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Last updated: 7 July 2026 · By the Singapore Top Immigration editorial team · Reviewed against primary Government sources (see references)
On 26 February 2026, during the Committee of Supply debate, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong set out Singapore's population and immigration plans for the second half of the decade. Two figures drew most of the attention: the country expects to take in between 25,000 and 30,000 new citizens a year, and to grant an estimated 40,000 permanent residencies (PRs) a year, over the 2026–2030 period. Both are higher than recent averages, and both have prompted a wave of "is it now easier to get PR in Singapore?" headlines.
This article walks through what was actually announced, why the numbers moved, and what the changes do and do not mean if you are planning a PR or citizenship application. The short version: there is more room in the system than there has been for years, but the bar that the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) applies to each application has not been lowered.
What Singapore actually announced
The 2026 population update contained two distinct targets, and it is worth keeping them separate because they sit on different pathways.
New citizens: 25,000 to 30,000 per year. DPM Gan said the Government expects to take in "between 25,000 and 30,000 new citizens annually, over the next five years, depending on our demographic trends including our TFR." Last year (2025), around 25,000 citizenships were granted, so the new range formalises a slightly higher ceiling rather than a sudden jump.
Permanent residents: about 40,000 per year. On PRs, the speech was explicit that this is an estimate, not a fixed allocation: the Government "estimate[s] an intake of about 40,000 PRs annually in the next five years, slightly higher than the 35,000 PRs we granted last year." For reference, the Population in Brief 2025 report records 35,264 PRs granted in 2024, the highest single-year figure since 2010. The resident PR population itself has stayed broadly stable at around 540,000, because grants roughly replace those who convert to citizenship or let their status lapse.
The two targets are also linked. DPM Gan framed the higher PR estimate as flowing directly from the citizenship goal, noting that "permanent residence is the pathway to work towards citizenship." In practice that means most new citizens are drawn from the existing PR pool, so a wider PR intake today feeds a wider citizenship intake in the years that follow. For applicants, the sequence matters: PR is almost always the first step, and the strength you build into a PR case is what a later citizenship application rests on.
To put both figures in context, the table below compares the new targets with the past decade for citizenships and PRs side by side.
Measured against the 2020–2024 averages, the new citizenship range is about 17 to 41 per cent higher, and the ~40,000 PR estimate is roughly 21 per cent above the recent PR average. Both are meaningful increases, but they are a gradual widening of an existing trend rather than a break from it. They also sit within a longer arc: since Singapore tightened immigration after 2009, annual grants have moved in a much narrower band than in the years before, which is part of why 2026–2030 stands out. The Government also reiterated that Singapore's total population will remain "significantly below 6.9 million by 2030," so the higher intake is being managed within long-standing planning limits.
Why the numbers went up: the demographics behind the decision
The rationale for a larger intake is not economic optimism. It is arithmetic. Singapore is simply not producing enough citizens to sustain its own population.
The clearest signal is the total fertility rate (TFR), the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime. The preliminary TFR for 2025 was 0.87, down from 0.97 the year before, and well below the 1.24 recorded a decade ago. A rate of about 2.1 is needed to replace a population without migration, so 0.87 is less than half of replacement level.
DPM Gan put the compounding effect in plain terms: on a simplistic calculation, if the TFR stays at 0.87, "for every 100 residents today, we will have just 44 children, and a mere 19 grandchildren."
The birth figures tell the same story. Singapore welcomed around 27,500 resident births in 2025, the lowest number ever in its recorded history. At the other end of the age range, the population is ageing quickly: last year 1 in 5 citizens was aged 65 or above, compared with 1 in 8 in 2015. A shrinking, ageing base also carries a practical weight the Government flagged directly: a smaller working-age population supporting more seniors, with thinner family support networks and growing pressure on defence and healthcare needs.
Citizen population growth has been slowing as a result, from about 0.9 per cent a year in 2015–2020, to 0.8 per cent in 2020–2025, to 0.7 per cent last year, with the Government projecting perhaps half a per cent going forward. DPM Gan's warning was blunt: "If no new measures are taken, our citizen population will start to shrink by the early part of the 2040s."
