Debated in Parliament on 3 Mar 2014.
Mr David Ong asked the Minister for National Development why there is a special condition under HDB's Orphans Scheme that at least one of the orphan's deceased parents be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident when it is already a prerequisite for the applicant to be a Singapore Citizen.
The Orphans Scheme is meant to provide a housing option for the remaining Singapore Citizen (SC) offspring living in an HDB flat, after the parents have died. If the parents were not SCs or Singapore Permanent Residents, they would not have been able to buy or rent HDB flats to begin with.
Nevertheless, for SC orphans with deceased non-resident parents, we are prepared to help them on a case-by-case basis. They can also buy HDB flats like any other household when they get married, or on their own as singles when they are at least 35 years old.
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