GIP

GIP Option C: The Singapore Single Family Office Route to Permanent Residence

How Singapore’s Global Investor Programme Option C works: who qualifies, the S$200 million AUM and S$50 million deployment rules, the timeline to final approval…

Pass & Permit Desk 14 min read

Option C is the investment route under Singapore’s Global Investor Programme (GIP) that runs through a single family office (SFO). It requires an SFO with assets under management of at least S$200 million, of which at least S$50 million must be transferred into Singapore and deployed in investments specified by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). This article sets out who qualifies, what the money has to do, how long each stage takes, which family members you can include, and what keeps your Re-Entry Permit renewable.

Who qualifies for GIP

The Global Investor Programme is administered by Contact Singapore, a division of EDB. You qualify under exactly one of four profiles: established business owner, next generation business owner, founder of a fast growth company, or family office principal.

Each profile carries its own test; the first three require your company to operate in Annex B industries, while the family office principal qualifies on track record and net investible assets without an Annex B condition.

  • Established business owner. At least 3 years of entrepreneurial and business track record; a company with annual turnover of at least S$200 million in the year immediately preceding the application and averaging at least S$200 million a year over the three preceding years; at least 30% shareholding if the company is privately held. You may consolidate up to 2 companies to meet the turnover test. If your company is publicly listed, you must be one of its largest individual shareholders.
  • Next generation business owner. Your immediate family holds at least 30% of the qualifying company or is its largest shareholder; that company has turnover of at least S$500 million in the preceding year and averaging at least S$500 million a year over the three preceding years; and you are part of the management team, such as C-suite or board.
  • Founder of a fast growth company. You are a founder and one of the largest individual shareholders of a non-publicly-listed company valued at at least S$500 million, and reputable venture capital or private equity firms have invested in it.
  • Family office principal. At least 5 years of entrepreneurial, investment or management track record, and net investible assets of at least S$200 million.

Net investible assets are counted broadly. They include bank deposits, capital market products, collective investment schemes, premiums paid on life insurance policies and other investment products. Real estate is excluded. Contact Singapore reserves the right to exercise judgement on suitability.

Only family office principals are restricted to Option C. The other three profiles may choose Option A, B or C.

What Option C requires

Option C means establishing a Singapore-based single family office with AUM of at least S$200 million. Minimally S$50 million must be transferred into Singapore and deployed in EDB-specified investments.

Offshore assets count toward the S$200 million. The trade-off is a transfer condition: at least S$50 million of investible assets must have been transferred into and held in Singapore upon Approval-in-Principle of your PR. That S$50 million must then be deployed in EDB-specified investments no later than 12 months from the Final Approval of your PR, and maintained throughout the validity of the Re-Entry Permit. The factsheet lists EDB-specified investments for deployment; the portion published in this edition includes equities listed on Singapore approved exchanges.

Applicants must also submit a detailed 5-year business plan (Form B of the GIP application form) with projected employment and annual financial projections. EDB assesses it on your role in the SFO, the functions of the family office, proposed investment sectors, asset types, geographical focus and philanthropy interest.

The other two options sit alongside it for eligible profiles. Option A requires a minimum S$10 million investment in a new Singapore business entity or the expansion of an existing business operation, with a 5-year plan, at least 30% shareholding and a management role. Option B requires S$25 million invested in a GIP-select fund.

Timeline and key dates

A GIP application takes approximately 12 months to process. That figure is subject to complete submission of all required supporting documents at the point of application, and every application is subject to due diligence checks.

The published sequence runs in seven steps.

  1. Submit the completed GIP application forms, both online and in hardcopy, to EDB.
  2. Attend an interview with EDB. Applicants are assessed on what they submit and what they share during that interview.
  3. If you meet the assessment criteria, ICA issues an Approval-in-Principle valid for 6 months.
  4. Fulfil the investment condition under your selected option within 6 months from the date of the AIP letter.
  5. Provide evidence of the investments made and submit the Investment Undertaking on the terms and conditions of the investment.
  6. Once EDB verifies the investment documents, ICA issues the Final Approval letter. Option C applicants must demonstrate that minimally S$50 million has been deployed into the specified investments no later than 12 months from the date of that letter.
  7. Formalise your permanent residence within 12 months from the date of the Final Approval letter.

Three clocks therefore run after AIP: six months to invest, twelve months from Final Approval to complete deployment, and twelve months from Final Approval to formalise. They overlap, and the shortest one governs your first six months.

Documents EDB asks for after AIP

After you receive the AIP, EDB emails you the required investment amount and the full list of documents. That list may differ by applicant, by investment option and by the time of submission, and Contact Singapore may revise it. For Option C, the generally required documents are:

  • an original signed Investment Undertaking that your SFO will manage at least S$200 million in assets and deploy at least S$50 million in EDB-specified investments;
  • an original signed Statutory Declaration on the information and documents provided to fulfil post-AIP investment obligations;
  • the latest ACRA Bizfile record of your registered Singapore SFO;
  • supporting documents showing ownership of the fund vehicle or vehicles holding the S$200 million;
  • original bank reference letters certifying that the Singapore accounts of the fund vehicles and the SFO have been satisfactorily conducted, and stating the account holder name, the UEN tied to the bank account, the account type and the account number;
  • bank statements of the fund vehicle accounts showing net investible assets of at least S$200 million in total; and
  • a notarised copy of the Investment Management Agreement or Agreements showing that your SFO manages the fund vehicles holding the S$200 million.

Open the Singapore bank accounts and request the reference letters early. The letters must carry four specific data points and they are not issued on demand. That is sequencing advice, not a published EDB rule.

