For the well-heeled foreigners who are interested to be Singapore Permanent Residence (SPR), they can consider going the route of Financial Investor Scheme (FIS).  This scheme involves large investment into EDB (Economic Development Board) approved funds or to purchase residential property. Through this scheme, they may apply for Singapore Permanent Residence. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will assess permanent residency application under this scheme.

 

Eligibility

To be eligible for the FIS, applicants should have a minimum Net Personal Assets (NPA) of S$20 million. With effect from 1st January 2011, to apply for Permanent Residency through the FIS, applicants have to place at least S$10 million of assets in Singapore for 5 years. The Minimum Sum should comprise of financial assets* not less than S$8 million, and Up to S$2 million can be used to buy private residential property. These financial assets shall be placed with a financial institution regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Existing financial assets placed with the financial institution can be included as part of the Minimum Sum.

*Financial assets can be in any or all of the following forms:

• Bank deposits;
• Capital market products;
• Collective investment schemes;
• Premiums paid in respect of life insurance policies;
• Other investment products.

 

Spouse/ Family member of PR

Foreigners applying for Singapore Permanent Residency under the Financial Investor Scheme can include their immediate family in the application. Immediate family refers to:

• Spouse (one only);
• Unmarried children 21 years of age and below.

Parents and Parents-in-law

With effect from 1 January 2011, parents and parents-in-law are not eligible to be included in the main applicant’s FIS  application for PR status. Instead, they can apply for a 5-year Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP), which is renewable and tied to the validity of the main applicant’s re-entry permit.

Unmarried children aged above 21 years

For FIS applicants who have unmarried children aged above 21 years, separate applications should be submitted together with the main application. An additional amount of S$10 million in financial assets per child in the name of the child has to be maintained in a separately designated account(s).

 

Processing Time

Following satisfactory evaluation of the FIS application for permanent residency, in-principle approval of PR status will be granted by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). The applicant will then have six months from the date of in-principle approval of PR status to put the Minimum Sum in the approved financial institution in Singapore. Once ICA receives receipts from the Monetary Authority of Singapore confirming the deposits of the Minimum Sum from the approved financial institutions and the proof of purchase of a residential property (if applicable), the ICA will grant the FIS applicant final approval of his PR status.

 

Maintenance of Financial Assets

Starting from the date of issuance of the Entry Permit, the financial assets will be held in a designated account with the Financial Institution for a continuous period of 5 years. During the five-year retention period, the applicant may ONLY withdraw interest income and dividend income (in the current calendar year). If the value of the financial assets falls below S$8 million (for reasons other than a withdrawal), there will be no need to top up the designated account affected.

The applicant may transfer financial assets from one Financial Institution to another Financial Institution at any time during the five-year retention period, provided that the total value of the financial assets withdrawn, except interest income and dividend income for the current calendar year, is transferred in full to the new Financial Institution. The Applicant or the Financial Institution should notify the MAS within 7 working days of the transfer.

 

Attainment of Citizenship 

After residing as a Permanent Resident in Singapore for 2 years, Permanent Residents under the FIS may apply for Singapore citizenship. If Permanent Residents under FIS are granted citizenship during the 5-year retention period, they will no longer need to comply with the terms and conditions of the Financial Investor Scheme.

If you would like us to help you in arranging a meeting with a participating Private Bank/Financial Institution, then please contact us.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Business in Singapore, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.