Is Singapore 🇸🇬 a good country to live for Chinese-Americans?

 Question: Is Singapore a good country to live for Chinese-Americans? Why or why not?

Answers: If you have about US $5M in assets, it is a good place to live in, regardless of where you are from.

If you do not, then the Singapore government does not want you to live there.

I have one friend who lived and worked there for 30 years, and after he retired, he was not given a residential visa. The message was: “Thank you for living here and paying taxes. You can leave now.”

问题：新加坡对美籍华人来说是个好居住的国家吗？为什么？

答案：如果你有大约 500 万美元的资产，那么无论你来自哪里，新加坡都是个好居住地。

如果你没有，那么新加坡政府就不希望你住在那里。

我有一个朋友在那里生活和工作了 30 年，退休后，他没有获得居住签证。信息是：“感谢您在这里生活和纳税。你现在可以离开了。”

( French/ Français ) Question : Singapour est-il un bon pays où vivre pour les Américains d’origine chinoise ? Pourquoi ou pourquoi pas ?

Réponses : Si vous avez environ 5 millions de dollars d’actifs, c’est un bon endroit où vivre, quelle que soit votre origine.

Si ce n’est pas le cas, le gouvernement de Singapour ne veut pas que vous y viviez.

J’ai un ami qui a vécu et travaillé là-bas pendant 30 ans et, après sa retraite, on ne lui a pas accordé de visa de résidence. Le message était : « Merci de vivre ici et de payer des impôts. Vous pouvez partir maintenant. »)

Comments: 评 论：Píng-lùn: (Commentaires:)

●That is such a biased and unfair comment.

It doesn’t answer the question and just seek to fuel resentment against the government.

Just by eating in the same restaurant everyday won’t make you a shareholder, what kind of logic are you sharing here?

Your friend came and work and earn singapore dollars and therefore pay taxes, you have a problem with that.

He can’t continue to stay because he is not a resident, that is a policy failure? Are you nuts??

Our government is protective of our citizenship and yet welcoming to foreigners with talents (yes, including wealth), but who isn’t?

Have some facts before you try to deface anyone alright?

■You're exaggerating about the US$5 million to live here comfortably. Most expats I know are not multi-millionaires. But it's true that only rich foreign retirees are welcomed here. There's simply not enough space for everyone. Your friend should have applied for citizenship before retiring.

●Foreigners who work and stay in Singapore used to receive an invitation by the immigration department to take up permanent resident status if they have a certain level of skill and education. They could later consider applying for citizenship. However, Singapore does not accept dual citizenship. If a person had lived and worked here for 30 years without considering any such offer, I believe the offer does not wait for one more day.

■That’s not true and using a sample size of “your friend” is not only a bad reference, statistically speaking, it also showcase a lazy and irresponsible answer. Google and you can easily find out how many citizenships and PR status are being given out annually, and not all are given to rich people. In fact, such a significant number is given out that it is making a portion of Singaporeans uncomfortable.

It is not clearly stated why some people are given citizenship/PR more easily than others. I have friends from China who studied in Singapore for 4 years and obtained citizenship within 2 years. I also have German friends who are not given PR despite working for over 10 years. There must be some reasons that the government based on for their selection.

Proportionally speaking, I don’t think there is any country that is more welcoming of foreigners. Policy wise, the government has to find a way to maintain the coubtry’s population size even though Singaporeans are not producing enough. Tolerance wise, name me another country who’s citizens can actually tolerate more than half of the country being made up of foreigners?

●• You also want to include this not “producing enough” having its roots in government policy back then during the ‘formative’ years. And now its I think mostly about the sheer high cost of living, doing business etc. and quips like small spaces being enough for procreation from no less than high level female official(s) thats keeping the local count low. My 2 cents.

■Did he try to get permanent residency or citizenship during those 30 years? There are over 500K permanent residents and a nontrivial number of naturalized citizens. Most are not rich.

□Perhaps, he got rejected for unknown reasons?

Like how I was being rejected even though I was born in Singapore.

♧He had cancer before and the government did not want him on the government health plan for retirees.

○If you’re not a citizen nor a permanent resident, then you should have a medical insurance plan. I do not know of any country that extend healthcare services to non-citizens and non-permanent residents.

○If you’re born in Singapore, are your parents Singapore citizens? Did you serve national service?

●Although Singapore has performed a miracle from going from a third world country to a top world country in a matter of three decades after independence in the mid 1960’s under the excellent leadership of its founding father Lee one must understand its geographic constraints. Unlike vast countries like Canada Australia and US which welcome the immigrants from all over the world Singapore is such a tiny island which is overpopulated you just ask yourself how could she afford to accept more foreigners.

●Good that they still thank him- try living in Thailand for 50 years. You just leave!

●Your friend could have easily gotten a PR. If he neglected to apply…well it is his fault!

●Was he a permanent resident (PR)? If not, he was on a work visa and when employment is terminated so is the residential permit.

●If I had 5 big ones, I live good enough in the U.S. and do not have to move to Singapore.

