Immigration to Singapore is the process by which people migrate to Singapore for the purpose of residing there—and where a majority go on to become permanent residents and Singaporean citizens. Singapore is an attractive destination especially in the region as it is a country with a strong currency that offers high living standards, including in education, work, wages and safety as well as an overall far higher quality of life compared to its neighbours. High-net-worth or skilled immigrants worldwide are also attracted to Singapore's low tax rates (e.g. no capital gains tax) and ease of doing business.
Immigration is historically the main impetus for population growth in the country since the founding of modern Singapore in the early 19th century due to its strategic location. During the 19th to 20th centuries, Singapore developed into a thriving and major entrepôt as immigrants and merchants from all over Asia were attracted by its free trade policy. For a long period after its founding, the majority of Singapore's population were immigrants. These immigrants also formed the bulk of the modern Singaporean population today. In the 1930s, the number of native births in Singapore would overtake net immigration.
After its separation and independence in 1965, immigration laws were modified in 1966 to reinforce Singapore's identity as a sovereign state. This time, the initial strict controls on immigrant workers were relaxed as demand for labour grew with increased industrialisation. Immigration would again become the largest contributor to population increase in Singapore in the late 20th century and early 21st century. These recent immigration and immigrant workers in Singapore have been closely associated with Singapore's further economic development. However, the rates of immigrants into Singapore after the 1990s raised concerns and discontent among citizens, and curbs on immigration were introduced, resulting in a more stringent immigration policy since the 2010s. In 2022, the government introduced a points-based immigration system for skilled applicants who wish to work in Singapore.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) publishes a number of criteria for eligibility for anyone who wishes to reside, study and work in Singapore. The demographics of Singapore mainly consists of ethnic Chinese, Malay and Indian, who collectively make up virtually the entirety of its citizen population (98.4%). They are the descendants of their ancestors who moved to Singapore prior to its independence, with these three ethnic groups being the forefront of the country's contemporary cultural and social customs, including its cuisine, language, religion as well as traditions that are unique to Singapore.
History
Early immigration
Early population figures show that, for a long period of time, the growth of population in Singapore was fuelled by immigration that started soon after Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore in 1819. The founding of colonial Singapore as a free port led to a rapid influx of people, initially mostly Malays, quickly followed by Chinese. It was estimated that when Raffles arrived in Singapore in January 1819, Singapore had about 120 Malays, 30 Chinese and some local tribes such as the Orang Laut. Another estimate put the total population of Singapore at 1,000, mostly of various local tribes. By 1821, the population was estimated to have increased to 4,724 Malays and 1,150 Chinese. Javanese, Bugis and Balinese also began to arrive. In the first census of 1824, out of the 10,683 total, 6,505 were Malays and Bugis constituting over 60% of the population. The total population of Singapore then increased to 16,000 by 1829, 26,000 five years later, and 60,000 by the beginning of 1850.