New citizens and PRs are, in effect, one of the levers being used to slow that decline while efforts to raise the birth rate continue. That framing matters for applicants, because it explains why the door has widened without the selection philosophy changing.
Is it easier to get PR or citizenship in Singapore in 2026?
This is the question most readers arrive with, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a hopeful one. The accurate response is: there are more places available, but that does not automatically translate into an easier application.
Three points are worth holding in mind at once.
First, "40,000" is a target and an estimate, not a quota. The word "quota" appears in a lot of coverage, but the speech deliberately framed the PR number as an intake the Government "estimate[s]," to be adjusted "depending on our TFR trends, other demographic factors, and the number and suitability of applicants." There is no fixed slot count that, once filled, guarantees you a place, and no queue position that ticks down. The figures are reviewed and can move each year, and the whole framework is set to be reviewed again by 2030.
Second, a higher target tends to attract a larger applicant pool. When headlines announce record intake numbers, more people apply, including strong candidates who had been sitting on the fence. More available places set against more (and often better-prepared) applicants can leave the practical difficulty of any single application roughly where it was.
Third, the assessment criteria themselves have not been loosened. ICA continues to assess every application holistically. Nothing in the February 2026 update changed the factors it weighs. A higher target changes how many suitable people the Government is willing to accept; it does not change what "suitable" means.
So the fair summary is this: 2026–2030 is a more favourable environment than the years that preceded it, but a well-prepared application is still the thing that gets approved. Volume has gone up; standards have not come down.
Why 2026–2030 is called the most favourable intake window in 15 years
If the bar is unchanged, why do so many observers describe this as the best window in over a decade? Because two conditions rarely line up at the same time, and right now they do.
The first is stated policy intent. The Government has publicly committed to a higher intake for a defined five-year period, and has explained why: a demographic problem that will not resolve itself quickly. That is a durable reason to expect the wider intake to hold, rather than a one-off adjustment.
The second is the historical comparison. A target of 25,000–30,000 new citizens sits well above the roughly 21,300 annual average of 2020–2024, and the estimated 40,000 PRs a year is above the 35,264 granted in 2024, itself already the highest since 2010. In headcount terms, more suitable applicants can be accepted now than at almost any point in the last 15 years.
A quick way to sense-check whether the window applies to you: if you are already eligible and your case would stand on its own merits regardless of the intake number, the wider targets are a reason to move rather than defer. If your profile still has obvious gaps, such as very short residence, an unsettled employment record, or no local ties, the window rewards using the time to strengthen those first, not filing early to "beat" a quota that does not work that way.
The practical takeaway is about timing and preparation, not shortcuts. If you are eligible and your profile is genuinely strong, this is a sensible period to apply rather than to wait, while being clear-eyed that approval still rests on the strength of your case. Our Singapore PR application guide sets out how ICA weighs each factor and how to build a case around them, and the Singapore citizenship guide does the same for naturalisation. Reading either before you file is a better use of a favourable window than rushing an underprepared submission through it.
Who benefits most from the wider intake
A larger intake does not lift every applicant equally. Based on the profile of recent grants and ICA's stated priorities, a few groups are better positioned than others.
Long-tenured PRs applying for citizenship. DPM Gan noted that immigrants today "either share family ties with Singaporeans or have studied, worked or lived in Singapore for some time." Length of residency is one of the factors ICA considers, and PRs who have lived, worked, and integrated in Singapore over several years present exactly the settled, "sinking roots" profile the framework rewards. If you have held PR status for some time and can show genuine integration, this window is worth acting on.
Families applying together. Applications that include a spouse and children, particularly where there are family ties to Singaporeans or locally schooled children, tend to read as a commitment to stay. Family profile is an explicit part of the holistic assessment, and a household that plans to build its future here fits the demographic case the policy is trying to address.
Professionals in in-demand sectors. Economic contribution remains central to ICA's evaluation. Applicants in fields where Singapore needs skills, with a stable employment record and clear career trajectory, continue to be well placed. A higher target does not change what a strong economic profile looks like; it simply means more such profiles can be accepted.
