Despite its diminutive size, Singapore is number one in the world for many factors, such as education, security, business opportunities, quality of life, and many other positions.
Benefits of Business Immigration to Singapore
The authoritarian but progressive politician Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away in 2015, has transformed the backward island nation into one of the most economically advanced in the world. The crime and corruption levels In Singapore are extremely low, while high technology and economic growth are taking on fantastic proportions. This is largely due to the great business climate in the country.
Moreover, Singapore has double taxation treaties with more than 50 countries around the world. Besides, if your company’s annual income does not exceed $ 5 million, then it is not required to submit financial statements and may even be exempted from auditing altogether.
Immigration Program for Investors (Global Investor Program, GIP)
The program is designed specifically for entrepreneurs and investors interested in starting a business or investing in the Singapore economy and then obtaining permanent residence.
Investment options The GIP offers three investment options:
- Investments of at least SGD 2.5 million in the development of a new or expansion of an existing business.
- Investment of at least SGD 2.5 million in an approved local investment venture fund that transfers funds to Singapore companies.
- Investment of SGD 2.5 million to establish one family office in Singapore with at least SGD 200 million in assets.
An investor has the right to obtain permanent resident status under the program, subject to sufficient business experience. To do this, the applicant must provide audited financial statements of the company for the last 3 years.
For companies in the construction and real estate sector, turnover must be at least SGD 200 million in the last year and at least SGD 200 million annually on average over the last three years.
For the rest of the companies, the turnover should be at least SGD 50 million per year over the last year and at least SGD 50 million annually on average over the last three years.
There is a specific application process and a set of required documents for each category of obtaining residency.
The investment program has the following requirements:
- Owners of an existing business The investor must prove at least three years of successful business experience. He needs to own at least 30% of the shares of the company (or group of companies) and provide audited financial statements of the company for 3 years before applying. The company’s turnover must be at least SGD 200 million for the last year and at least SGD 200 million annually for the last three years.
- New generation business owners The investor’s family must own at least 30% of the shares of the company (or group of companies) and provide audited financial statements of the company for 3 years before the application is submitted. The company’s turnover must be at least SGD 500 million for the last year and at least SGD 500 million annually for the last three years. The investor must be a member of the board of the company.
- Founders of high-growth companies The investor needs to be the founder and largest shareholder of the company. The company must be valued at at least SGD 500 million. 4. Family office leaders The investor must prove at least five years of business, investment, or management experience and net investment assets of at least SGD 200 million. This category of applicants can only benefit from the family office option (option B above).
After obtaining permanent resident status, the investor is issued a special permit to re-enter the country (Re-Entry Permit, REP). This permit allows you to maintain permanent resident status while outside Singapore.
After 5 years, the REP permit can be renewed subject to the fulfillment of the requirements that depend on the chosen category of residence. These requirements include business performance, actual residence time, or a combination of these.
If you are not a major investor and are not ready to invest $ 5 million or more in the local economy (Singapore dollar (SGD) is equal to $ 0.72), then the most common way of business immigration to Singapore is to register your own foreign company or a representative office of an existing one there. firms. This process takes record time.
The company registration process in Singapore. Three stages.
- The first step is to come up with an original company name following local regulations.
- In the second stage – you need to leave the constituent documents, where the office address and information about the head of the company will be indicated (you can hire yourself as a director). Your agent (usually from local lawyers) submits this data to ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) – the agency for registration and registration of companies, he also pays a fee of 330 Singapore dollars.
- The third step is to open a bank account in Singapore. The account itself may be as little as $ 1, but the monthly maintenance will be around $ 50.
If you are an employee of the company yourself, you have the right to receive a work pass – work and residence permit. Now you can grow your business in a tax haven. For example, the first S $ 300,000 (approximately US $ 234,000) earned in Singapore during the first 3 years after company registration will be subject to a preferential corporate tax scheme.