Thousands of Chinese people apply to emigrate overseas every year, and Singapore has become a popular destination for Chinese people to choose to immigrate because of its superior geographical location and similar cultural background to China.
For many people who have already worked hard in Singapore, becoming a permanent resident (PR) or even obtaining Singapore citizenship is an advanced dream. But there is a big gap between these two identities, which can be seen in every aspect of life.
1. Provident fund
Singapore's CPF, the full name of Central Provident Fund, is a social security system for Singapore citizens and permanent residents launched by the Singapore government since 1955.
CPF is divided into three accounts, of which OA can be used to buy a house to pay tuition, etc., SA can be used for pension, and MA can be used for medical treatment.
In Singapore, work permit holders such as EP, SP and their families do not need to pay the CPF provident fund; after becoming PR, both individuals and enterprises must pay a certain percentage of wages on a monthly basis, which is managed and invested by the government in a unified manner, and the annual interest rate is paid . The specific payment ratio varies according to age and other factors.
In the first two years of Singapore's new permanent residence, the CPF ratio is slightly higher. After using the CPF contribution, the taxable income will be lower because the tax amount is calculated after the CPF is deducted from the salary. With CPF, you can save a lot of money from your lower taxable income.
Although CPF appears to be “locked out” until the age of 55, CPF can still be used for certain big ticket purchases such as property purchases, medical expenses, education and investments in specific funds. The interest rates offered by the EPF are also very competitive at 2.50% p.a. for Ordinary Account and 4.00% p.a. for Special and Medisave. Please rest assured that if you give up your permanent residence status, you can withdraw your provident fund.
2. Purchase Policy
Most Singapore citizens and PRs will consider HDB or Condo when buying a house. Foreigners (including pass holders) can only buy private apartments, not HDB flats; PRs can buy ancestral houses, but they must Self-occupancy, not the whole set of rental; Citizens can get a government subsidy of 30,000 SGD when purchasing a new HDB flat or reselling HDB flats for the first time, and the HDB flats can be rented out as a whole.
Stamp duty: Singapore citizens do not need to pay additional stamp duty when purchasing their first property, while PRs need to pay 5% additional stamp duty. Citizens who buy a second property are required to pay an additional stamp duty of 12%, while PRs are required to pay an additional stamp duty of 15%.
3. Education Benefits
Babysitting: Citizens can enjoy a childcare allowance (according to family income differences, this allowance can be as high as more than 700 Singapore dollars), but PR does not.
Kindergartens: Taking the popular kindergartens in Singapore as an example, citizens: pay 770 SGD, permanent residents: pay 963 SGD, and foreigners: pay 1155 SGD. Although the adjustments of each kindergarten are different, citizens are still more than PR. have a clear advantage.
Elementary school: i. Enrollment ——When enrolling in Primary One, if the number of applicants exceeds the school's enrollment quota, it will be allocated by lottery. Citizens are drawn first, and drawn twice, until it is ensured that all citizens are registered, it is the PR's turn to draw lots. ii. Subsidies - Citizens who study in Singapore government primary schools can enjoy government subsidies, while permanent residents cannot enjoy them.
Tuition fees for primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges: Citizens enjoy higher priority than EP and PR in terms of tuition discounts and school quota allocation. Since January 2016, the Singapore Ministry of Education has further adjusted the tuition fees of PR and international students (IS) attending government schools to further distinguish between citizens and non-citizens. Moreover, citizens have many opportunities to get government scholarships, while PR children are basically not eligible.
University: There are five public universities in Singapore: National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Different identities are different. Taking Nanyang Technological University’s undergraduate tuition fees (after MOE funding) as an example in recent years, the tuition fee difference ranges from about 3,000 SGD to 10,000+.
4. Medical Benefits
Singapore has advanced medical equipment and ranks third in the world in terms of medical care, and can enjoy lower medical expenses than other European and American regions; foreigners can directly purchase medical insurance from insurance companies through employers or individuals. Permanent resident PR can enjoy medical care, housing, and pension benefits paid by the provident fund, and enjoy more complete medical benefits than EP.
Take the polyclinic of the National Health Care Group of Singapore as an example, the general outpatient fee (including consumption tax) for Singapore citizens is 12.73 SGD, and the outpatient fee for children aged 18 and below and the elderly aged 65 and above is SGD 7.28, PR You need to pay 32.96 yuan.
Singapore citizens enjoy higher government subsidies and subsidy reductions than PR for hospital visits, hospitalization and treatment, such as community hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, sanatoriums, surgery subsidies, hospitalization subsidies, outpatient fees, etc.
5. Other benefits
Singapore citizens enjoy various living subsidies, such as childbirth allowance (up to more than 100,000 SGD), annual library fee, water and electricity subsidy, maternity leave, maid tax rebate, etc. Scholarships issued by certain government agencies or private organizations are only This is especially true for Singapore citizens applying for bursaries.
There are also maternity leave that many mothers care about. If the child is a Singapore citizen, the mother can enjoy 16 weeks of maternity leave. If the child is a PR or a foreigner, the maternity leave is only 11 weeks.
Low-income subsidy: Singaporeans over the age of 35, as long as their monthly salary is below 2,000 yuan, are eligible to receive a low-income subsidy of 100-500 Singapore dollars. 40% of it will be given in cash, and the other 60% will be given to the CPF account for retirement purposes.
Singapore permanent resident PR can apply for a passport as long as he has lived in Singapore for one year within two years. It is one of the fastest naturalization destinations in developed regions.
Recently, the Global Passport Index for the fourth quarter of 2021 was released, and Singapore once again ranked first with its super strength of visa-free 192 regions! In the past 10 years, Singapore's passport status has never been higher than the top ten ranks.
Holders of a Singapore passport can travel to 192 destinations without a visa, and can freely travel in many regions such as the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Union, and Singapore citizens can enter mainland China without a visa.
For business people, this visa-free identity advantage can greatly save time, and travel around the world will be very convenient.
Singapore has always been recognized by the world as the number one livable region in Asia, ranking among the best in terms of quality of life and safety index. Singapore is also an international financial center with a strong business atmosphere and good market vitality, attracting outstanding people and high-net-worth families from all over the world to relocate to Singapore.