Singapore · Residency by investment
Global Investor Programme
Open. Criteria follow the EDB GIP Factsheet updated 5 May 2025, which also raised the application fee to SGD 20,000. The SGD 10m / 25m / 200m AUM structure introduced in the March 2023 reform remains in force as at July 2026.
GIP is the only direct route to Singapore PR through capital, and PR opens the door to a jurisdiction with no capital gains tax, no estate duty and territorial personal taxation. But EDB has deliberately built the programme so that money alone will not qualify you. Every option assumes you are actually running something in Singapore, or living there.
Qualifying routes
SGD 10m into a new entity or the expansion of an existing operation. You need at least 30% shareholding and a C-suite or board role. The industry must appear on the EDB Annex B list. A 5-year business plan is assessed on job creation.
SGD 25m into an EDB-approved fund investing in Singapore-based companies. This is the passive route, priced at 2.5x Option A precisely because it is passive.
You will need to establish a Singapore SFO with at least SGD 200m in AUM. Of that, at least SGD 50m must be transferred into Singapore and deployed into EDB-specified investments within 12 months of Final Approval, and kept there afterward. Offshore assets do count toward the SGD 200m AUM figure.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 10M SGD
- Total landed cost
- Plan on SGD 10m minimum committed capital, or SGD 25m if you choose the passive route, or SGD 200m in AUM with SGD 50m onshored for the family office route. On top of that comes a SGD 20,000 application fee and a SGD 100 ICA processing fee. For Option C, legal, tax and family-office setup advisory typically runs SGD 150k–500k or more.
- Route type
- Residency by investment
- Timeline
- 9–18 months (EDB states the process takes approximately 12 months from complete submission, subject to due diligence. Approval-in-Principle is valid for 6 months, and the investment must be made within that window. PR must then be formalised within 12 months of Final Approval.)
- Physical presence
- There is no physical presence requirement to obtain PR. But the 5-year Re-Entry Permit renewal is a different story. Under Options B and C, you or all your dependants must have resided in Singapore for more than half the time. Under Options A and C, the alternative is that the business or family office hits its employment targets. This is the trap: GIP is not a low-presence programme.
- Family
- SpouseUnmarried children under 21 at the date of application are eligible
- Permanent residency
- PR comes immediately: GIP grants it directly. The real constraint is renewing the 5-year Re-Entry Permit.
- Citizenship
- You may typically apply after 2+ years of PR. Approval is discretionary and never guaranteed.
- Language test
- There is no formal language test, but naturalisation is discretionary and your integration will be assessed.
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- Established Business Owner: at least 3 years of entrepreneurial track record. A company with SGD 200m in annual turnover in the preceding year, and an average of SGD 200m over three years. A shareholding of 30% if the company is privately held.Next Generation Business Owner: your family holds 30%+ of the company or is its largest shareholder. Company turnover must reach SGD 500m in the preceding year, and average SGD 500m over three years. You must also sit in management.Founder of Fast Growth Company: you are the founder and one of the largest individual shareholders of a non-listed company valued at SGD 500m+, backed by a reputable VC or PE firm.Family Office Principal: at least 5+ years of entrepreneurial, investment or management experience, plus net investible assets of at least SGD 200m, excluding real estate.The company must operate in an industry listed on the EDB Annex B list.An EDB interview and due diligence review are required.
- The real cost here is the Re-Entry Permit renewal condition. For Option B, the passive SGD 25m fund route, the only way to renew is to live in Singapore more than half the time. There is no employment alternative. Families who choose Option B expecting a low-presence PR are buying the wrong product.
- Option A requires 30 employees, half of them Singapore Citizens, with 10 incremental hires by year 5, to qualify for a 5-year REP renewal. Option C requires 5 incremental family-office professionals, including 3 Singapore Citizens. These are hard operational commitments, not paperwork.
- Singapore does not permit dual citizenship. Naturalisation means giving up your existing passports. For most UHNW families, this makes PR, not citizenship, the terminal destination.
- Male dependants who obtain PR become liable for National Service. This catches families with teenage sons repeatedly, and it is effectively irreversible once PR is formalised.
- Parents and unmarried children over 21 cannot be included as dependants. Only a Long Term Visit Pass tied to your REP validity is available to them.
- A 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty applies to foreigners buying residential property. PRs pay 5% on a first property and 30% on a second. Property is not the cheap part of landing here.
- The EDB factsheet carries an explicit disclaimer that nothing guarantees the continued availability of GIP, approval, or REP renewal. This is a discretionary programme, and it is administered as one.