How To Become Singapore Citizen

The process for becoming a Singapore citizen is fairly straightforward, but there are several steps you’ll need to take.

• Step 1: Find out if you qualify as a Singapore citizen. To qualify as a Singapore citizen, you must have at least one parent who is a Singaporean citizen or permanent resident and be able to prove that they were born or naturalized in Singapore. If this is not the case, you may still be eligible if your parents were born in Singapore and you were born before 1965.
• Step 2: File an application for Singapore citizenship with the Registry of Citizens (RoC). You will need to provide documentation proving your relationship to your parents and submit any other required documents such as your birth certificate and passport. The RoC will review your application and notify you if they require additional information or documents before making a final decision on whether or not they will grant you citizenship.
• Step 3: Get fingerprinted by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at their Central Headquarters Building located at 50 Hill Street #05-01/02/03 in downtown Singapore; this step must be completed within 30 days after the RoC makes its final decision on whether or not it will grant citizenship based on your application

How To Become Singapore Citizen

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Contents

• Who is eligible?
• Application procedure
• Documents checklist

This guide takes you through the issues of becoming a Singapore citizen.

If, after having lived in Singapore for several years, you decide to make it your home and apply for citizenship, this guide will take you through all the steps you need to consider before embarking on that long journey called citizenship. It is a rather lengthy procedure but definitely worth it if your application is successful.

Who is eligible?

You are eligible to apply for Singapore citizenship if you:

1. Have been a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) for at least two years and are aged 21 and above (you can apply together with your spouse and any unmarried children aged below 21 born);
2. Have been a PR for at least two years and have been married to a Singapore citizen for at least two years;
3. Are an unmarried child aged below 21 born, or have been legally adopted by, a Singapore citizen;
4. Are a PR studying in Singapore; and have been residing in Singapore for more than three years (of which, at least one year as a PR); and have passed at least one national exam (i.e. PSLE, GCE ‘N’/‘O’/‘A’ levels), or are in the Integrated Programme (IP); or
5. Are a PR and an Aged Parent of a Singapore citizen.

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Application procedure

All Singapore citizenship applications must be submitted online using the e-Service.

You will need a SingPass account to submit your application. If you are applying under the sponsorship of your spouse/ Singapore Citizen parent, your sponsor would need to log in via his/her SingPass account.

The application procedure consists of four main steps:

Step 1

Online application – submit your application and supporting documents online.

• Prepare all the required documents before initiating the application procedure
• During the online application, you will be provided with a questionnaire which you will need to accurately fill in together with all forms which will be automatically generated based on your responses in the questionnaire
• Once the online application has been initiated you will be given 7 days to fill in the data for the sponsor and all applicants. Each individual application should take you about 90 minutes to complete
• Double check the accuracy of your information
• Complete your declaration and consent for the authorities to access your personal data and make the payment

Step 2

Approval in principal. Download the in-principal approval letter to complete your Singapore Citizenship Journey and participate in the mandatory sessions described below. This stage takes approximately two months.

• You will need to book a slot and participate in the Singapore Experiential Tour and Community Sharing Session
• Complete the online e-Journey session
• Inform yourself of the stages you will need to undertake in order to renounce your current citizenship when it is time to do so during the next stage of the process

Step 3

Final approval and renunciation of your citizenship. You will receive a letter to renounce foreign citizenship. This stage takes approximately 1 to 2 months.

• You will need to fulfil the requirements for renunciation of your foreign citizenship described in the letter which you will receive (e.g. settle property ownership or others)
• Follow the application procedure to renounce your foreign citizenship at the relevant embassy
• Prepare all documents required for the citizenship registration
• Go to the ICA Building on the date and time indicated on your letter

Step 4

Citizenship ceremony. The ceremony usually takes place 3 to 6 months after the successful completion of Step 3. Following the ceremony, you will be given a Pink Identity Card (also known as NRIC) and SC Certificate.

Overall, the procedure takes somewhere from 6 to 12 months to be completed.

Documents checklist

Personal

• Coloured photograph 35x45mm taken within the last three months
• Foreign identity card
• Passport, or any other travel document
• Birth Certificate (only for births not registered in Singapore). Alternatively provide official household census list or family register (where applicable).

Family

• Official Marriage Certificate of current marriage (only for marriages not registered in Singapore)
• Separation Deed (if applicable)
• Birth Certificate and Travel Document of child(ren) from current marriage (only for documents not issued by ICA)
• Divorce Certificate (Certificate of Making Interim Judgement Final/ Certificate of Making Decree Nisi Absolute) for previous marriage(s)
• Certificate of Annulment for previous marriage(s)
• Death Certificate for spouse from previous marriage(s) (only for deaths not registered in Singapore)
• Birth Certificate of child(ren) from previous marriage(s) (only for documents not issued by ICA)
• Custody papers for proof of custody for children from previous marriage(s) or Certificate of Interim Judgement showing alimony and custody arrangements]
• Death Certificate for child(ren) of current and previous marriage(s) (only for deaths not registered in Singapore)

Education Documents

• Educational Certificates
• Skill Certificates
• Professional License(s)
• Membership Certificates

Employment Documents

• Letter of employment from current employer, dated no more than three months from the date you apply online, stating occupation, date of employment, basic and gross salary per month
• Latest six months’ payslips
• Income tax assessment/ receipt for latest three years (only if working overseas)
• For self-employed, latest Business Registration Certificate from the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), latest three years’ balance sheet, profit and loss statement. Additional information may be requested.

Remember that you will need to include supporting documents of your spouse, even if he/she is not applying for Singapore Citizenship.

Congratulations! You are now a citizen of Singapore and can enjoy all the benefits from it!