Benefits & Drawbacks of Singapore Citizenship

Singapore is considered as one of the best cities in Asia to live in. It is safe, environmentally-friendly and a melting pot of culture. It ranks high in most of the World Rankings and reports and is said to have a high quality of living. These factors among others attract many of us to Singapore, often on a long term basis. Consequently, many of us toy with the question of whether or not to secure Singapore Citizenship. This guide compares the pros and cons of becoming a Singapore citizen.

Advantages of Singapore Citizenship

Singapore Passport Travel Freedom

Singapore Passport holders have very few travel restrictions around the world. A Singapore Passport holder enjoys liberal visa requirements especially while travelling to destinations like the USA.

According to theHenley Visa限制指数, 2018 – a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom (visa free access) their citizens enjoy – Singapore ranked 2nd in the study, proving the high degree of travel freedom its citizens enjoy.

Employment Rewards

Most companies prefer to hire citizens or PRs than foreigners. In addition to general mentality, the advantage for employers is that there is less paperwork, formalities and expenses involved.

住房

Only Singapore citizens (over 21 years of age) are eligible to buy and rent apartments from the Housing & Development Board (HDB). These include subsidised 2-room (i.e 1 bdrm + living room), 3-room (2 bdrm + 1 living room), 4-room (3 bdrm + living room), 5-room (4 bdrm + living room) and executive flats. Singapore citizens are also eligible to buy subsidised executive condos and studio apartments developed by the HDB.

公民还可以以优惠利率从HDB获得贷款以获得其住房的独特利益。此外，新加坡公民是政府建造的公寓的首次买家可以享受住房补贴，如住房补助金。这CPF Housing Grantis a subsidy (up to SGD 40,000) provided by the Government to assist households who have met the eligibility criteria to buy a HDB flat.

Only a Singapore citizen is eligible to rent a subsidised flat from the HDB, upon satisfying eligibility criteria.

When HDB flats are being upgraded by the Government, Citizens pay only a fraction of the costs while Permanent Residents have to pay the full upgrading cost of items that they have opted for.

While citizens can buy any type of private residential property, Permanent Residents must first seek approval from the Ministry of Law if they want to buy landed property. Listed below is a brief overview of various features for each type of resident.

	Citizens	PRs	Foreigners
Purchase of subsidised new flats from HDB	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
购买转售HDB单位	Eligible	符合条件（须遵守HDB的资格计划）	Not Eligible
Rental of subsidised flats from HDB	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Rental of a room/flat from home owners	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
Purchase of non-landed property- private apartments/condos	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
Purchase of landed property – bungalows, terrace housing	Eligible	Eligible (Subject to approval from Ministry of law)	Not Eligible
Rental of landed and non-landed property	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
CPF Housing Grant	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Main Upgrading Subsidy and concessionary interest rate for payment of upgrading cost	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Mortgage loans from HDB at a concessionary interest rate	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Mortgage loans from banks	Eligible	Eligible	Not Eligible

注意：资格可能符合某些条件。有关更多信息，请访问住房& Development Board Infoweb .

Central Provident Fund (CPF)

CPF是公民和永久居民的强制性社会保障计划。雇主和员工分别为分为三个账户的CPF，每月缴款为17％和20％：普通账户（储蓄可用于购买房屋，支付CPF保险，投资和教育），特别账户（对于旧时代，应急宗旨和退休相关金融产品的投资）和MEDisave账户（节省可用于住院费用和批准的医疗保险）。

这CPF contributions by the employer are non taxable and your share of the contribution can be used for tax relief purposes. Non-citizens and non-PR’s are not eligible for CPF. Any contributions by a foreigner is considered voluntary contribution and cannot be used for tax relief purposes.

For more information please visitCentral Provident Fund.

Education

Edusave Scheme

这Edusave Schemeis a government initiative to maximise opportunities for all Singaporean children.
这scheme awards students who excel in academic and non-academic activities. It covers students who are Singapore citizens, studying full-time in a government or government aided or independent school, junior college (JC), centralised institute (CI), Institute of Technical Education (ITE) or special education school. The three components of the scheme are Edusave Pupils Fund, Edusave Grants and Edusave Scholarships & Awards.

学校/大学费用

Typically, Permanent Residents and Foreign Students pay a higher percentage of school and university fees when compared to Singapore Citizens. The table below shows a brief comparison of the estimated fees and schemes for 2019 for the three types of residents (the fees below are not inclusive of miscellaneous fees that all students have to pay).

