Written Answer by Minister for Law K Shanmugam to PQ on Ownership of Landed Properties

09 MAY 2022

09 May 2022 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Mr Murali Pillai (Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok SMC)

Question

To ask the Minister for Law with regard to high net worth persons who become Singapore citizens after obtaining Singapore permanent residency through the Global Investor Programme (GIP), whether the Ministry will consider imposing a minimum occupation period of five years on these new citizens for any purchase of landed residential property so as to reduce the risk of a self-reinforcing cycle of price increases in the private landed residential property market.

Written Answer:

  1. The Residential Property Act (RPA) prohibits foreigners, including Permanent Residents (PRs), from purchasing landed residential property. Currently, Singapore citizens are not subject to any restrictions on the purchase or ownership of landed properties under the RPA.
  1. There are strict criteria for a foreigner to become a Singapore citizen. Only a small number have been granted Singapore Citizenship after obtaining Singapore Permanent Residency (PR) through the Global Investor Programme (GIP) since its introduction in 2004. This group of citizens, who first obtained PR status through GIP, accounted for a total of 21 landed property purchases over 18 years from 2004 to 2021. By comparison, over the last seven years, there has been an average of 2,400 landed property transactions annually.
  1. I note the member’s concerns regarding the landed residential property market. This is something we review regularly. We will continue to work with the Ministry of National Development and other relevant agencies to monitor the situation and take the necessary measures.

Last updated on 09 May 2022