●Why didn't he applied for PR or citizenship like many foreigners did. Even average middle managers/ executive did.

●Yeaps. I can attest to that mercenary view of the Singapore government.

●Most people come to Singapore to provide a service, through the company that he/she is associated with, or to establish some businesses that can take advantage of Singapore's business friendly policies. I doubt many people will want to stay in Singapore to retire or settle down after their career is over or they move on. So, the story about your friend not given a residential visa, while deplorable, is not something most ex-pats would be too concerned about, since most see Singapore as a stage in their working career, not a place they aspire to put down roots.

○Well may be true for some, but if you spend 30 years in one place honestly is likely that you consider it home

●Chinese American, why leave USA? And why choose Singapore, an island city that do not have much to give compare to USA.

●This is the most apt answer . Stay if you have money otherwise leave . Singapore is for billionaires

If you have a million USD, come live in Malaysia. You can choose KL, Penang, Langkawi (if non-metro island living is your thing with good air connectivity). If you're willing to learn the Bahasa Malaysia a little bit, you can basically live anywhere in Malaysia. East Malaysia (Borneo part) is good place to retire too.

I worked and lived in Singapore for more than 30 years. After my retirement I could still retain my Permanent Residency provided that I stay in Singapore for at least 7 months in a year. I chose to retire back in Australia and gave up my Singapore Permanent Residency 6 years ago.

Talk rubbish.. you know why he not even having a PR.. just like you.. moving everywhere.. no contribution to you own country..

BS, I lives there for 40 + year, with spouse

That's definitely Spore govt for u! Cold, businessminded, abrupt n cruel.

Hi Paul, I can believe what you say, you need 5M in assets before Singapore accepts you as a resident of there Country. It is for the rich. I have a lady friend from the main land China going to Singapore on a tour with 20 other tourists to visit Singapore on the 24th of this Month. Needs passport stamped at a few countries before she goes for her interview with the American Consolate in Guangzhou in November. Do you think these visits to Singapore and a few other like countries will help her to get her Visa approved to come to America? I am a friend in Washington State whom has invited her to come here to visit. Thank you. I would appreciate your advice in this matter.

Robert Chase

No comment

In my humble opinion, your friend was naive to think that after working in Singapore for 30 years, he would be granted PR(Permanent Resident) status. You may like to know that if you fulfill the relevant qualifying factors, eg family such as a spouse who is a Singaporean, or economic, you have skills/qualifications desired in Singapore, you can apply for PR after working in Singapore for 12 months. There are many factors influencing successful applicants and these are constantly changing, so I would recommend that you engage an immigration consultant to improve your chances.

Singapore used to grant residencies freely in the past, but lately due to social and politial factors, the rate of new PR approval has gone down, For example in 2017, 29,955 PRs and 20,815 citizenship application were approved out of perhaps hundreds of thousands of application. So you can get your PR application approved, but you need to qualify otherwise the chances are slim.

And if you have $5mil, invest S$2.5million in business in Singapore, and under the GIP Scheme (Global Investor Programme) you qualify for residency straightaway. There are other schemes where your residency application can be expedited as well, so you have got to do your research.

Your friend probably failed to do his homework.

wow that really sucks.

it's probably because he was there on a work visa or work pass or smt.

Singapore and china is the same, a lot of chinese live in singapore.

May be a little unkind remark to say the Singapore Government does not want retired foreigners in Singapore Its their entire choice during their lifetime of service in Singapore to have decided where they want to retire and show their allegiance. One leg on each boat will only cause you some pain eventually.

May I add that I know of friends and colleagues who are foreigners continuing to be Re-employed after retirement in Singapore and keeping luxurious homes in Malaysia. Should they be given this right in direct competition with the younger generations of locals who are trying to achieve financial stability and responsibilities as an adult??

The question why your friend did not apply for PR but still manage to work for so many years. Also you will to apply and not given automatically unless you are some genius or scientist that can contribute to our nation.

You need to understand our country is without any resources and depends on manpower, skills, investment, trade to survive.

Did he apply for PR if no why? If yes what’s the reason for rejection? It’s hard to understand your answer without context.

(i find it hard to believe your friend can work here for 30 years on work permit in the first place.)

●Let’s not get things twisted. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. He might have paid his taxes, but he was also paid well and treated well as most expats are in Singapore- otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed for 30 years. You speak as if it was a one sided relationship where the only beneficiary was Singapore.

Now if over course of 30 years he did nothing to apply for permanent residency or citizenship, who has he to blame but himself. So for 30 years he was having a good time in Singapore and not once did it cross his mind to commit himself to a country that has treated him well and then at the end of 30 years when he retired, somehow thought he ought to be given a residential visa simply for paying his taxes. Talk about a sense of entitlement.

This would be like a guy having a good time with a woman and over the years of the relationship never once bothered to propose marrige or to get engaged to show his commitment to the relationship and then when she decides to move on, now acts like he is the victim.

You americans really think you own the world.

◇So true in all phases of life.