Singapore Global Investor Programme: Permanent Residence for Business Owners

Singapore has no "golden visa" in the European sense. No residence permit is issued for buying property or depositing money. Instead, the GIP gives permanent residence from day one to a small number of business owners and family office principals whom EDB expects to "drive their businesses and investment growth from Singapore"^[1]. Applications are assessed on documents and an interview with EDB. ICA issues the approval in principle and the final approval^[2].

The programme is administrative, not statutory. EDB's factsheet carries a disclaimer that nothing in it guarantees the GIP will continue, that any application will be approved, or that the re-entry permit (REP) will be renewed^[2]. Approval is fully discretionary: meeting the numbers is necessary but not sufficient.

Current status (October 2026)

Open. The EDB programme page was last updated on 2 October 2026 and still links to the factsheet dated 5 May 2025. That factsheet sets the S$20,000 fee and the current Option C rules^[1][2]. We found no rule change announced in 2026. The 2026 news has been about data: in February 2026 the Minister of State for Trade and Industry told Parliament that about 450 people got PR through the GIP from 2015 to 2025, and that GIP investors put about S$500 million into Singapore businesses and about S$430 million into GIP funds^[7]. In a written parliamentary reply on 7 April 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said around 85% of people granted PR through the GIP in 2016–2025 were still PRs on 31 December 2025. Fewer than 25 did not have their re-entry permits renewed because they missed criteria such as economic contribution and length of residency^[6].

Every applicant must first fit one of four investor profiles. Only then can they pick an investment option. The profile decides which options are open^[2]:

• Established business owner: at least 3 years of entrepreneurial track record. You must currently run a company with turnover of at least S$200 million in the last year and an average of S$200 million a year over the last three years. If the company is private, you need at least 30% of the shares; if it is listed, you must be one of the largest individual shareholders. Up to two companies can be combined to reach the turnover. Options A, B or C.
• Next-generation business owner: your immediate family holds at least 30% of, or is the largest shareholder in, a company with turnover of at least S$500 million in the last year and on average over three years, and you sit in its management (C-suite or board). Options A, B or C.
• Founder of a fast-growth company: founder and one of the largest individual shareholders of an unlisted company valued at S$500 million or more and backed by reputable VC or PE firms. Options A, B or C.
• Family office principal: at least 5 years of entrepreneurial, investment or management track record and net investible assets of at least S$200 million, excluding real estate. Option C only.

Except for family office principals, the qualifying business must operate in one of 25 industries listed in Annex B of the factsheet, from aerospace, energy and healthcare to infocomm, professional services and financial services. Real estate development is not on the list^[2].

Option A: Singapore business investor visa route (S$10 million)

Option A is what agents often market as the Singapore business investor visa. You invest at least S$10 million in a new Singapore business or in expanding an existing one. Existing paid-up capital counts towards the total. You must hold at least 30% of the Option A company and be in its management, and the company must operate in an Annex B industry. A detailed five-year business plan with job, spending and financial projections is assessed for feasibility and local job creation^[2]. The real test comes at year five. To renew the REP for five years, the company must employ at least 30 people, at least half of them Singapore Citizens, including at least 10 new hires, and you or your GIP dependants must have lived in Singapore more than half the time^[2].

Option B: Singapore golden visa fund route (S$25 million)

Option B is the closest thing to a Singapore golden visa fund option. You invest S$25 million in a GIP-select fund that invests in Singapore-based companies. The money must come from a personal account in your sole name at a Singapore bank^[2]. In October 2026 EDB lists seven GIP-select fund managers: B Capital Group, East Ventures, Granite Asia, HHLR Management (Hillhouse), Insignia Ventures Partners, Jungle Ventures and Vertex Venture Management^[3]. These are mostly venture and growth funds. EDB stresses that the funds are not principal-protected and that it accepts no liability for losses^[3]. For a five-year renewal you must keep the S$25 million invested and meet the more-than-half residence test. For a three-year renewal you need only one of the two^[2].

Option C: single family office (S$200 million AUM)

You set up a Singapore single family office (SFO) with at least S$200 million of assets under management. Offshore assets count, but at least S$50 million must be moved into Singapore by approval in principle. The S$50 million must then be deployed in EDB-specified investments within 12 months of final approval and kept there for as long as the REP is valid^[2]. The May 2025 factsheet lists only one specified category: equities listed on Singapore-approved exchanges^[2]. The 2023 rules had allowed four categories: listed equities, qualifying debt securities, funds distributed by Singapore-licensed managers, and private Singapore companies^[12][13]. For renewal, the SFO must employ at least 5 incremental family office professionals, at least 3 of them Singapore Citizens, in legal, tax, investment or philanthropy roles^[2].

Discrepancy note: several agent websites in 2026 say the S$50 million must go into a "GIP-approved fund", or that 3 of the 5 professionals must be family members. EDB's own factsheet says neither. It names Singapore-listed equities and requires at least 3 Singapore Citizens among the 5 professionals^[2]. Rely on the factsheet and EDB's written instructions at approval-in-principle stage.

The headline investment is only half of the test. The binding Singapore golden visa requirements 2026 come from the qualifying profiles above plus a heavy file of documents^[2]:

• Audited accounts for the last three years of each qualifying company, from an accredited auditor (e.g. PCAOB-registered for US companies, top-50 CICPA for Chinese companies).
• Proof of shareholding: a notarised corporate register dated within the past year, plus a shareholding chart and computation.
• Business plan: Form B plus a detailed five-year plan for Options A and C.
• Personal documents for everyone included: notarised passports and civil records, ICA Form 4, and background details of parents, siblings and in-laws.
• Undertaking and statutory declaration signed before a notary or commissioner (or a Singapore embassy in non-Commonwealth countries).

