Singapore · Residency by investment
Global Investor Programme
Open. Criteria per the EDB GIP Factsheet updated 5 May 2025, which also raised the application fee to SGD 20,000. The SGD 10m / 25m / 200m AUM structure introduced in the March 2023 reform remains in force as at July 2026.
GIP is the only direct route to Singapore PR by capital, and PR is the gateway to a jurisdiction with no capital gains tax, no estate duty and territorial personal taxation. But EDB has deliberately engineered it so that money alone does not qualify you: every option assumes you are actually running something in Singapore or living there.
Qualifying routes
SGD 10m into a new entity or expansion of an existing operation; you need at least 30% shareholding and a C-suite/board role; industry must be on the EDB Annex B list; 5-year business plan assessed on job creation
SGD 25m into an EDB-approved fund investing in Singapore-based companies. The passive route — and priced at 2.5x Option A precisely because it is passive
Establish a Singapore SFO with at least SGD 200m AUM, of which at least SGD 50m must be transferred into Singapore and deployed into EDB-specified investments within 12 months of Final Approval and maintained thereafter. Offshore assets count toward the SGD 200m AUM figure
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 10M SGD
- Total landed cost
- SGD 10m minimum committed capital (SGD 25m passive, or SGD 200m AUM with SGD 50m onshored for the family office route), plus SGD 20,000 application fee and SGD 100 ICA processing fee; legal, tax and family-office setup advisory typically SGD 150k–500k+ for Option C
- Timeline
- 9–18 months — EDB states approximately 12 months from complete submission, subject to due diligence. Approval-in-Principle is valid 6 months, within which the investment must be made; PR must be formalised within 12 months of Final Approval
- Physical presence
- None to obtain PR — but the 5-year Re-Entry Permit renewal requires you or all your dependants to have resided in Singapore for more than half the time (Options B and C), or alternatively, for Options A and C, that the business/family office hits its employment targets. This is the trap: GIP is not a low-presence programme.
- Family
- spouseunmarried children under 21 at date of application
- Permanent residency
- immediate — GIP grants PR itself; the constraint is renewing the 5-year Re-Entry Permit
- Citizenship
- typically 2+ years of PR before you may apply; approval is discretionary and never guaranteed
- Language test
- none formally, but naturalisation is discretionary and integration is assessed
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- Established Business Owner: 3+ years entrepreneurial track record; company with SGD 200m annual turnover in the preceding year and SGD 200m average over three years; 30% shareholding if privately heldNext Generation Business Owner: family holds 30%+ or is largest shareholder; company turnover SGD 500m in the preceding year and on average over three years; you must sit in managementFounder of Fast Growth Company: founder and one of the largest individual shareholders of a non-listed company valued at SGD 500m+, backed by reputable VC/PEFamily Office Principal: 5+ years entrepreneurial, investment or management track record AND net investible assets of at least SGD 200m (excluding real estate)Company must operate in an industry on the EDB Annex B listEDB interview and due diligence
- The Re-Entry Permit renewal condition is the real cost. For Option B (the passive SGD 25m fund route) the ONLY renewal path is residing in Singapore more than half the time — there is no employment alternative. Families who buy Option B expecting a low-presence PR are buying the wrong product.
- Option A requires 30 employees (half Singapore Citizens, 10 incremental) by year 5 for a 5-year REP renewal. Option C requires 5 incremental family-office professionals with 3 Singapore Citizens. These are hard operational commitments, not paperwork.
- Singapore does not permit dual citizenship. Naturalisation means surrendering your existing passports — for most UHNW families this makes PR, not citizenship, the terminal destination.
- Male dependants who obtain PR become liable for National Service. This catches families with teenage sons repeatedly and is effectively irreversible once PR is formalised.
- Parents and unmarried children over 21 cannot be included as dependants — only a Long Term Visit Pass tied to your REP validity.
- 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty applies to foreigners buying residential property; PRs pay 5% on a first property and 30% on a second. Property is not the cheap part of landing here.
- The EDB factsheet carries an explicit disclaimer that nothing guarantees the continued availability of GIP, approval, or REP renewal. This is a discretionary programme and is administered as one.