SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has responded to recent articles that claim 3,500 high-net-worth individuals with assets of US$6 million or more (S$8.03 million) are expected to be granted citizenship in Singapore this year.
“The figures cited were from a person working in a private research firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa. We do not know how he or his company arrived at this figure. SC applications for the rest of 2023 have not even been decided yet. This statement is highly misleading, with no credible basis. Having high net worth does not guarantee citizenship,” MHA said in a statement published on Tuesday (Apr 25).
The ministry added that multiple factors are considered when granting Singapore citizenship. These include “the benefits to Singapore, the business created in Singapore, the number of Singaporeans employed, as well as the individual’s ability to integrate into society, and commitment to sink roots in Singapore.”
The statement addresses remarks made by Mr Andrew Amoils, who heads New World Wealth Research at Henley and Partners, which he made in an interview online with Lianhe Zaobao.
Mr Amoils said that around 3,000 to 3,500 foreign high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are expected to obtain Singapore citizenship in 2023.
He added that these individuals have at least US$6 million (S$8 million) in assets that they can invest, although he said that it’s impossible to determine how much wealth each one has exactly.
If each one has S$8 million in assets to invest, this would amount to as much as S$28 billion.
And while most of the HNWIs are said to originate from mainland China and Hong Kong, others who are reportedly up for new citizenship status are from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and the Philippines.
Earlier this month, Henley & Partners’ World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2023 was published, showing that Singapore has again been named the fifth richest city in the world and the second-richest in Asia.
“Singapore is widely regarded as the most business-friendly city in the world and is one of the top destinations for migrating millionaires — approximately 2,800 high-net-worth individuals moved there in 2022 according to the latest Henley Wealth Migration Dashboard. Singapore is currently home to 240,100 millionaires, 329 centi-millionaires, and 27 billionaires,” the report reads. /TISG
Singapore again ranked 5th richest city in the world, 2nd in Asia