Every foreign-language document needs an official English translation, notarised within the year before submission. Hard copies must reach EDB within one month of paying the fee^[2]. There is no stated age limit, language test or minimum net worth for Options A and B. In practice the turnover test (S$200 million or S$500 million) does the filtering.

You may include your spouse and unmarried children under 21 on the date of application. They receive PR with you at no extra investment. Each pays the ICA fees: S$100 to apply, then S$20 for the entry permit, S$50 for the five-year REP and, from age 15, S$50 for the identity card^[1][4]. There is no separate EDB fee per dependant.

Parents and children aged 21 or over cannot be included. They can instead apply for a Long-Term Visit Pass tied to the validity of your re-entry permit^[2].

National Service: male children who gain PR as your dependants are liable for National Service. A male dependant whose wife is the main applicant may also be liable^[2][4]. ICA warns that giving up PR without completing full-time NS seriously harms later applications to work or study in Singapore^[5]. Families with sons should plan for this before applying.

The residence test applies to the family. The REP renewal condition is met if you or all your GIP dependants lived in Singapore for more than half the time^[2].

The sequence below follows EDB's factsheet^[2].

PR status does not by itself make you a tax resident. IRAS treats a PR as resident for a year of assessment if they reside in Singapore except for temporary absences; foreigners generally need 183 days of stay or work in the previous calendar year^[8]. Singapore's attraction for investors is a simple, low-rate system:

• Income tax: resident rates are progressive from 0% to a top rate of 24% on chargeable income above S$1 million, from Year of Assessment 2024. Non-residents generally pay 24% on non-employment income^[8].
• Foreign income: overseas income received in Singapore by individuals, including money paid into a Singapore bank account, is generally not taxable. The exceptions include income received through a Singapore partnership^[9].
• Capital gains, wealth and inheritance: Singapore has no general capital gains tax, no net wealth tax and no estate duty. Estate duty was abolished for deaths on or after 15 February 2008^[20]. Gains that IRAS treats as trading income are taxable, so the nature of the gain matters.
• Property: PRs pay 5% ABSD on a first home, 30% on a second and 35% on a third and later homes. Foreigners pay 60% and entities 65% (rates since 27 April 2023)^[10]. PR status alone cuts the stamp duty on a first home sharply.
• Family office vehicles: Option C structures usually sit alongside MAS's Section 13O and 13U fund tax incentives. These have their own conditions on minimum assets in designated investments, local business spending and Singapore-based investment professionals, and MAS revised them with effect from 1 January 2025, so check the current MAS circular^[14]. They are a separate approval from the GIP.

Your home country may still tax you on worldwide income or exit gains. US citizens remain taxable on worldwide income. Take advice before you formalise PR.

GIP status is already permanent residence. There is no temporary stage to convert. A citizenship route exists on paper. ICA lets PRs aged 21 or over apply after at least 2 years as a PR. The fees are S$100 to apply, S$70 for the certificate and S$10 for the identity card, and processing takes up to 12 months. Approved applicants aged 16 to 60 must complete the Singapore Citizenship Journey^[5].

In practice the path is narrow. Citizenship is discretionary and weighs ties, contribution and length of residence. In April 2026 the trade and industry minister told Parliament that fewer than 20 people who got PR through the GIP in 2016–2025 had been granted citizenship. About 450 GIP PRs were granted in 2015–2025^[6][7]. Singapore also does not allow adults to keep dual citizenship. New citizens over 21 must renounce their foreign nationality, and the Constitution lets the government deprive a citizen who voluntarily acquires another nationality^[11]. Sons who become citizens or PRs carry National Service obligations^[5].

In the July 2026 Henley Passport Index the Singapore passport again ranked first in the world, with visa-free access to 192 destinations^[15][21]. Even so, no investor should price the GIP as a passport product. Compare golden visas with the fastest route to citizenship and the strongest passports available through investment if the passport is the goal. If you are weighing a passport against a residence card, see our guide to citizenship by investment vs golden visas.

It suits owners of substantial operating businesses, typically S$200 million or more in turnover, who genuinely want a Singapore headquarters for Asia, intend to hire locally, and will move the family or spend more than half their time there. It also suits ultra-high-net-worth families who already plan a Singapore single family office: Option C formalises a structure they would build anyway.

Look elsewhere if your budget is under about US$8 million, if your business is below the turnover thresholds, if you want a passive "Plan B" permit with little residence, or if your goal is a second passport. Figures given in Parliament (about 450 PRs in 2015–2025) imply roughly 40 approvals a year^[7]. Senior executives may look at the ONE Pass, a work pass (not PR) for people earning at least S$30,000 a month^[16].

For most investors in the US$100k–US$2M bracket, Singapore is out of reach, and other Asian hubs are cheaper. The closest like-for-like option is the Hong Kong investment residency scheme, which requires HK$30 million in permitted assets but no operating-business track record. New Zealand's Active Investor Plus visa is an investment-based residence route with a lower ticket than Option B. In the Gulf, the UAE golden visa gives a 10-year renewable permit from AED 2 million in property and has no income tax.

Within South-East Asia, Malaysia's MM2H programme and Thailand's long-term residence options cost a fraction of the GIP, though they give long-stay visas rather than permanent residence. Japan's business manager visa needs far less capital but more hands-on management. Its long naturalisation timeline is covered on our Japan citizenship guide. For a global overview, compare budgets on our residency by investment hub, or see the lowest-cost golden visa programmes.