Debated in Parliament on 25 Feb 2013.
Mr David Ong asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the number of citizenships that are granted in 2012; and (b) of this group of new citizens, how many had stayed in Singapore for more than five years and how many for more than 10 years.
Mdm Speaker, 20,693 applicants were granted Singapore citizenship in 2012. They include 2,735 minors, most of whom were born overseas to Singaporean parents and would have been Singapore Citizens by birth had they been born in Singapore. Excluding this group, 81% of new citizens granted in 2012 had stayed in Singapore for more than five years, and 52% for more than 10 years.
Mdm Speaker, three supplementary questions, please. Do we have a policy of granting PR or Singapore citizenship to prominent foreign citizens even before they reside in Singapore? If so, how many were granted? Question two: what is the Government's stance on foreign spouses, especially those with children born in Singapore in the event of the demise of the Singaporean husband or wife? I do see instances where the entire family, especially that of the foreign spouse and children's residency status, is in limbo following the demise of their Singaporean spouse. The last question: with the large number of PRs and foreigners residing, studying and working here in Singapore, how can the Government better engage them, their employers and schools so that they can be better integrated into our social habits, norms and culture?
Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for the three supplementary questions. If I may, I think the supplementary questions themselves are very substantive, and will probably warrant separate PQs (Parliamentary Questions). But I would like to take the first supplementary question, with regard to SC (Singapore Citizenship) – whether we grant SC before they start residing in Singapore. The answer is "no". We generally require them to have a period of residency in Singapore and become a PR before we grant SC, with the exception of some of the minors – children who may have come along with the SC or the PR who has stayed here for some time. And because the parents are granted SC, we will also grant their children SC even before they start their residency in Singapore. These are all considered as a family unit.
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From time to time, their children, wives and parents may be granted SC before they have long extended periods of stay in Singapore.
On the second question, Mdm Speaker, on foreign spouses, I will deal with this question later in a subsequent PQ. And the third question on integration, I would suggest the Member asks this as a separate PQ at another time.
Mdm Speaker, two supplementary questions, please. May I ask the Second Minister whether we have discerning criteria in citizenship approval, and are our policies robust enough to ensure that only those contributing to our society with positive outcomes – and not draining our limited resources – are allowed to stay? Secondly, could the Second Minister re-look at our policies and to tweak those that can be taken advantage of, to the detriment of Singaporeans? For example, can we review the HDB and landed home ownership granted to Permanent Residents as the present policies may encourage profit motivation among some, who only leave immediately after achieving the windfall with no intention of settling down in Singapore, right from the beginning, as has been happening more frequently?
Mdm Speaker, the first question is about criteria. Yes, we do have definitive criteria. Selection is not based on a single criterion. It is based on a whole set of criteria. We will look at the economic contributions of the persons, education levels, family units applying together, and their intentions. If you have the whole family applying for citizenship together, this will be given greater consideration. We review the criteria from time to time, making sure that they meet our immigration needs.
On not allowing new citizens to drain our limited resources, we are very mindful of that consideration. I will discuss this a little later in the second question following this, about how we deal with foreign spouses.
The other question is really about reviewing the eligibility of new citizens or PRs in buying property. Again, I think this is a very substantive question. As much as we can, we will try to differentiate the benefits between Singapore Citizens and PRs. For PRs, we do review their bases of being granted PR from time to time, especially once every five years, when their re-entry permit is up for renewal. If those bases no longer exist, then we may refuse to renew their re-entry permits.
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