Singapore Population Crosses 6 Million: Implications for PR and Citizenship Policies
The Singapore government released the 2024 population data a few days ago. These are some of major changes and our takeaways from the recent update:
The overall population (residents and non-residents) increased to 6.04 million as at June 2024 from 5.92 million from June 2023 (+2% YoY). This is the first time the total population has exceeded 6 million people. However, much of the increase was due to the non-resident population increasing by 5% from 1.77 million in June 2023 to 1.86 million in June 2024. On the other hand, the resident population (PRs and citizens) increased by only 0.76% from 4.15 million in June 2023 to 4.18 million in June 2024.
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics and ICA
2025 Elections and Immigration: How PR and Citizenship Approvals May Be Affected
Given the proximity of the general election and the sensitive nature of immigration, especially now that non-resident employment growth at 42,900 over the past 12 months is growing close to 3.5x more than resident employment at 12,400, we think the topic of immigration will be a hot button issue leading into the general election which is expected to be held in the second or third quarter of 2025. We would not be surprised to see more immigration/foreign worker tightening measures or some slowing in PR or citizenship approvals ahead of elections.
Source: Singapore Ministry of Manpower
PR and Citizenship Application Success: Why Age, Marriage, and Family Status Matter in Singapore
In other metrics, we think new applicants for PR and citizenship will gain some edge if they are younger and married with few or no kids, as the median age of Singaporean citizens increased by 0.4 years from 43 years in June 2023 to 43.4 years in June 2024 and resident birth rates as measured by the total fertility rate (an estimate of the average number of children that a woman is expected to have during her lifetime) has declined from 1.04 in 2022 to 0.97 to 2023 and citizen births declined by 5.43% from 30,429 in 2022 to 28,777 in 2023. Moreover, citizen marriages have declined by 1.7% from 24,767 in 2022 to 24,355 in 2023
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics and ICA
PR and Citizenship Grant Trends: Navigating the Competitive Singapore Application Process
In terms of residency grants (approvals), there has been a small increase in total grants along the same % increase in resident population increase discussed earlier. Total PRs granted was close to flat at 34,493 in 2022 vs 34,491 in 2023. While total citizenship granted increased by 1.7% from 23,082 in 2022 to 23,472 in 2023. Taken together, the total residency grants increased by about 0.7%yoy. We think the application process remains very competitive given such small increases in grants against much larger gains in non-resident population.
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics and ICA
Ethnic Diversity in Singapore: Insights for PR and Citizenship Applicants
Lastly and more surprisingly, ethnic diversity remained unchanged from June 2023 to June 2024. Perhaps it’s a typo from the government report or perhaps the ethnic quota is at play here. We leave this to readers to make the final judgement on this. If it is the latter, then for the unlucky few in the minority your application for residency should be faultless and submitted to a high level to showcase all the positives in your profile. If you need help in this regard, please reach out to E&H Immigration Consultancy for our tried and tested protocols to elevate your application to the next level.
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics and ICA
