[Kim91]

Just some positive news to share...

On these statistics, population experts noted the increasing number of Singaporeans marrying foreigners and reiterated that their spouse or children should be granted PR or citizenship.

National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan told TODAY: "Of course, we should grant them PR and citizenship status as the dependents also supplement the population growth. If we don't do that, Singapore will no longer be family-oriented and no one will want to come here. Singaporeans who marry a foreign spouse will also move out, further impacting the slow population growth that we are already facing."

As for dependents of new PRs and citizens, Institute of Policy Studies researcher Leong Chan-Hoong said it was "only natural" that they seek PR or citizenship after sinking their roots here. While he felt that it is fair to grant them PR or citizenship privileges, proper checks would have to be conducted on their backgrounds for instance, he said.

The new statistics were contained in an issues paper released yesterday by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD). The paper noted that new PRs and new citizens are "generally young and have good educational qualifications".

It added: "Each PR and Singapore Citizenship application is evaluated holistically on a set of criteria which includes the individual's family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age and family profile to assess the applicant's ability to contribute to Singapore and integrate into society and his/her commitment to sinking roots."

Hopefully more PR be given to our wifes and maybe we can buy new flats like hdb going to allow the singles to do