Fewer Permanent Resident and Citizenship applications went through in the past year due to more stringent requirements.
Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Law, Ho Peng Kee, said eligibility rules were tightened in the last quarter of 2009 to manage overall numbers.
Some 46,300 Permanent Residents were approved between April last year to March this year, out of 124,600 applications. Another 19,300 Singapore Citizenships went through, out of 24,000 applications.
“Fewer PR & Citizenship applications approved in past year” (Channel NewsAsia, May 18)
To the best of my knowledge, I believe this is the first time ever that statistics on new permanent residents (PR) and new citizens are being disclosed from April to March, instead of on a calendar year basis.
The number of new PRs for 2008 and 2009 was about 80,000 and 60,000 respectively.
The figures for new citizens for the same periods were about 20,000 for each year.
I believe this is the first time ever, success rate of applications is being disclosed.
In order to get a more complete picture on the statistics, what we need to know the following:
- How many new PRs and new citizens were approved out of how many applications in the last two years? – This will tell us how the pattern of the success rate of applications has changed.
- How many of the new citizens were from those who applied directly as foreigners or as PRs? – Without this data for the last two and a quarter years, it may not be possible to tell exactly the extent to which (and whether) the total figures for PRs and citizens combined, declined or increased. As an example, if most new citizens in the latest period were direct applicants from foreigners, and most of them in the previous periods were from PRs, then the total increase may actually appear to be less than the actual absolute figure.
- What is the break-down for the different periods in respect of how many were workers and how many were dependents? – For example, there may have been more workers relative to dependants.
There have also been media reports about the criteria for dependants being tightened, even to the extent that the category for elderly foreign dependants being discontinued.
In this regard, it is impossible to comprehend the fuller picture without statistics on PRs and new citizens who have left Singapore. Why? Because if less are leaving, then the absolute total increase to the resident population may actually be more significant. The very important statistic on the number of foreigners being given passes of up to one year to stay in Singapore to look for a job, was glaringly missed.
Also missing were the statistics on foreign students studying in Singapore, as well as foreign students studying overseas. How many were allowed to work in Singapore under the internship schemes, which are exempted from the Minister of Manpower’s (MOM) work pass and foreign worker quota requirements?
Without the above statistics, it is rather difficult to have a complete picture of non Singapore-born demographics and employment in Singapore. Since the number of new citizens has remained about the same, at about 20,000, for all the three 12-month periods in question, were the requirements really more stringent?
With regards to “eligibility rules were tightened in the last quarter of 2009 to manage overall numbers”, since Singapore was going through one of its worst recession from September 2008 to around September 2009, it begs being asked “why did it take so long (the last quarter) to tighten criteria?”
According to Channel NewsAsia, Associate Professor Ho also said:
“There would be applicants who may not meet our new criteria and who no longer qualify for PR or citizenship.
“Others, even though they meet the new criteria, may take a longer time before they are granted PR, or citizenship, as the residency requirements have been stretched out in the new framework.”
Those who do not yet qualify can apply for Long Term Visit Passes to remain in Singapore.
In the same period, authorities received over 70,300 applications for Long Term Visit Passes. About 80 per cent of them or 56,300 were approved.”
In this regard, we also need to know the number of Long Term Visit Passes applied and approved in 2008 and 2009, for without it, it may be impossible to determine if the Long Term Visit Pass holders made up for (or surpassed) the lesser PR applicants accepted. Instead of just saying that the criteria has been tightened, it may also be helpful to disclose what the criteria is now, compared to less stringent criteria of the past.
Another report on the same topic by Today highlights why disclosure and transparency of criteria are important. The Today article, “Longer wait, harder to get PR or citizenship” (Today, May 19), says:
As for foreign spouses of Singaporeans, the ICA processed an annual average of 15,400 long term visit passes and 9,900 PR applications from them between 2005 and 2009. Of these, 2,200 and 4,500 respectively were successful”.
What this means is that the success rate of applications (for foreign spouses of Singaporeans) was only about 14 and 45 per cent for long term visit passes and PRs, respectively.
Which means that on the average about a whopping 66,000 (15,400 applcations minus 2,200 approvals times 5 years) Singaporeans who married foreign spouses were denied permission for their spouses to stay in Singapore under long term visit passes, and about another 27,000 (9,900 applications minus 4,500 approvals times 5 years) were denied permanent residency, over the last five years.
Can you imagine the tremendous emotional and financial stress that these 93,000 (66,000 plus 27,000) Singaporeans must be facing with their spouses and possibly children being denied the right to live in Singapore? Now that the economy is recovering, quarterly statistics are more needed than not ad-hoc ones. Giving statistics on a piecemeal basis makes it almost impossible for stakeholders and third parties to do any independent analysis or draw conclusions.
