Moving as a Canadian citizen
Building a life in Singapore as a Canadian citizen
Territorial tax, no capital gains, belonging by invitation. Here is what that means for you specifically, from the front door to the tax return to the passport, seen through your Canadian status rather than in the abstract.
Researched from public sources, dated below. Not legal or tax advice.
The verdict
90 days visa-free, then a long-stay route.
As a Canadian citizen you can enter Singapore visa-free for about 90 days per entry. That covers a stay, not a life: living here means a long-stay visa or residence permit. Separately, a visa is not tax residence, spend past roughly 183 days a year and Singapore can tax you (see Keep).
How we stand behind this
- Effective
- 2026
- Last verified
- 2026-07-23
- Source
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Singapore Individual Residence
- Confidence
- Medium confidence
This block carries its source and dates above. Rules change constantly; the verification record is how you judge whether to rely on it, or take it to a professional.
The 15-second snapshot
- You can visit
- Yes, 90 days visa-free
- You can stay long term
- Yes, Employment Pass then PR
- Remote-work routes
- 0 routes
- Bring dependants
- Yes, with income threshold
- Open a local bank account
- Yes, straightforward
- Likely tax resident after
- 183 days
- Citizenship pathway
- PR first, then 2+ years (selective)
The sourced facts
Checked Jul 2026- Entry2026 · High confidence
Singapore is NOT in Schengen. Most Western passports (US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia) get up to 90 days visa-free per entry as a short-term visitor. Long-stay is via the Employment Pass (skilled work) leading to Permanent Residence; there is no digital-nomad visa. Visa-free stay is granted per entry as a Visit Pass, not on a rolling Schengen-style 180-day window.
Country Tax Calc, Moving to Singapore Tax Guide 2026 - Tax residence2026 · High confidence
Tax resident if physically present or employed in Singapore for 183 days or more in the calendar year (other qualifying tests apply for multi-year stays). Only Singapore-source income is taxed; foreign-source income is generally exempt even when received in Singapore, and there is no capital gains tax. Special regime: Singapore is territorial-leaning with no capital gains tax and no tax on most foreign-source income received by individuals. The Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme, which time-apportioned Singapore employment income for frequent travellers, lapsed after YA 2020 and is now largely historical.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Singapore Individual Residence - Citizenship2026 · Medium confidence
No fixed residence-year naturalisation. You must first become a Permanent Resident, then hold PR for at least 2 years before applying for citizenship (aged 21+). Approval is selective and discretionary, weighing employment, tax and CPF record, and integration. The 2-year minimum is PR-holding time before applying, not total time in Singapore; obtaining PR itself typically takes several years of work and residence, and citizenship grants are quota-limited. Singapore does not allow dual citizenship for adults.
The Immigration People (TIP), Singapore PR to Citizenship Guide 2026 - Income tax2026 · High confidence
Progressive resident personal income tax from 0% to a 24% top rate (top rate applies above SGD 1,000,000, from YA 2024). No capital gains tax; foreign-source income received by individuals is generally not taxed.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Singapore Taxes on Personal Income
Researched from public sources on the dates shown. Rules change; this is a planning layer, not legal or tax advice, and not a substitute for a professional before you act.
Enter
Getting inAs a Canadian citizen, a visitor can typically spend 90 days in Singapore per entry. Staying longer than that means one of the routes under Stay.
- Visa-free stay
- 90 days per entry
- On arrival
- Yes, 90 days visa-free
Stay
Visitor to residentLiving in Singapore for years rather than weeks means a long-stay visa or residence permit. For a Canadian citizen, yes, Employment Pass then PR.
- Long-term routes
- Yes, Employment Pass then PR
- Bring dependants
- Yes, with income threshold
Earn
Remote income & your companyWorking for local pay in Singapore needs the right permit. Foreign or remote income is a separate matter, and running a company from here can shift where that company is taxed: running your foreign company from Singapore can make key decisions happen there, so Singapore may treat the company as tax-resident (place of effective management) or as having a permanent establishment. That can pull corporate profit into Singapore's net. This is the review that pays for itself. The world designer runs the full analysis for how you actually earn.
- Remote-work routes
- 0
- Company / PE
- Permanent-establishment / management risk
Keep
Tax residenceHere is the line the category forgets: your visa lets you stay, it does not decide who taxes you, and that is true no matter which passport you hold. In Singapore, tax residence typically turns on roughly 183 days a year, territorial-leaning: only Singapore-source income is taxed, foreign-source income is generally not taxed even when received by a resident (narrow partnership exception), and there is no capital gains tax. The Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme lapsed after YA 2020 and is now largely historical. As a Canadian citizen you may also still have filing ties back home, worth settling before you move.
- Tax-residence threshold
- ~183 days
- As a resident
- Varies by income and status
- Also weighs
- Territorial-leaning: only Singapore-source income is taxed, foreign-source income is generally not taxed even when received by a resident (narrow partnership exception), and there is no capital gains tax. The Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme lapsed after YA 2020 and is now largely historical.
Belong
Residence to citizenshipFor a Canadian citizen, citizenship in Singapore is a route of patience: roughly 2 years of qualifying residence, each year usually needing about 183 days present. Whether you can keep your Canadian citizenship alongside it is a separate question worth checking early.
- Citizenship route
- ~2 years
- Qualifying presence
- ~183 days / year
Live
Banking, cost & familyThe practical scaffolding once the stamps are sorted. Opening a local bank account in Singapore is yes, straightforward. Bringing family: yes, with income threshold.
- Local banking
- Yes, straightforward
- Bring dependants
- Yes, with income threshold