8 Benefits of Singapore Citizenship 2023: Why You Should Consider Becoming a Singapore Citizen

The 8 Benefits of Singapore Citizenship

The eight benefits of Singapore citizenship are:

1. Visa-free Travel Singapore Passport
2. Healthcare Coverage and Medical Subsidies
3. Central Provident Fund (CPF) Account Entitlement
4. Housing Priority, Ease of Housing Buy and Rent
5. No Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) on Your First Home
6. Education Subsidies and Contributions for Your Children
7. Parenthood benefits, Baby Grants and Child Subsidies
8. Singapore Election Rights

1. Visa-free Travel Singapore Passport

The Singapore Passport is constantly ranked as one of the world's top three most powerful passports, enjoying visa-free access travel to 193 countries.

There is no need for Singapore Passport Holders to be troubled about the lengthy form-filling for every country they visit or consider additional documents to prepare each time they wish to travel to other countries!

For the avid traveller, the travel freedom benefit can be something you can look forward to as a Singapore Citizen.

As Singapore Permanent Residents, you may still worry about renewing your Re-Entry Permit. That would no longer be the case with a Singapore citizenship status!

2. Healthcare Coverage and Medical Subsidies

One of the essential benefits of Singapore citizenship is healthcare coverage and medical subsidies.

The Singapore public healthcare insurance system allows Singapore Citizens to access primary care easily – something many other nations admire.

Singapore Citizens are entitled to various government-funded healthcare subsidies and subsidised medical treatments they can sign up for, like MediShield Life, Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) and more.

For example, Singapore citizens can use the CHAS card at participating general practitioner (GP) or dental clinics.

One of the actions that newly approved Singapore Permanent Residents must do is register for insurance with Medishield Life. See what other actions new Singapore permanent residents must take in their IPA letter .

MediShield Life is a basic national health insurance plan that provides universal coverage to all Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents.

For example, a Singapore citizen patient with a monthly household income of S$3,300 to S$3,500 and staying in a Class C ward can receive a more significant hospitalisation subsidy.

A Singapore PR of the same monthly income level in the same class ward is also entitled to a subsidy, but lesser.

3. Central Provident Fund (CPF) Account Entitlement

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) account is a government-run social security savings account for all Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents. Contributing to CPF is mandatory, and the funds can be used for retirement, housing, healthcare, and investments!

CPF is funded by the employer and employee (the Singapore Citizen or Singapore PR) at 20% and 17%, respectively.

Withdrawing of the monies saved from the CPF account is limited. To withdraw the total amount inside the CPF account, Singapore citizens will have to take this action: renounce Singapore citizenship.

For more information on how Singaporeans can benefit from their CPF account, you can check out the official CPF website.

4. Housing Priority, Ease of Housing Buy and Rent

In a small island with limited land, the government ensures that Singaporeans are prioritised first, then the permanent residents and the foreigners.

There are three main types of housing in Singapore that one can buy:

• Landed Properties
• Condominiums
• Housing Development Board (HDB) Flats

As one of the most expensive cities to live in the world, housing is expected to cost a lot too. A landed property can cost at least a whopping S$5 million, condominiums at about S$2 million and HDB at an average of S$532,000.

With amounts like those, subsidies and grants serve as vital financial support for any Singapore citizen who intends to own a home.

As a Singapore citizen, you can:

• Purchase Built-To-Order (BTO) HDB flats, regular HDB flats or condominiums at subsidised rates.
• Rent out your entire HDB flat (A Singapore Permanent Resident is not allowed to).
• Use CPF savings to pay for housing loans and enjoy housing grants (under the CPF public housing scheme)
• Enjoy subsidies when your home and neighbourhood undergo various upgrading programs.

5. No ABSD Tax Rate on Your First Home

The Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) rate is a tax imposed on purchasing a residential property in Singapore. It's a housing tax for homeowners, and Singaporeans would enjoy the lowest tax rates.

Singapore citizens only need to pay basic Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) for their first home. But from the second home they intend to purchase onwards, an incremental ABSD rate would also apply to them.

On the other hand, a Singapore Permanent Resident or foreigner must pay the basic BSD and ABSD right from his first home. A Singapore PR pays a significantly lower ABSD rate than a foreigner.

The government increased the ABSD rate for foreigners from 20% to 30% in 2023. The table below summarises the ABSD rate in Singapore for the first property purchase only.

6. Education Subsidies and Contributions for Your Children

Singapore's high-quality education factor draws plenty, with the desire to have their children be a part of it. Singaporean children can benefit from subsidised school fees. Without subsidies, education fees can be quite the amount to think about.

Our government education subsidies extend to Singaporean students enrolled in the following:

• Government primary and secondary schools.
• Tertiary Education from the Institute of Technological Education (ITE) and Polytechnics.
• Local universities, including the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU).

Secondly, only Singapore citizens students will have an Edusave account automatically created for them.

With the Edusave scheme, Singaporean students will receive yearly contributions till they complete their secondary school education. This Edusave initiative aims to help all Singaporean children take advantage of educational opportunities.

Even those Singaporean students enrolled in home school or residing overseas are entitled to the Edusave account.

7. Parenthood Benefits, Baby Grants and Child Subsidies

Raising a child in Singapore is expectedly expensive, so parenthood incentives make it one of the benefits of Singapore citizenship status.

It is also a government effort to foster a pro-family environment for new working parents, especially working mothers. Singaporean couples are encouraged to start a family and improve the fertility rate in Singapore.

There is a considerable range of government-paid benefits that Singapore Citizen parents are entitled to, such as:

• Maternity/Paternity Leave,
• Shared Parental Leave,
• Enhanced Child Care Leave, and more.

Singaporean parents would also have the baby bonus scheme.

The baby bonus cash incentive has been enhanced for children born on or after 1st January 2015. The cash bonuses are tiered by the number of Singaporean couples' children.

For example, parents can expect S$11,000 for their first and second children and other amounts for subsequent children. Then there are subsidies for childcare and infant care subsidy as well.

8. Singapore Election Rights

As the owner of a Singaporean passport, you have the right to vote in the elections every five years.

You can even have a shot at becoming a Parliament candidate by participating in the election!

Considered applying for Singapore Citizenship?

In a country with a low crime rate and a world-class transportation system, owning a Singapore passport is a goal for foreigners who desire a higher quality of living for the whole family.

The eligibility criteria to apply for Singapore citizenship: you must be of Singapore Permanent Resident for at least two years.

There are also some obligations that PRs must take note of, like serving the mandatory National Service (for Singaporean men).

The Singapore Citizenship application process can be lengthy and complicated. More documents are required than a Singapore PR application, and the selection procedure is more stringent.

Singapore immigration consultants can assist with not just documents-preparing. Most importantly, we can assess your profile and provide constructive advice to increase your chances of approval.

Schedule a free one-on-one consultation with us today to speak to our consultants.