Methodology
How our PR tools work
Two different questions, answered separately: are you within an official ICA category, and how does your profile compare with the factors ICA says it considers?
1. Official eligibility (the gate)
The eligibility checker compares your answers with ICA's categories, applied literally and quoted verbatim:
- Spouse of a Singapore citizen or PR — “Spouse of a Singapore citizen or Singapore permanent resident (PR)”
- Unmarried child (below 21) of a Singapore citizen or PR — “Unmarried child aged below 21 born within the context of a legal marriage to, or have been legally adopted by a Singapore citizen or PR”
- Aged parent of a Singapore citizen — “Aged parent of a Singapore citizen of at least 21 years old”
- Employment Pass or S Pass holder — “Holder of an Employment Pass or S Pass”
- Student studying in Singapore — “Student studying in Singapore and have passed at least one national exam (i.e. PSLE, GCE 'N'/'O'/'A' levels), or are in the Integrated Programme (IP)”
- Foreign investor under the Global Investor Programme (GIP) — “Foreign investor in Singapore — assessed under the Global Investor Programme administered by the Singapore Economic Development Board”
Conditions ICA states elsewhere are applied too: the more-than-2-years residence condition for students (ask.gov.sg), the rule that no new application is accepted while one is pending, and the statement that there is no minimum employment period for Employment Pass or S Pass holders. Passes ICA does not name (for example the Personalised Employment Pass or ONE Pass) are shown as “confirm with ICA” rather than assumed.
2. Profile readiness (the heuristic)
Within a category, the readiness assessment scores six factors from 0 to 100 and combines them with fixed weights into a 0–100 score and a band: Developing (below 45), Moderate (45–69) and Strong (70 and above). The factors are ICA's. The scales and weights are SingaPR's, and every factor shows its rationale inside the tool.
| Factor | ICA wording | Weight | How it is scored (SingaPR heuristic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of residency | length of residency | 20% | Rises from under 1 year to 10+ years. ICA publishes no minimum. |
| Economic contribution | economic contributions | 25% | Income band plus employment tenure and stability; unemployment scores lowest, reflecting ICA's only published rejection example. |
| Qualifications | qualifications | 15% | Highest qualification; small bonus for qualifications obtained in Singapore. |
| Age | age | 10% | Shaped by the published age profile of PRs granted in 2024 (Population in Brief 2025, Table 17). |
| Family ties and family profile | family ties to Singaporeans; family profile | 20% | Spouse, child or parent who is a citizen or PR; children in local schools; applying as a family. |
| Integration and commitment | ability to integrate; commitment to sinking roots | 10% | Sustained community involvement, local education, stable local employment. |
Separate from the score, the tool runs application readiness checks: core documents from ICA's checklist, pending applications (blocking), and previous rejections (with the 12-month appeal window).
3. What the band means — and does not mean
- It shows how much evidence your profile offers on each factor ICA names. It is not a probability.
- Two people with the same band can have different outcomes; ICA assesses holistically and case by case.
- A “Strong” band is not a reason to apply carelessly, and a “Developing” band is not a reason not to apply if you are within a category.
4. Documents, rejection and reapplication tools
The checklist generator filters ICA's official document checklist by route, family and employment and marks anything that is a SingaPR suggestion rather than an ICA requirement. The rejection diagnostic and reapplication planner apply only the rules ICA publishes — the 12-month, e-Service-only appeal window; “same information, same outcome”; no published waiting period to reapply — and map your own account of what changed onto ICA's factor list. They never claim to know why an application was rejected.
5. Limitations
- The heuristics are informed by published aggregates (for example Population in Brief 2025), not by ICA decision data, which is not public.
- Answers are self-reported and unverified.
- Policy changes may not be reflected until the next verification date shown on each page.
Try the eligibility checker or the readiness assessment, or read our editorial policy.