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@chowpap
I think you are wrong. The Singaporean Indian population closing up with Malays. There are 9.2% Indian Singaporean as of last year up from 7.x%. While Malay population drop from 14.x% to 13.x%. This is for 3.2 million Singaporeans. For the rest of 1.8 million foreigners (PR and non-PR), there
are about 250k of Indian workers (& their siblings) from India but nearly none Malays from Malaysia/Indonesia. Therefore, out of 5 million Singapore residents, there are more Indians (Singaporean and Foreigner Indians) than Malays. No wonder, you see more indians in MRT, shopping malls,etc than Malays. I think people will somehow be shocked to find out this.
Why Singapore gov allow large infux (as percentage of Singapore population) of Indian workers? Because our dear gov has signed trade agreement with India that opens job market in IT, Finance/Banking, Health-care, etc since 2005 (recently just being reviewed and India government asked for more) for India.
The problem for the influx is that we are not getting real talents (PMETs) because 90% plus of these indian workers are unemployed in India and many are with unknown degrees which Singapore gov doesn’t bother to question. Also, they are unlikely to be as hardworking as other nationalities (this is true observation – no discrimination).
To Sightings:Yes please keep us updated. Go on the street everyday and count how many foreigners you see. Let us know if the number is going down or up.
We cannot trust the static figures. Over time, migration is a flow, not a point measure. Read carefully what Professor Ho said
“Others, even though they meet the new criteria, may take a longer time before they are granted PR, or citizenship, as the residency requirements have been stretched out in the new framework.”
READ THE TEXT OF PROFESSOR HO’S STATEMENT THOUGHTFULLY.
He did NOT says their eligibility criteria had been raised of much higher QUALITY but the current intake is simply STRETCHED OUT in the new framework.
He was SILENT on the exact additional RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT. Therefore it was within his absolute option anytime to vary this unspoken residency requirement post-election.
That is to say – AFTER THE ELECTION – he reduced the residency requirements, WE MIGHT GOT A SUDDEN TSUNAMI FLOOD IN A FEW WEEKS!!!! All these backlog are actually “approved-in-principle” cases KIV only to be notified to applicants post-election.
Singaporean voters, please DON’T TRUST them.
I think we no need ask for audit of these info right? We just trust right?
At first the pigs said four legs are good, two-legged bad. Than they said two legs are good and four legs bad. Next time when they try to open their mouth again, ask them to shut up and vote them out of parliament before Singapore becomes a land of confusion.
Statistics are, like animal farm, illusionary.
if you have a c cup breast, do you need a push up bra to help you.
you only need one if you have breast size smaller than C to look like a c cuper.
same thing with this and other ploy by pap.
if they really did their job well, they could have come clean and be transparent earlier.
PAP government linked companies like Temasek Holdings headed by Ho Ching and GIC headed by MM Lee had borrowed heavily from CPF Fund and made huge losses of more than S$58 billions Singapore dollars in bailing out US banks and speculative tradings especially in 2007. So need to constrain local citizens from withdrawing their CPF monies.
Better still if our citizens die intestate and the whole of their assets including CPF monies will belong to the government and also to sustain the PAP ministers’ annual multi-millions singapore dollars salaries and increments.
Our ruling Foreign Action Party had met their target of approving new citizens of up to 36% of our population to increase their PAP votes for them in the coming general election. So now they can afford to approve lesser new citizens for the time being.
Although GIC and Temasek can proudly claim that both have built up asset worth USD300 billion and USD100 billion (estimate only) respectively, but I worry our government may have over-invested. The consequence may be Singapore is asset rich and cash poor. As a result, government would need to pull in cash from CPF, ERP, workers’ levies, GST, HDB flat sales, surplus resulted from not much welfare given out to Singaporeans and so on.
Have you ever asked why our government needs so much money from everywhere?
Does NOT matter what reduced number they took last year. Post-GFC, the economic fundamentals have irrevocably changed.
Overpopulation against a backdrop and environment of SLOWER growth,material constraints, food supply shortages, carbon tax, higher GST to compensate for depressed corporate tax revenues, costs of living pressures from excessive congestions and excess demands on infrastructural use etc etc just make continued reckless migration influx defy all rational and economic logic.
Australia is restructuring its immigration strategies. Even oil-rich Kuwait and Abu Dhabi have reversed their migration intake to cut out foreigners.
http://www.moveoneinc.com/blog/immigration/enstop-foreign-labor-kuwait/
With slower and uncertain global economic growth ahead, why are we taking in more migrants when that screwed us up even harder in 208/2009 and does NOT add to economic gain in 2007?
“eligibility rules were tightened in the last quarter of 2009 to manage overall numbers”
1) What are the eligibility rules?
2) Who & how these eligibility rules are defined?
Just because certain smart aleck wanted to boost the population fall due to past failed policies or the so called forecasting skills is outdated, the gov “turn on” our tap & let the water flow freely?
To New Citizen named Comment: This country is a multi racial harmony country. You lazy bumps don’t even want to sweep the roads of Singapore as you all think it’s a matter of prestige but although you don’t have a proper qualifications,you wan to have a work with good salaries. It doesn’t make senses. But now the older generation of Singaporeans work as a cleaner as they need money although they didn’t earn a lot. Indian & other nationalist are key worker for raising high skyscrapers and other facilities. Be a multi racial harmony guy & not to discriminate others.