The Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024 is something you might be looking into if you’re a transnational couple trying to buy a home in Singapore. According to the Population in Brief 2023 Report by the Strategy Group Singapore, as of 2022, approximately 33% (or one in three) of citizen marriages involved transnational couples (i.e. Singapore citizens marrying foreign nationals who were not PRs).
This number was an increase from 29% in 2021. With the number of mixed-nationality couples becoming an increasingly common occurrence, there has been growing interest in figuring out how to buy an HDB flat as a Singapore Citizen-foreigner couple.
If you are in this boat, you may be wondering, “Can a Singaporean and a foreigner buy a resale HDB flat?” We’ve got you covered. We’ll go over the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024 and the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria for those looking to purchase an HDB flat or BTO with a foreign spouse. Additionally, we’ll go through the various private property options.
What Properties Can Foreigners Buy?
| HDB BTO flat | Only two-room Flexi flats with $7,000 income ceiling limit; available under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024 |
| HDB resale flat | HDB resale flats (excluding 3Gen flats and Prime flats); available under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024 |
| Executive Condominium (EC) | Only privatised ECs (from their 11th year onwards) |
| Private homes | Any landed or non-landed private property; no ABSD tax if this is your first home and you are a married couple |
On their own, foreigners are only able to purchase private property such as condominiums, private apartments and executive condominiums (EC) that are at least 10 years old. However, when married to a Singapore Citizen, the choices increase.
The answer to “Can Singaporean and foreigner buy resale HDB?” is yes! But under certain conditions.
If you choose to buy a private home and are a married couple, you will not have to pay Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) tax. Should you choose to buy public housing, you can qualify for an HDB flat under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024. In the next section, we will go over the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria.
Do note that if the foreign spouse is a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), he/she may be able to enjoy more of the general benefits of most resale and some HDB flats. In this article, when we mention a “foreign spouse”, we are referring specifically to a non-citizen, non-PR foreigner.
Public Housing for Singaporean-Foreigner Couples
In recent years, HDB has granted more subsidies to mixed-nationality couples. Some of these extend to the purchase of HDB flats as well. HDB’s Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024 is just one of the ways to take advantage of these government grants put in place.
There are various HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria you have to meet in order to purchase public housing. Additionally, you only qualify for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) if you intend to buy a BTO flat with a foreign spouse.
New HDB Flats (BTO with a Foreign Spouse)
Buying a BTO with a foreign spouse is possible. If you intend to purchase a new HDB flat in Singapore, a mixed-nationality couple will only be eligible to purchase a 2-room Flexi flat in a non-mature estate; this is for a leasehold unit of 99 years.
As part of the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria, there are age and pass restrictions. When you BTO with a foreign spouse, you must be an SC who is 35 and above and your spouse must be holding a valid Visit Pass or Work Pass when you apply for your HFE letter and new flat application. You will also be charged an additional $15,000 payable, which will be incorporated into the price of the booked flat.
Under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024, your total combined monthly household income cannot exceed $7,000 when you BTO with a foreign spouse. Typical HDB rules apply such as neither you nor your partner should own an overseas property, the imposed wait-out period if you had previously disposed of private property, and the amount of subsidies you may be eligible for.
Hence, if you decide to BTO with a foreign spouse, do note all these HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria!
HDB Resale Flats
Alternatively, if buying a BTO with your foreign spouse is not your thing, you can consider resale flats. All resale HDB flats are open to Singaporeans who are married to foreigners. Many do wonder, “Can a Singaporean and a foreigner buy a resale HDB flat” together? With more transnational marriages, it is convenient for those looking for public housing that the answer is yes.
It is important to note that while there is no income ceiling for resale HDBs, there are other eligibility criteria such as the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) that need to be met. If you are a mixed nationality and mixed race household, you may choose which party to consider as the primary race of your household.
Under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme in 2024, you qualify for the following grants if you meet the various HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria:
- CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats (Singles)
- Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles)
- Proximity Housing Grant (Singles)
- Top-up Grant (if eligible, at a later time period)
Under the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria, the Singapore Citizen must be at least 21. If the Singapore Citizen spouse is 21 years old and above, the foreign spouse must hold a Long Term Visit Pass or a Work Pass (valid for more than 6 months) at the point of your HFE letter and resale flat application. If the citizen spouse is 35 years old and above, the foreign spouse must hold an S Pass, Work Pass, Employment Pass, or Visit Pass.
If the foreign spouse does not qualify under these definitions but you both have a child who is a Singapore Citizen (SC) or SPR and above 21 years old, you will also be able to qualify for housing under different schemes.
