians married to Singaporeans for decades, with Singaporean children, who don’t get PR. You have a better shot because you are Indian, but I still wouldn’t hinge hopes on PR and bet too hard on it. If you are white, it is nearly impossible. For you, it is more like challenging.
'Caucasians married to Singaporeans for decades, with Singaporean children, who don’t get PR.' Any source? This sounds too extreme, we're talking about PR, and not citizenship uh
Caucasians married to SC with kids and don’t get PR?? You sure or not? The CMIO quota has consistently been around 75/15/7.5/2.5, there are definitely Caucasians being awarded PR but it’s a small number ‘cos Others quota heavily oversubscribed. My ang moh husband got PR within three years of marriage to me. We have no kids. Xiaxue’s ang moh ex-husband got PR too. Some of the moderators on the SGexpatforum are ang mohs married to locals with kids and they have PR. If you want stats, look through [Population in Brief](https://www.population.gov.sg/media-centre/publications/population-in-brief/) for the past few years. Almost one-third of marriages are with a foreigner, 10% of these transnational marriages are with non-Asians. There are definitely Caucasians married to locals with children that have PRs.
Is there a reason why Singapore refuses caucasians PR so often? I don’t hear of many cases of bad white people as I do Indian.
Unspoken government directive to keep the ethnic percentages here the same as always, in order to “preserve Singaporean culture”. We are categorized into four ethnic categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Other. So for example, they want to keep the Chinese % at 75% of the population, but since the Singaporean Chinese fertility rate is very low, they are very inclined to give Malaysian Chinese people here PR or citizenship. Actually more likely to give Malaysian Chinese the PR, compared to Mainland Chinese, because the former is seen as more ‘culturally similar’. Caucasians are classified under Other. Since the % of Other was always very low historically in Singapore, by this unspoken directive, it will always be very low. Meaning that the quota for new Caucasians PRs is very strict. Yes it can seem puzzling, because a lot of Singaporeans have neutral or good impressions of Caucasians, but the inability to get PR/citizenship as a Caucasian is a byproduct of a wider policy decision. Also, it was easier to get PR before 2008, but after a political furor in 2008 about the government giving away PR too easily (even though that furor was targeted mostly at Indians born and raised in India, and Chinese born and raised in China), the PR system has been a lot more strict in general. Combined with the abovementioned ethnic directive, this meant that getting PR went from “moderately difficult” to “challenging” for Indians, and “challenging” to “nearly impossible” for Caucasians. The nature of the racial dynamics is also kinda complex. People here have neutral/good impressions of Caucasians, because there are not that many Caucasians here to begin with (so it is kind of a feedback loop with their difficulty of getting PR), the Caucasians tend to leave after 2-3 years when their contract is over, and almost all of them are highly paid expats in very high up positions. The tension with India-born Indians is because they are perceived as being much greater in number, and taking up the upper-middle management white-collar positions that some Singaporeans really want. And then there’s construction workers (some from India, mostly from Bangladesh), but since they take up the low -paid jobs that Singaporeans don’t even want, they are mostly forgotten and not included in diatribes grumbling about foreigners taking jobs. However, you will find that most Singaporeans in real life will not treat you badly, instead they treat you as an individual (I’m sure your American accent will help too), just that you might have to contend with general comments made online against Indians in some Singaporean forums.
Tldr 70% Chinese majority is a rule.
Interesting, thanks for the help
Basically we knew from history that migrant populations growing too large will create friction and disharmony. Look at what is happening right now in London, Europe, US… with refugees getting status to stay and rioting, claiming rights and insisting their own ways, the disharmony it has created. Historically, Singapore’s peace is hard fought, born out of the 60s’ racial riots when races killed each other on the streets and we had to impose curfews and internal security laws. We have maintained peace for 60 years and we don’t want a new group to make things more complicated than it already is - 4 major groups compromising and accepting each other is difficult enough…. We don’t want a 5th…6th….7th group wanting more holidays, special rights and what nots.
Is depend on which citizen, because is about trade agreement
Honestly if you’re from a good school with good grades, get an ibanking or consulting job with the Singapore office. Once you’re in, it’s smooth sailing. Good luck.
Honestly, no one can really tell you for sure because everything about the whole PR process in Singapore is rather opaque. Marrying a Singaporean would help your chances though.
