MHA Denies Report Regarding New Wealthy Singapore Citizens
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has responded to reports alleging that up to 3,500 wealthy individuals are expected to become Singapore citizens in 2023, calling the statement “highly misleading”.
S’pore To Have Up To 3,500 Wealthy New Citizens In 2023, Majority Hail From China
The ministry further added that it does not know how the head of research at wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth arrived at these figures.
MHA refutes report on wealthy new citizens
“The figures cited were from a person working in a private research firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa,” MHA said in a statement on 25 Apr, referring to Andrew Amoils.
The ministry said it did not know how Mr Amoils or his company derived their numbers, considering Singapore citizenship applications have not been decided yet.
“This statement is highly misleading, with no credible basis,” MHA added. “Having high net worth does not guarantee citizenship.”
MHA then listed “a whole suit of factors” that it considers for citizenship applications, which include:
- Benefits to Singapore
- Business created in Singapore
- Number of Singaporeans employed
- Individual’s ability to integrate into society
- Commitment to sink roots in Singapore
Article included claims about citizenship applications
Lianhe Zaobao interviewed Mr Amoils, who claimed that between 3,000 to 3,500 individuals with high net worth will become Singapore citizens in 2023.
Most of these new citizens would supposedly be from China, he said. Individuals from other countries would include:
- India
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Vietnam
- United Kingdom
- The Philippines
Mr Amoils expected these individuals to have an average of at least S$8 million (US$6 million) in investable wealth.
Separately, a report by Henley & Partners estimated that 2,800 high-net-worth individuals became Singapore citizens in 2022. MHA did not address this number.
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Featured image adapted from Esaias Tan on Unsplash.
