NEW CRITERIA TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Mr Zulkifli bin Baharudin asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the new criteria to process applications for permanent residence include changes in the procedures and whether these procedures and criteria are made known to the public.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: There are no changes to the PR application procedure. Applicants have to submit completed application forms together with supporting documents such as their educational certificates, to SIR's Permanent Resident Services Centre. These application forms are available at the SIR Building and Contact Singapore offices overseas.

Points are allocated on the basis of the following factors:

a) Type of Work Pass

b) Duration of Stay in Singapore

c) Academic Qualification

d) Basic Monthly Salary

e) Age

f) Kinship Ties in Singapore

The Points System allows a more comprehensive assessment of the PR application, where particular strengths such as a good employment track record would make up for, say, absence of kinship ties in Singapore. It has been well publicised in the media. However, we will not disclose the detailed guidelines nor how the points are allocated to prevent abuse, such as applicants over-declaring to fit into the approval profile.