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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has responded to recent media reports that claimed some 3,500 high-net-worth individuals are expected to become Singapore citizens in 2023.

In a statement on April 25, MHA said:

We are aware of several articles published in the past few days, alleging that 3,500 high-net-worth individuals with assets of US$6 million or more, are expected to be granted Singapore citizenship (SC) in 2023.

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.

A whole suite of factors are considered, including 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.

Background

A Lianhe Zaobao interview with Andrew Amoils, head of research at wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, on April 20, reported that the majority of the 3,500 high-net-worth individuals expected to become Singapore citizens in 2023 will be from China.

The report stated that each of these individuals has at least US$6 million in investable wealth.

Amoils added that Singapore’s very well-off new citizens also hail from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and the UK.

The news story was pegged to a new report in mid-April 2023 by New World Wealth and Henley & Partners, which named Singapore as the fifth-wealthiest city in the world in 2023.

The number of resident millionaires in Singapore increased by 2,800 to 240,100 in 2022.

The annual report included high-net-worth individuals population data for 97 cities, as well as growth statistics of these individuals for the past decade.

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