India-Singapore free-trade agreement doesn't grant automatic access to citizenship, PR status or a job: MTI

THE India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) does not give Indian nationals automatic access to citizenship, permanent residence or employment in Singapore, a Ministry of Trade and Industry spokesperson said on Thursday, in response to media queries.

"Singaporeans are understandably concerned with competition from foreign professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) amid the challenging economic and employment situation," said the spokesperson.

"However, it is misleading to attribute the number of Indian PMEs, especially intra-corporate transferees (ICT), solely or mainly to CECA."

There is no provision in CECA that allows Indian nationals to become permanent residents or citizens of Singapore; nor does CECA oblige Singapore to automatically grant employment passes (EPs) to PMEs from India.

"None of our FTAs (free-trade agreements), including CECA, obliges us to automatically grant EPs to any foreign nationals," said the spokesperson. "All foreign nationals applying for EP must meet our prevailing criteria, and all companies must comply with rules on fair hiring."

Intra-corporate transfers seeking to enter Singapore under CECA or any other FTAs must still meet prevailing work-pass rules.

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Intra-corporate transferees in Singapore have consistently accounted for less than 5 per cent of all EP holders, said the spokesperson, adding that "they come from a wide range of different source countries, with Indian nationals constituting only a small segment".