Family members: who comes with you

Your spouse and unmarried children below 21 as at the date you submit the application can be included as dependants. Your parents and unmarried children aged 21 and above cannot be included. Those relatives can apply for a Long Term Visit Pass instead, which is tied to the validity of your Re-Entry Permit.

Male children who obtain PR as your dependant are liable for National Service. A male dependant whose spouse is the main applicant may also be liable. Under the Enlistment Act 1970, all male Singapore citizens and permanent residents are required to serve National Service unless exempted. NSmen obligations end at age 50 for officers and 40 for other ranks.

Two rules matter most for family planning. All male applicants granted PR as a foreign student or under their parents’ sponsorship are liable: they register at 16 and a half years old and are scheduled for full-time enlistment at the earliest opportunity upon reaching 18. MINDEF allows study up to the A Levels certificate, a polytechnic diploma or an equivalent pre-tertiary qualification before enlistment, and does not grant deferment for university studies. A son granted PR in the middle of a university degree must disrupt those studies to enlist if he cannot complete them before his enlistment date.

Default has consequences beyond the individual. A person who defaults on NS obligations is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$10,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. Renouncing or losing PR without serving or completing full-time NS will seriously and adversely affect future applications to work or study in Singapore and any long-term immigration facility, and will also adversely affect family members’ applications, their ability to sponsor such facilities, their Re-Entry Permit renewals and their citizenship applications.

ICA requires all male applicants to read www.cmpb.gov.sg for information on National Service before proceeding with the application.

Re-Entry Permit validity and renewal

PR status is held outside Singapore through a Re-Entry Permit (REP). On formalisation of your PR, you are issued an REP valid for 5 years. The renewal window opens 3 months before expiry; if you apply after the validity period, the REP lapses. Without a valid REP, you lose your PR the moment you leave Singapore. Renewal is submitted through ICA’s Electronic Re-Entry Permit System.

Your REP is renewed if you meet the renewal criteria by the fifth year of your PR. For Option C applicants the published criteria require that you have fulfilled the investment conditions under Option C, together with the further conditions stated in that table of the factsheet. Read that against the deployment rule: the S$50 million must be maintained throughout the validity of the REP, so the family office has to keep running, not merely be capitalised once.

Tell EDB at contactsingapore@edb.gov.sg if your correspondence address changes from the one in your GIP application.

Fees and documents where GIP meets ICA

ICA publishes these PR fees: S$100 for each application at submission, then at completion of formalities S$20 for the Entry Permit, S$50 for a 5-year Re-Entry Permit and S$50 for the Singapore Identity Card. All fees are non-refundable. Payment is made online using Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card, American Express credit card, Internet Direct Debit from DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB and Standard Chartered Bank internet banking accounts in Singapore, or PayNow. Successful applicants are notified of other applicable fees later. The GIP factsheet does not state a separate GIP application fee; check EDB’s GIP page directly for any charge it levies.

Documents follow ICA’s general rules. Every upload needs certified true copies of the originals, plus official translations for documents in languages other than English. ICA accepts translations from the embassy of the country that issued the document, translations by a notary public in Singapore or the issuing country, and privately translated documents attested by that embassy or notarised by such a notary public. ICA does not endorse any private translation company, and insufficient documentation may result in non-acceptance of your application. Work from ICA’s published PR document checklist.

Every person added as an applicant must log in to review the application form before it can be submitted, using Singpass or the unique login credentials ICA provides to those not eligible for Singpass. Singpass approval may take 2 to 5 working days, so register every applicant before starting the form.

Two further points from ICA. It has no affiliation with any external migration agency or commercial entity claiming to be a Singapore immigration specialist, consultant or partner, and it does not support or endorse services by self-proclaimed immigration consultancies for PR applications. And ICA’s own processing time for a standard PR application is 6 months provided all required documents are submitted and in order — some take longer — while the 12-month figure above belongs specifically to a GIP application processed through EDB and ICA.

What ICA assesses, and what is not published

ICA takes into account factors such as your family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile and length of residency, to assess your ability to contribute to Singapore and integrate into society, and your commitment to sinking roots. Neither the PR page nor the citizenship page publishes a points table, weighting, quota or minimum score for these factors. There is no published formula to optimise against; the list of factors is the whole of what is public.

Planning across generations

Three published rules shape a multi-generational structure.

  • Dependants are locked at submission date. A child who is married or aged 21 and above on the day you submit cannot be included and would need a Long Term Visit Pass tied to your REP validity.
  • Sons carry National Service liability with no university deferment. Deciding when a son is included is a decision to take with the enlistment rules in front of you, not after the approval.
  • The family office has to outlive the approval cycle. REP renewal depends on the Option C conditions being met by year five, so the SFO and its deployment are a continuing condition of the family’s status.

For the longer horizon: a PR may apply for Singapore citizenship after being a PR for at least 2 years and being aged 21 and above. Citizenship applications are processed within 12 months. New citizens aged 16 to 60 must complete the mandatory Singapore Citizenship Journey programme.

A workable order of work

  1. Confirm which profile you qualify under and check your company against the Annex B industry list.
  2. Evidence net investible assets or company turnover in the form that profile demands.
  3. Register Singpass for every applicant before you open the form.
  4. Prepare certified true copies and official translations against ICA’s checklist.
  5. Draft the 5-year business plan for Form B, covering your role, the SFO’s functions, investment sectors, asset types, geographical focus and philanthropy interest.
  6. Set up the Singapore bank accounts and request reference letters containing all four required data points.
  7. Sequence the S$50 million transfer so it is in Singapore and held there by AIP.

Official sources used

Briefs filed under the same topic.