Honorary Citizen of Singapore
Title of honor conferred by the Government of Singapore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Honorary Citizen Award is the highest national honour conferred by the Government of Singapore to foreigners since 2003, to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of foreigners who have contributed extensively and significantly to Singapore and its people.[1]
Description
The Honorary Citizen Award was first introduced in 2003, it is the highest national honour for foreigners.[2] The title Honorary Citizen is conferred for life.
Other existing national awards for foreigners includes the Public Service Star (Distinguished Friends of Singapore) award and the Public Service Medal (Friends of Singapore) award.
The award does not equate to citizenship. Therefore, atypical rights and duties of Singapore citizens, such as voting rights and the requirement to fulfil National Service (NS), do not apply to Honorary Citizens. Additionally, grants and subsidies which Singaporeans are entitled to are not made available to the recipients.[1]
The privileges for the award recipients include the right to live and work in Singapore for themselves as well as their immediate dependent family members and to purchase property if they decide to stay in Singapore.[3][4]
Administered by Ministry of Manpower, a selection committee panel made up of high-level government officials would receive nominations of foreigners who have rendered extensive and valuable services to Singapore and its people, or who have made a significant impact in the areas of business, science and technology, information communications, education, health, arts and culture, sports, tourism, community services or security. The final selections are then endorsed by the Cabinet of Singapore. Recipients are conferred the Award in the following year of their nomination. The Awards are presented at a formal ceremony by the President of Singapore at the Istana.[5]
As of 2025[update], there are 22 recipients being conferred with the title.
Honourees
| Year of conferment | Recipient | Nationality | Recognition | Additional Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sydney Brenner |  United Kingdom |
contributions in establishing Singapore as a biomedical hub | [2][7][8] |
| Pasquale Pistorio |  Italy |
contributions in establishing Singapore as a microelectronics hub | [2][7][8] | |
| 2004 | Sir Richard Sykes | United Kingdom |
contributions to the development of Singapore as an international biomedical sciences hub | [8][9] |
| Lodewijk Christiaan van Wachem |  Netherlands |
contributions in positioning Singapore as a compelling global hub for business and investment | [8][9] | |
| 2005 | Tsutomu Kanai |  Japan |
contributions to the development of Singapore | [10][11] |
| Robert A. Brown |  United States |
contributions to the Singapore Government | [10][11] | |
| 2006 | Lee Raymond | United States |
contributions to the development of Singapore economy | [12] |
| Heinrich von Pierer |  Germany |
[12] | ||
| 2008 | Ratan Tata |  India |
contribution to the growth of high-tech sectors in Singapore | [13][14] |
| Tan Sri Frank Tsao |  Malaysia |
pivotal role in shaping the growth of the maritime industry and in promoting maritime education and research | [13][15] | |
| 2010 | Jeroen van der Veer | Netherlands |
contributions to Singapore economy through Shell | [16] |
| 2011 | Professor Edward Holmes | United States |
leadership in building up translational and clinical research infrastructure in Singapore | [17] |
| 2012 | Ronald Oxburgh, Baron Oxburgh | United Kingdom |
contributions to Singapore's higher education, science and technology landscape as well as energy policy since 1997 | [18] |
| 2014 | Hiromasa Yonekura | Japan |
contributions to the growth of the chemicals industry | [19] |
| 2015 | Sir George Radda | United Kingdom |
contributions to biomedical sciences industry | [20] |
| Joan Bray Rose | United States |
contributions towards establishing NEWater as a supplementary water source | [20][21] | |
| 2016 | Tadataka Yamada | United States |
contributions to biomedical sciences industry | [22] |
| 2017 | Ulrich Werner Suter |  Switzerland |
contributions to developing Singapore into a vibrant and well-known research and development hub | [23] |
| 2018 | Sir Andrew Philip Witty | United Kingdom |
contributions to Singapore's economic development, and the growth of biomedical sciences industry | [24] |
| 2019 | Sir John O'Reilly | United Kingdom |
contributions to engineering research and development | [25] |
| Victor Dzau | United States |
contributions to postgraduate medical education | [25] | |
| 2023 | William Chin | United States |
contributions to science, medicine and drug discovery/development | [26][27] |
| 2025 | Tarun Das | India |
contributions to strengthening the economic partnership between India and Singapore | [28] |