Singapore's policy in recent years to give preferential treatment to citizens over permanent residents (PR) might have created unintended hurdles for social integration of foreigners, according to a survey.
Associate Professor Elaine Ho, who conducted in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese immigrants last year, found that those who came to Singapore in the 1990s integrated more effectively compared with those who arrived after 2004.
Those who came later tended to be more well-heeled, according to a report in Today newspaper.
"When they came in the 1990s, China was not so well-to-do, (so) they had to look for local jobs (and) public housing...They integrated more effectively," the report said quoting the National University of Singapore researcher.
"The (Chinese immigrants who arrived after 2004) will go into professions tied back to China (or) they buy private housing in Singapore. There is a very clear divide that demarcates them from the average Singaporean," Prof Ho said on the sidelines of an international symposium on Chinese diasporas.
Her research paper, titled 'Debating Integration In Singapore, Deepening The Variegations Of The Chinese Diaspora', was based on the interviews with 20 immigrants aged between 35 and 65.
Since 2004, some routes to obtaining PR status in Singapore include the Entre-Pass for those with business experience and start-up capital and the Global Investor Programme for investors.
A large number of foreigners, particularly those who want to make Singapore their long-term home opt for permanent residency in Singapore.
Changes to housing policies since 2010, such as a quota on PRs buying public housing and the higher prices may have also had a contrary effect on social integration, she added.
"Sometimes, Government policies have unintended complications...It addresses part of the problem, which is the dissatisfaction Singaporeans have, but it also perhaps resulted in greater social ramifications in other ways...What we want is (for immigrants) to be living alongside the average Singaporean," Prof Ho said.
"We have a clear sense of what it means to be Singaporean, but we also need to be open to the idea that the Singaporean-ness will evolve as our demographics change," it said.
Singapore has a population of 5.54 million, according to the National Population and Talent Division report.
But low birth rate since the 1970s has resulted in manpower shortage and arrival of new Asian migrants, mostly from China, India and the Philippines.
There were about 20,000 new citizens last year. The number of PRs remained stable at 530,000.
The city-state also has a large workforce of migrants working in many positions, from business executives to service industry and labourers.