If you are unsure which group your situation falls into, our note on PR application success factors and the overview of PR benefits can help you self-assess before you commit time to a full application.
What the higher targets do not change
It is worth stating plainly what has stayed the same, because this is where a lot of the online commentary overreaches.
ICA still assesses citizenship and PR applications holistically. The published criteria include family ties to Singaporeans, economic contribution, qualifications, age, family profile, and length of residency. These are weighed together to gauge an applicant's ability to contribute, capacity to integrate, and commitment to putting down roots. There is no published points formula and no automatic threshold; approval is discretionary, and case officers exercise judgement on the whole picture.
The Government also confirmed it will "continue to be selective about who we bring in" and will "maintain the broad ethnic balance of our citizen population." Actual numbers each year are adjusted to demographic conditions and to the number and suitability of applicants, and the whole approach is due for review by 2030. Integration expectations remain in place too. New citizens aged 16 to 60 complete the Singapore Citizenship Journey, and a PR Journey programme has been piloted and is being scaled up.
One long-standing rule the wider intake does not touch is worth stating for the family applicants it most often trips up: Singapore does not grant citizenship by birthplace. There is no jus soli ("right of the soil") here. A child born in Singapore to non-citizen parents does not automatically become a citizen, a PR, or gain any immigration advantage from the birth itself; citizenship passes through a Singaporean-citizen parent, not the place of birth. A locally born or locally schooled child helps only as evidence of integration and long-term commitment within a family's overall application, not as a shortcut. The higher targets change none of this.
None of this is new, and none of it was relaxed in February 2026. The single variable that changed is the size of the intake the Government is aiming for. Everything about how individual applications are judged carries forward unchanged.
For the deeper policy background, our earlier pieces on Singapore's population policy and citizenship and the future of Singapore immigration trace how the country arrived at this point.
Frequently asked questions
How many new citizens does Singapore accept?
For 2026 to 2030, Singapore is targeting between 25,000 and 30,000 new citizens a year, according to the February 2026 population update. Around 25,000 citizenships were granted in 2025, and 22,766 in 2024. The exact figure each year depends on demographic trends, including the total fertility rate, and on the number and suitability of applicants, so it can move within (and be adjusted from) that range.
Is it easier to get PR in Singapore in 2026?
There are more PR places available, an estimated 40,000 a year for 2026–2030, up from the 35,264 granted in 2024, but the assessment bar has not been lowered. ICA still evaluates each application holistically, and a higher target usually draws a larger applicant pool. So the environment is more favourable, but a strong, well-prepared application is still what earns approval.
What is the Singapore PR quota for 2026?
Strictly speaking, Singapore does not run a fixed PR quota. The figure most often cited, about 40,000 PRs a year, is a target and estimate for 2026–2030, not a hard cap. The Government adjusts the actual number each year based on TFR trends, other demographic factors, and applicant suitability, and will review the framework again by 2030.
How many PRs does Singapore grant per year?
In 2024, Singapore granted 35,264 permanent residencies, the highest annual figure since 2010, and around 35,000 in 2025. For 2026 to 2030, the Government estimates an intake of about 40,000 PRs a year. The permanent resident population has remained broadly stable at around 540,000, as new grants roughly offset those who take up citizenship or lapse.
Planning your application
If you are weighing up a PR or citizenship application, the wider 2026–2030 intake is a genuine reason to take the decision seriously now rather than to defer it, provided your profile is ready to stand on its own merits. The favourable window rewards preparation, not haste.
Our team helps applicants assess their eligibility honestly, identify the gaps in a profile before ICA does, and put together a submission that reflects the holistic factors the assessment actually weighs. To talk through where you stand and how to position your case, see our Singapore PR service.
This article is for general information and reflects Singapore Government announcements as of the last-updated date above. Immigration figures and policies can change; always verify current details with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the National Population and Talent Division before acting. As a news post, this article is scheduled for quarterly review.
