According to a Lianhe Zaobao interview with the head of research at a wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, Andrew Amoils on 20 April, it was reported the about 3,500 high net worth individuals are expected to become Singapore citizens this year, with the majority of them being from China.
The report further stateed that each of these people with high net worth have at least US$6 million in investable wealth, with Amoils adding that some of them comie from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the UK, Philippines and Vietnam as well.
The Ministry of Home Affairs have since responded to the reports and said that the statement are highly misleading and has no credible basis.
MHA said that having a high net worth does not guarantee Singapore citizenship.
MHA also added that they do not know how the private research firm basaed in Johannesburg, South Africa arrived at the figures, and said that they have not even decided on the Singapore Citizenship applicaitons for the rest of 2023 yet.
MHA’s statement on Singapore Citizenship
Published: 25 April 2023
- We are aware of several articles published in the past few days, alleging that 3,500 high-net-worth individuals with assets of US$6 million or more, are expected to be granted Singapore Citizenship (SC) in 2023.
- The figures cited were from a person working in a private research firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa. We do not know how he or his company arrived at this figure. SC applications for the rest of 2023 have not even been decided yet. This statement is highly misleading, with no credible basis. Having high net worth does not guarantee citizenship.
- A whole suite of factors are considered, including the benefits to Singapore, the business created in Singapore, the number of Singaporeans employed, as well as the individual’s ability to integrate into society, and commitment to sink roots in Singapore.