Average Waiting Time for Foreign Spouses for Citizenship

Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs for the 70,600 foreign spouses granted citizenship as at 31 December 2012, what is the average time they spent waiting for their applications to be successful.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: The foreign spouses granted Singapore citizenship (SC) under the Family Ties Scheme were typically Permanent Residents (PRs) for about five years before they took up citizenship.

The vast majority, 95% of them, had their SC applications approved within 12 months of submitting their applications.