The Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Low Yen Ling, said in parliament on 23 February that the ministry had granted 200 people permanent residency in Singapore through the Global Investor Programme (GIP) from 2020 to 2022.
Foreigners can apply to be GIP PRs after they invest SGD$2.5 million into starting or expanding a business in Singapore, or they can invest in a GIP fund that invests in Singapore-based companies.
Responding to Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, Low said that the Economic Development Branch (EDB) is extremely selective about the GIP investors that they accept, in spite of the stable interest that the GIP has received since 2004.
Low said that EDB is stringent and robust in their evaluation of applicants and that the PR statuses granted to them account for less than 1% of the total number of PRs that are awarded every year.
Following this, the ICA assesses the application for Singapore citizenships independently.
Low said that the EDB conducts regular reviews to ensure rootedness by the GIP investors in Singapore and that they contribute to Singapore’s industries, economy and job creation.
They are also required to submit documentary evidence of the Singapore-based companies that they have invested in, and the EDB also conducts site visits to assess the activities of the companies and their employment situation.
The EDB also reviews the economic and residency commitments of the GIP investors and those who don’t meet the criteria will not have their reentry permit renewed, and their PR status will lapse when they eventually leave Singapore and lose their PR status.
About S$1.6 billion have been pumped into approved GIP funds by the GIP investors as of October 2022, with Singapore-based companies receiving about S$930 million of the investments.