Singapore Jacks Up the Price of Permanent Residency

What’s new: Singapore raised the bar of its 19-year-old investment-for-permanent-residency program by four- to tenfold after the provision brought in billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs over the past decade.

Starting March 15, foreigners seeking permanent-resident status through Singapore’s Global Investor Program will have to invest at least S$10 million ($7.43 million) in a new business entity or existing business operation in the country, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) said Thursday.

The new hurdle is four times as high as the previous S$2.5 million requirement. The business must also hire at least 30 employees, with at least half of them Singapore citizens and 10 of whom must be new employees, to be eligible for renewal of a re-entry permit after the initial five years.

Under a second option, applicants will be required to invest S$25 million in an approved fund, 10 times as much as before. The funds will be selected by the EDB based on track record, investment mandate and the type of industries or markets they focus on. Previously this option required only S$2.5 million of investment.

Under a third option, applicants will be required to set up new family offices in Singapore with assets under management of at least S$200 million.

The background: Singapore launched the Global Investor Program in 2004, aiming to attract entrepreneurs and investors to bring money and create jobs in the country.

Between 2011 and 2020, the program brought in more than S$5.4 billion of direct investment, Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling told parliament Feb. 23.

Between 2011 and 2022, the program created 24,699 jobs, including for software engineers, researchers and public relations practitioners, data from the EDB showed. Between 2020 and 2022, about 200 foreign investors obtained Singapore permanent residency under the program.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)

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