	Citizens	PRs	Foreign Students
School Fees payable in SGD
去vernment Schools (school fees per month)
初级	Free	SGD 180	SGS 440 - 700
Secondary Level	SGD 5	SGD 320	SGD 720 - 1,250
Pre-University level (Junior Colleges, Centralised Institute)	SGD 6	SGD 400	SGD 980 - 1,600
Others (school fees per annum)
ITE	SGD 406 - 626	SGD 5,023 - 7,833	SGD 13,470 - 20,480
工业技术	SGD 2,800	SGD 5,600.	SGD 10,000.
Universities (NUS, NTU, SMU)	Depending on school and programme
Subsidy/Schemes
Edusave Scheme	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible

For more information, please visitMinistry of Education.

卫生保健

Medifund

Medifund is an endowment fund set up by the Government to help finance medical expenses of needy Singaporeans only. The Medifund grants are provided to approved hospitals and medical institutions, to help low income Singapore citizens (who on satisfying certain eligibility criteria) pay for their medical treatment. This service is not available to Permanent Residents or Employment Pass/Work Permit holders.

初级保健伙伴计划（PCP）

At present, the 18 polyclinics spread across Singapore offer affordable primary health-care. However there are some citizens who may not be able to get to these polyclinics and the PCPS tries to bring affordable health-care closer to them. Under this scheme, participating private general practitioners and dentists provide common outpatient medical and dental treatment at polyclinic-level charges. The PCPS is applicable to citizens only (who also have to satisfy other eligibility criteria).

Medical Fees and Charges

这medical consultation charges in polyclinics are marginally higher for Permanent Residents and non residents when compared to citizens. Subsidies at restructured hospitals for Permanent Residents is 10% lesser than citizens of the same income level. For example, a Singaporean patient who stays in Class C ward and has a monthly income in the range of $3,351-$3,500 will get a hospitalisation subsidy of 78%. Whereas, a Singapore Permanent Resident staying in the same class ward and earning the same salary range will get a hospitalisation subsidy of 68%.Foreigners on the other hand are not eligible to receive hospitalisation subsidy. Mentioned below is a comparison of subsidies available for Citizens, PR’s and Foreigners.

	Citizens	PRs	Foreigners
Public Healthcare Subsidies
公共和重组医院(%补贴)
Types of Ward Class
Class B1	20%	10%	Not Eligible
Class B2	65％	55%	Not Eligible
C.	80%	70%	Not Eligible
Types of service
Day Surgery	65％	55%	Not Eligible
Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC)	50%	40％	Not Eligible
Polyclinics medical consultation charges in SGD – approximate figures
Adult	8-9	12-14	Not Eligible
Child/Elderly	4-5	12-14	Not Eligible
Healthcare Financing Schemes
麦迪亚	6-8% of monthly wage	6-8% of monthly wage	Not Eligible
Medishield	Eligible	Eligible	Not Eligible
Eldershield	Eligible	Eligible	Not Eligible
Primary Care Partnership Scheme	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Medifund	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible

注意：资格可能符合某些条件。For more information please visit,卫生部 .

Election

Only Singapore Citizens have the right to:

• 在议会选举中投票
• stand for election and become a member of Parliament

	Citizens	PRs	Foreigners
Right to vote in parliamentary elections	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Right to stand for election and become a MP	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible

留下福利

Maternity Leave

You are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave if your child is a Singapore Citizen. For the first two confinements, the first eight weeks of maternity leave will be employer-paid. The last eight weeks will be funded by the Government (capped at SGD 20,000 per confinement including CPF). For the third and subsequent confinements, the full 16 weeks will be funded by the Government (capped at SGD 40,000 per confinement including CPF). In case neither you nor your child is a Singapore citizen, the number of days of paid maternity leave will depend on your employment contract.

Enhanced Childcare Leave

新加坡公民的父母,他们已经工作了the employer for at least three months, will be entitled to 6 days of paid childcare leave per year per parent until the child turns seven, regardless of the birth order of the child. The first three days will be employer-paid and the last three days Government-paid (capped at 500 SGD per day, including CPF). Regardless of the number of children, the total childcare leave entitlement for each parent is capped at 6 days per year. In case neither you nor your child is a Singapore citizen, the number of days of enhanced childcare leave will depend on your employment contract.

新婴儿护理假

新加坡公民的父母,他们已经工作了the employer for at least three months, will be entitled to 6 days of unpaid infant care leave per year per parent until the child turns two, regardless of the birth order of the child. In case neither you nor your child is a Singapore citizen, the number of days of new infant care leave will depend on your employment contract.

