Debated in Parliament on 7 May 2026.
Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many children of Singaporeans await Permanent Residency or citizenship decisions; (b) what is the average processing time; (c) whether the Ministry is aware some of these children are on rolling visitor visas; and (d) whether the Ministry will expedite such cases, given the Government expects to take in between 25,000 and 30,000 new citizens annually over the next five years.
As of 31 Dec 2025, there were 914 children who had a pending Permanent Residency (PR) or Singapore Citizenship (SC) application sponsored by their Singaporean parent.
Most applications for PR and SC are processed within six and 12 months respectively. Some applications may take longer to process. It depends on the facts of the case, the need to verify documents and other relevant factors. The SC applications for young children generally take less time. For children born overseas to SCs, their SC applications are expedited because, often, there will be a need to travel. Such applications are generally processed within a month, depending on the case and whether all required documents are submitted and are in order.
While their application is being processed, these children may visit or stay in Singapore on other immigration passes, such as a Short-Term Visit Pass, Long-Term Visit Pass, Dependant's Pass or Student's Pass, subject to the prevailing criteria.
The Government will seek to process such applications as quickly as possible, without compromising the robustness of the assessment and checks.
PAPERCUTS