CPF Housing Grants Available Under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme (2024)
| Factor | CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats (Singles) | Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) |
| Who it is for | Married applicants aged 21 or above who buy an HDB resale flat under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme | For those who qualify for the Singles Grant and also earn under $4,500 (only half of the household income considered) |
| Grant amount | $40,000 (2- to 4-room resale flats), $20,000 (5-room or bigger resale flats) | $2,500 to $40,000, depending on income |
| Age eligibility | At least 21 years old | At least 21 years old |
| Income ceiling | Household income must not exceed $14,000 | $9,000 (half of the average gross monthly household income must not exceed $4,500) if you are buying a flat with a non-resident spouse |
| Property ownership and other requirements | Must be first-timer applicant, cannot have owned and/or sold an HDB flat, EC or DBSS property, cannot have received CPF housing grant or any other housing subsidies; you and/or your core co-applicant(s) and/or core occupier(s) must have been employed continuously for at least 12 months, 2 months before the HFE letter application | Only the citizen is entitled to the grant |
For the Proximity Housing Grant (Singles), you can get $15,000 to live with your parents/child or $10,000 to live near your parents/ child (within 4km). This will be based on whether the Singaporean spouse meets all the relevant criteria.
Here are some case studies to illustrate some of the possible permutations of nationality and scenarios you may encounter as a couple.
Case Study 1:
Mr Tan and Miss Sukbunsung are applying for a two-room Flexi flat at Bukit Batok. Mr Tan is a Singaporean Citizen while his wife is a foreigner. Mr Tan is the sole income earner of his household. He has a stable job that earns him $3,400 every month. They are both 30 years old. His parents live in Hougang.
The couple meets the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria. Mr Tan is eligible for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) and will receive $12,500 in grant monies, according to the EHG (Singles) grant amount stipulated. As he is not buying a resale flat or within 4km of his parents, he does not qualify for the Proximity Housing Grant (Singles) or the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats (Singles).
Case Study 2:
10 years, Mr Tan has unfortunately passed away. Miss Sukbunsung is now remarried to Mr Tran, a Vietnamese foreigner who resides in Singapore. Miss Sukbunsung has since become a Singaporean Citizen and wants to buy a resale 4-room flat with her new foreign spouse. She is a freelance child-care professional and works part-time at the local child-care facility in Bukit Batok. Their household earns a combined salary of $5,000.
The new couple also meet the HDB Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme eligibility criteria. New citizen Miss Sukbunsung is not eligible for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Singles) as she has exceeded the income ceiling requirement. However, she qualifies for the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats (Singles) and will receive $40,000 in grant monies. As neither of them has parents living here, they do not qualify for the Proximity Housing Grant (Singles).
Case Study 3:
Many years pass and Mr Tran manages to become a PR and later, a Singapore Citizen. His and Miss Sukbunsung’s household is now considered a citizen-citizen household and they are eligible for the $10,000 Citizen Top-Up Grant from HDB.
Singaporean-Foreigner Couples Buying Executive Condominiums
As a public-private hybrid, ECs have proven to be popular among young Singaporean couples and first-time single homeowners. Under the existing HDB Schemes, only full citizen couples or citizen-PR couples are allowed to purchase brand-new EC flats, launched directly from HDB.
You will not be able to buy 5-year-old resale ECs from the open market either. That is because to buy a 5-year-old resale EC, both you and your spouse must be either a Singaporean or a Singapore Permanent Resident.
However, resale EC flats that are more than 10 years old are considered privatised. This means they are available for anyone to purchase, including citizen-foreigner couples.
Singaporean-Foreigner Couples Buying Private Housing
As a married couple, you will not need to pay ABSD on your first home together. However, if you do decide to jointly purchase a second property after this, you will have to pay ABSD if you choose to hold on to both properties at once (i.e. one to live in and one as investment, for example). This ABSD will be refunded if you dispose of your first property within 6 months from the purchase of the second (i.e. you did not intend to own 2 properties at once).
Private Condominiums
The most common type of housing bought among mixed nationality couples is private condominiums. This type of housing has no income ceilings or restrictions but also comes with no grants. Of course, as private property, condos are significantly more expensive than HDB flats and ECs.
You can choose from uncompleted new launch condos, under-construction condos waiting to obtain their Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP), and completed and/or resale condos. Additionally, you can choose to buy together as a couple, or as individuals.
Landed Property
As a general rule, foreigners are not allowed to purchase landed property in Singapore. There are instances where they might do so under special consent directly from the Singapore Land Authority, however, this depends on their individual economic contribution to Singapore.
An exception is landed property in Sentosa Cove. If you want a landed house, you can also consider strata landed houses, which are basically ‘townhouses’ built within a condominium development. As a Singapore Citizen-foreigner couple, you can buy a landed property under the Singapore Citizen’s name.
Financing Your Home Purchase
As a couple of mixed nationalities, you may find the process of purchasing property in Singapore different from the usual, with different grants, options, restrictions, costs, and potential limitations in how you finance what you want to buy.
For example, if you decide to take on a bank loan and you are both owners or co-owners of a property, you can apply as join borrowers and have both your incomes taken into consideration when applying for the loan. For the foreign spouse, however, do note that if he/she is onshore (i.e. employed in Singapore), the banks will take 100% of his/her income into consideration, but if he/she is offshore (i.e. employed overseas), they will only take 80% of the base salary into consideration instead.
If you’re unfamiliar with the home loan process or have questions on home financing, let us help. Our friendly and experienced Mortgage Experts can guide you through the financing options available and choose the best mortgage package for you. From start to end, they’re here for you every step of the way. Best of all, it’s free!
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