父母身份激励措施

Baby Bonus Scheme

如果您的孩子是新加坡公民，那么他/她有资格获得婴儿奖金计划。婴儿奖金计划是一项政府倡议，支持父母通过帮助缓解抚养子女的财务负担来拥有更多儿童的决定。政府提供了第一个和第二个儿童高达8,000名高达8,000名儿童的现金礼物，并为第三和第四个儿童提供了10,000名儿童。此外，您的孩子还将以美元兑美元的匹配形式享受政府捐款，以便您为您儿童的儿童发展账户（CDA）提供贡献的储蓄金额。CDA是您孩子的特殊储蓄账户，直到他们转6岁。对于第三和第四个孩子，政府对第一个和第二个儿童的CDA对CDA的贡献是第三和第四个儿童的第6000款和第12000款。

Centre-based child care and infant care subsidy

这是一项旨在使中心的儿童和婴儿护理的政府倡议成为一个更实惠的选择。新加坡公民婴儿婴儿护理补贴高达600岁，每月2-18个月婴儿，他注册了持牌儿童保育中心。新加坡公民的儿童保育资金300美元将获得7岁的儿童保育中心。

父母税收退税（PTR）

PTR是一笔偿还新加坡税收居民的一次性回扣，以鼓励他们通过向他们提供更多的新加坡公民儿童，以便为培养孩子提供财政支持。PTR还可用于抵消其所得税。它适用于新加坡税收居民的新加坡人。由于效果，2009年的评估年份，第一个儿童的PTR高达5000人，第二个儿童的SGD 10,000，第三个儿童高达20,000名，并且可以索取每一个后续的儿童。

Tax Matters

这re are certain tax relief benefits that are exclusive to citizens. Enlisted below are 6 types of tax incentives for parenthood specifically, which are applicable only to citizens and do not extend to PR’s or foreigners.

Parenthood Tax Rebate

PTR is a lump sum rebate given to married Singapore tax residents to encourage them to have more Singapore Citizen children. The PTR can also be used to offset their income tax payable. It is applicable to Singaporean children of Singapore tax residents. With effect, Year of Assessment 2009, PTR up to SGD 5000 for the first child, up to SGD 10,000 for the second child and up to SGD 20,000 for the third and every subsequent child can be claimed.

母亲的儿童救济(WMCR)

WMCR被介绍，以奖励持有新加坡公民身份的儿童的家庭，并鼓励父母为孩子带来公民身份。这种救济可以由一位工作母亲声称，该母亲是新加坡税务居民，孩子是新加坡公民。还有其他资格标准也需要履行。这amount of WMCR claimable for each child is based on a specified percentage of the working mother’s earned income corresponding to the child order – 15% of mother’s earned income for the first child, 20% for the second child, 25% for the third and every subsequent child thereafter. This is with effect Year of Assessment 2009.

Qualifying/Handicapped Child Relief (QCR/HCR)

这种救济得到了承认家庭支持他们的孩子和照顾残疾儿童的努力。在满足QCR / HCR资格标准和适用于儿童的任何额外标准的情况下，可以分别在QCR和HCR下索取SGD 4000和SGD 5500的浮雕。

祖父母照顾救济(GCR)

GCR is a relief to provide recognition for grandparents who play the role of caregiver and help working mothers take care of their children. The children have to be Singapore citizens and the grand-parent should be living in Singapore. There are other eligibility criteria that need to be met as well. You can claim SGD 3000 as GCR.

Income tax rates are the same for citizens, PR’s and foreigners (if foreigners have resided in Singapore for 183 days or more in the previous year). However, all Central Provident Fund contributions by citizens and PR’s, including the employers contribution is non-taxable. In addition, the employee’s contribution can also be used for tax relief purposes. Foreigners do not enjoy tax relief for CPF.

这table below compares the tax relief available for Citizens, PR’s and Foreigners.

	Citizens	PRs	Foreigners
Tax incentives for parenthood
Parenthood Tax Rebate	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
母亲的儿童救济	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Qualifying Child Relief	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
Handicapped Child Relief	Eligible	Eligible	Eligible
祖父母照顾救济	Eligible	Not Eligible	Not Eligible
Others
CPF（中央公积金）捐款的税收救济	Eligible	Eligible	Not Eligible
CPF现金充值的税收救济	Eligible	Eligible	Not Eligible

Disadvantages of Singapore Citizenship

国家服务(NS)

Male Singapore citizens are liable for National Service and must register for NS upon reaching 16.5 years of age. They will be enlisted for two years of full-time National Service immediately upon reaching the age of 18, unless deferment from enlistment a later date is granted. They are also required to serve 40 days of Operationally Ready National Service every year until the age of 50 years (for officers) or 40 years (for non-officers). Hence if you become a Singapore citizen your male child will have to serve the two-years of National Service. This is also applicable for second generation PRs.

	Citizens	PRs	Foreigners
国家服务	Mandatory	第二代男性	Not Eligible

No Dual Citizenship

如果您决定成为新加坡公民，您将不得不谴责您所在国家的公民身份并放弃您的祖国护照。新加坡不允许双重公民身份。

CPF Withdrawal Limitation

If you wish to withdraw all your CPF savings as a lump sum, the only option is to renounce your citizenship status. This rule holds for Permanent Residents as well.

On the whole, many people find it beneficial to become a Singapore Citizen and eventually make Singapore their home.