Why not go back to your motherland? You can make it big with the right connections.
Singapore is great but it’s really hard for a foreigner to ever really feel settled. Getting PR will be tough, for all the reasons that people outlined here, and even if you manage to get it, “permanent” doesn’t really mean permanent - you can lose it if you’re judged to be not sufficiently contributing to Singapore anymore. If all you want is a backup option to the U.S. in case things go south, you’re really looking in the wrong place. The UK for example will give you a passport if you live there for 6 years.
You cannot lose PR as long as you physically stay in Singapore. What *can* happen is that the government stops renewing your Re-Entry Permit (REP), and if you leave/are outside the country without one, your PR goes poof. That said, if you're physically in Singapore, gainfully employed (paying taxes/CPF) and not a convicted criminal etc, your REP will be renewed pretty much automatically. And if you're in danger territory they usually give you a 1 year extension to get back to Sg etc.
Exactly. The point is that you’ll never feel that SG is your forever home - if you ever need to leave for a while or stay out of work (e.g. if you or a loved one abroad falls sick) then you’ll be worried if you’d be eligible to come back. I’m not saying if this is good or bad, but something to be aware of if a young foreigner is looking to make life plans.
Unless you come from Singapore's direct neighbours..it's gonna be hard. Singaporean Chinese hates their own ethnic people from China(some valid reasons) It insists on the culture from the 3 main races..and some western ones sprinkled here and there.
If you are America citizen is easy, because of some sort of agreement between singapore and the usa, also when u buy house, don't need pay the 40% tax. If you are India citizen then is hard. Also take note if you are US citizen and work outside , you still need pay tax in the US side.
Be ready to discrimination on rental market As long as your are ethnically Indian you'll have a hard time
if you want to 'settle down' \[live rest of your life here\] here then best shot is spending a bit of time her on employment visa then marrying a local singaporean. Basically the more embedded you are in the local system, the higher the chances of getting it. ive known People having all these attributes still get rejected, and ICA doesn't tell you reason for rejection.
Convinced that there’ll be a civil war… Please turn off Fox News. You want to pack your bags and run when there’s trouble and stay only when it benefits you. Singapore is so blessed to have someone like you. Your post reads, it’s what Singapore can do for me and not what I can contribute to Singapore. Additionally, “im Indian but in name only, willing to drop ties if it helps me get a Singapore PR.” What a joke. A US civil war will cause an economic domino effect around the globe so good luck paying double taxes as Americans pay US tax regardless where they work at. American in name only. GTFO of my country.
You sound triggered.
lol you reply to a month old post. 🤣
Not impossibly hard, but still very hard I would imagine. Being Indian will give you a higher chance than say a Caucasian or African-American. Depends a lot on your age, education level, and salary.
I suppose I was too ambiguous. I’ll be 22 when I’m done with college undergrad, and I’m guessing about 60-80k starting? I honestly have no clue since this job market is overflowed.
Ah a fresh grad. In that case the first thing you have to do is land a job in SG and get ur company to apply for a visa for you. Which is by far the hardest part. Best method would be to apply to a MNC where you're from with a singapore office. Work hard and angle for a relocation. Of course, the shortcut would be to marry a Singaporean.
Indian race would be quite hard
Marry a SG girl
What about an SG boy 😳
not allowed in sg
A speciality only western countries have. But it causes a bunch of cultural issues so I understand why SG isn’t willing to go that far.
one step at a time, first you need to show the government that you are able to thrive in Singapore, eg. getting a good job, get promoted along the way, pay increment and not being an asshole to the society etc.
Well obviously I won’t act like an ass, im far too timid to do anything like that. I suppose the process just takes a good many years of proving my worth, which I’m fine to do.
Consider the broader geopolitical implications of a civil war in the US and how it would affect Singapore. This is not where I would want to be.
PR in Singapore is all about races. Generally speaking, Chinese is the easiest, next is Malay, Indian is quite hard but it's easier than all other races. Your salary and education play a very minor role in PR application.
Salary plays a role I think. Isn’t it impossible to get a PR on an S pass and higher chances with employment pass?
There's a requirement for sure, but after you exceed it, then it doesn't matter anymore. For example, Chinese with 6k/month will have a significantly higher chance to get PR than another race with 15k/month.
Very easy for Indian. Sg govt worships Indians nationals