Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Number of Applications for Permanent Residency and Citizenship Received From Stateless Persons in the Past Five Years

Question:

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in each year of the last five years (a) how many applications for permanent residency and citizenship are received from stateless persons, respectively; (b) what percentage of these applications are successful; and (c) whether the Government will consider expediting these applications, especially for those who have family ties to Singaporeans or many years of residency in Singapore.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1. From 2019 to 2023, an average of 17 applications for Permanent Residency (PR) and 60 applications for Singapore Citizenship (SC) from stateless persons were processed each year. Of these, on average, 35% of the PR applications and 60% of the SC applications were approved.

2. Applications for PR and SC, including those submitted by stateless individuals, are evaluated on a range of criteria. This includes the conduct and contributions of the applicant, links to Singapore including if they have family members who are Singaporeans, and how long they have been in Singapore. The circumstances under which the person became stateless would also be taken into consideration.

3. As to the Member’s question on whether the applications can be expedited: the Member appears to be (in effect) asking whether these applications can be approved, without going through the assessments that are currently made. This will not be the right thing to do. The applications will have to be assessed fairly based on the applicable criteria.