UEE SOCIAL ISSUE UPGRADE

Should Singapore change its

immigration process?
James Crabtree asks how the nation can better integrate migrants
into its society.

When I moved to Singapore, I was struck both by the ease with

which I received my work pass, and how little was asked of me to
get one.

The experience was frictionless in b_____________ senses. The Ministry

of Manpower work pass division near Clarke Quaywith its clear
signage, minimal wait times, and pleasant kids play areawas an
enviable example of public service design. But, as I walked out, I
realised I had learned nothing about, and been a__________ to
contribute nothing to, the country in which I was about to live.

This thought stayed with me as I learned m___________ about

Singapore and its recent history. Normally, people told me this story
starting with the 2011 election, when voters punished the ruling
party for ignoring voters worries about a host of issues, from
overcrowded public transport to excessive immigration. The
government got the message, the story goes, boosting investment
in public transport, and giving some limited preference
t_______________ local workers over foreigners. At the last election in
2015, they did better.

For all that, Singapore still aims to be an Asian financial hub, an

economic strategy which requires p___________ of skilled migration,
as well as foreign workers in lower skilled sectors, like construction
and childcare. These v______________ foreigners will help to add one
million to the population by 2030the kind of rapid demographic

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 c_________________ that requires a social bargain of some sort to be
struck.

Singaporeans are being asked to e___________________ globalisation,

and so can reasonably expect the state to help them adapt to it,
notably in areas like education. They are being asked to accept an
economic model predicated on h_____________ levels of migration. In
return, it seems to me, it is reasonable that they can expect those
moving to Singapore to integrate to some minimal
d_______________________.

The argument for integration

One migration danger Singapore faces, in t____________ case of

skilled migrants (like myself), is that those coming here live pleasant
lives set apart f_____________ the mainstream of Singaporean society,
and thus remain ignorant of its history and social
n__________________. This in turn risks breeding resentment
f________________ ordinary Singaporeans, and undercutting support
for migration and globalisation itself.

There were few clearer examples of this than Anton Casey, the
British lawyer who in 2014 caused a furore by describing MRT users
as poor people on Facebook, and writing about the need to wash
the stench of public transport o_______________ me.

Most foreigners in Singapore do not behave in this

w________________, but the reaction to his comments spoke to a wider
truth: namely, that many skilled migrants do t___________ Singapore
as a kind of glorified country club or airport terminal, worthwhile
mostly for its enviable facilities and good shopping.

Different nations welcome migrants d___________________. America is

an extreme example, with a broad notion of citizenship that can be
accessible to a__________________ everyone. If I move to China, I
cannot become Chinese, but if I emigrate t_______________ America,
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 or indeed if a Chinese person emigrates t________________ America,
we can both become American.

Not every country will emulate this approach. But we should never
forget the i__________________ of the valuable kinds of social glue
that allow newcomers to feel a sense of b________________, while also
allowing incumbents to recognise that new arrivals are also part of
the social mainstream.

Earning citizenship

To give a further example, Britain toyed over the last decade with
what was called earned citizenship. U___________ this system,
citizenship for migrants would have been conditional on measures
of social integration, from learning English to passing citizenship
tests.

Some did not like the idea, seeing it as an anti-migrant policy in

disguise. But at its best, the idea was to encourage integration,
while convincing migration-averse British voters that newcomers
shared their local values. It should also have made citizenship
more valuable, by making it slightly harder to a_________________,
something psychologists call an effort heuristic meaning that we
value more the things for which we have to work.

In the c______________ of Singapore, what might this entail? In a

migrant society like Singapore, there is a strong case for a more
accessible conception of citizenship, with clear pathways for
newcomers to achieve it, along the lines o____________ the US model.
But most migrants to Singapore do not actually want to become full
citizens, and are likely staying to work for only a r______________ short
period. For this group, it seems reasonable to ask that those seeking
a work pass, like I did, go through a minor process of social
integrationa basic civics test, for instance, involving the rudiments
of life in Singapore, as well as its history, laws and s_________________
of government.
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 A new home

Newcomers could also be nudged to learn a______________ their new

home. Todd Buchholz, a former advisor to US President George HW
Bush, recently wrote a book arguing that wealthy industrial nations
face what he called a crisis of social entropy, born of factors
including high migration. There is much to disagree w_______________
in his account, but Buchholz did have the intriguing i________ of
handing out US green cards conditional on their recipients visiting a
handful of sites of civic interest in the year after their arrivala
national park, for i________________, or a major museum or cultural
institution.

Along the same lines, why not provide work pass applicants with a
free ticket to the National Museum of Singapore? Or information
about volunteering opportunities, or ways to contribute to charities?

Such measures will not create social glue on their own, but they can
be a step in the right direction. The precise methods would need to
be r_____________________ cheap, avoid perverse incentives, and not
end up b____________________off-putting to the migrants themselves.
It would also be important to ensure the process is done in a way
that avoids e________________ a hint of boosterish state propaganda.

Done properly, demanding a little more of those who want to work

in Singapore could m____________their experience better, while
increasing local social acceptance for migration and globalisation as
well.

James Crabtree is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School
of Public Policy and a Contributing Editor for the Financial Times. He
moved to Singapore from India with his wife and family in 2016.

Adapted from: https://govinsider.asia/inclusive-gov/james-crabtree-

immigration-singapore/

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