Permanent residency in Singapore
Singaporean citizenship |
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Permanent resident in Singapore is an immigration status in
Singapore PRs are permitted to live, work, study, and retire in Singapore without any time limit. PR status is robust in practice but not absolute.[1] PRs are subject to Re-Entry Permit (REP) requirements if they wish to leave Singapore for any length of time for any reason. If a PR leaves Singapore without a valid REP, or if a PR is outside Singapore when his/her REP expires, that individual's PR status automatically and, with rare exceptions, irrevocably ends. Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) generally renews REPs for every 5 years, subject to PRs demonstrating their actual residence and economic or other relevant activity in Singapore.
Starting in 2010, Singapore has set an approximately 30,000 annual cap on the number of individuals being granted Permanent Residence. There is a relatively stable population of just over 500,000 PRs in Singapore.
Individuals eligible to apply for Singapore PR include:[2]
- spouses and unmarried children (below 21 years old) of Singapore citizens or permanent residents
- aged parents and legal guardiansof Singapore citizens
- foreign workers in Singapore possessing valid work passes (Employment Pass, S-Pass), and their dependents (with some exceptions)
- students studying in Singapore
- investors and entrepreneurs
Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) processes PR applications in three different schemes: Family Ties, Professionals/Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers (PTS), and the Global Investor Programme (GIP). ICA receives applications through an online system, and applicants must pay a nonrefundable processing fee. Nobody has an automatic legal right to PR status; the government's PR decisions are entirely discretionary. The government does not disclose its evaluation criteria or decision processes beyond broad generalities, such as long-term citizen population-related goals. One of the government's stated public policy goals is to maintain relative stability in Singapore's racial and ethnic population proportions in order to promote and maintain racial harmony. Consequently, a PR applicant's family, cultural and ethnic background all influence ICA's decisions. According to ICA, the processing time of PR application is around 6 months, but varies based on the complexity of the case. The processing fee is S$100, which is not refundable.[citation needed]
PR status is central to
PRs (age 15 and older) are issued blue colored National Registration Identity Cards (NRICs).[citation needed]
See also
- Immigration to Singapore
- Singaporean nationality law
- Singaporean passport
References
- ^ "Academic Huang Jing and wife have left Singapore after being stripped of PR status: MHA". The Straits Times. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Permanent Resident Application". Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ "Permanent Resident: Becoming a Singapore Citizen". Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. Retrieved 18 August 2019.