Singapore has been long known for its high standard of living, top-quality education, affordable housing, and world-class healthcare. Given the allure of all these benefits in one place, it’s no surprise that Singapore is ranked as the most liveable city for Asian expats for the 14th year in a row; it is then a matter of time before these expats are enticed to migrate here, or even consider setting up a company in Singapore.

Benefits of Singapore Citizenship

The following is a non-exhaustive list of benefits Singaporean citizens enjoy upon being granted citizenship:

  • Employment rewards

    Many companies in Singapore prefer to hire Singaporean citizens or permanent residents. This is because less paperwork and red tape are involved in hiring these individuals as compared to foreigners.

  • Education benefits

    In Singapore, primary school students who are Singaporean citizens do not have to pay school fees. Secondary school students pay SGD $5 and junior college students pay SGD $6 per month respectively. All Singaporean students possess an Edusave account. This account contains yearly contributions from the government and also awards students who excel in academics.

  • Travel freedom

    According to the World Economic Forum, Singapore is ranked in 2nd place for the most powerful passport in the world. Singapore passport-holders enjoy traveling without a visa to a tot log 192 countries and territories all around the world.

  • Healthcare benefits

    The Singapore government provides subsidises medical expenses for Singaporean citizens. Medifund is an endowment fund set up for the purpose of being a safety net for patients with financial difficulties.

Disadvantages of Singapore Citizenship

Despite all the benefits to acquiring Singapore citizenship, It still comes with a set of disadvantages. . Not only are Singaporean citizens unable to hold dual citizenship, all males must serve a mandatory National Service (NS).

Singapore National Service

A pertinent point to note for all male applicants is mandatory National Service (NS). NS forms the basis for Singapore’s defence, and comprise three main branches: the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

Under the Enlistment Act, all Singaporean males (including permanent residents) are required to serve in NS. This comes in 2 stages:

  • National Serviceman (NSF)

  • Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen)

Once an individual has served his full-time NS enlistment as an NSF for 2 years, he will become an Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NS men). This obligation concludes at the age of 50 for officers or 40 for other ranks.

Singaporeans that are liable for NS are to register for it by the age of 16.5 years old. They will be enlisted at the age of 18 years, or once they have graduated from their educational institutions with qualifications up to the ‘A’ Levels certificate, the polytechnic diploma, or equivalent.

Do note that this is subjected to exemptions or deferments. Male applicants for Singapore Citizenship are to access the Central Manpower Base website before proceeding with the application.

Eligibility for Singapore Citizenship

The following criteria must be met for an individual to be eligible for Singapore citizenship:

  • An individual must be a minimum of 21 years of age, and be a Singapore permanent resident for at least 2 years. He or she can also apply with their spouse and any unmarried children younger than 21 years.

  • An individual must be a permanent resident for a minimum of 2 years and be married to a Singapore citizen for a minimum of 2 years.

  • An individual must be an unmarried child below the age of 21 within the context of a legal marriage or have been adopted by a Singaporean citizen.

  • An individual must be a permanent resident studying in Singapore. He or she must have resided in Singapore for over 3 years, passed at least 1 national exam, or be in the Integrated Programme (IP).

  • An individual must be an aged parent of a Singaporean Citizen.

Required Documents for Singapore Citizenship

The application process for Singapore citizenship is fairly simple. Applicants are required to prepare the relevant documents and pay for the application fee.

Required documents

Only certified true copies of any original documents will be accepted by ICA. Should any documents be in a language other than English, they must be officially translated. ICA accepts different types of translations, but they must be provided by the embassy or notary public of the country that issued the document, or by the embassy or notary public in Singapore.

To get the full list of documents, please reach out to our consultant here and we can advise accordingly.

Application fees

The following are the costs of the Singapore citizenship application. Do note that this is a non-exhaustive list and more information can be found on Singapore ICA’s website.

Types of Applicant Application Fees Certificate or Identity Card Fees
Adult Permanent Resident (PRs) and Children of PRs SGD $100 SGD $70 for the Singapore Citizenship Certificate

SGD $10 for a Singapore ID

Children born overseas to Singapore citizen parents SGD $18 SGD $10 for a Singapore ID
All the other children born overseas or locally SGD $100 SGD $70 for a Singapore Citizenship Certificate

SGD $10 for a Singapore ID

All processing fees will be collected online when an application is made. Additional fees are payable only once the application is successful, at the time of Registration. Online fees are payable using:

  • Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card or,

  • American Express (AMEX) credit card or,

  • Internet Direct Debit (DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB and Standard Chartered Bank Internet Banking accounts in Singapore) or,

  • PayNow

Documents will only be processed once all documents are in place, and payment is received.

Steps to Applying for Singapore Citizenship

Having understood the required documents and fees that must be prepared for a Singapore citizenship application, one can follow the steps listed below to begin the application process.

Step 1

First, submit an application through e-Service with all the required documents listed above. The applicant will require a SingPass account to do so. If he or she does not have an account, the application can be made via their sponsor’s SingPass account.

Step 2

The applicant can check on his or her application status via MyICA. Note that applications for Singapore citizenship take approximately 6 to 12 months to be processed.

Step 3

If the Singapore citizenship application is successful, the applicant will receive an Approval in Principle letter with their appointment date and time to register for Singapore citizenship. Administrative matters include the renunciation of the applicant’s foreign citizenship and attending the Registration, which would similarly take about 1 to 2 months.

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