Foreign Nationals and Non-Residents Buying Insurance in Singapore: Eligibility, Documents, Tax Residency Self-Certification and CRS

Definition: eligibility, national schemes and tax reporting are three different questions

In this page, "foreign nationals" means people who are neither Singapore citizens nor permanent residents (PRs). Common statuses include the Employment Pass (EP), S Pass, Work Permit, Dependant's Pass (DP), Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) and Student's Pass; "non-residents" means people whose country of residence is outside Singapore. Singapore has no uniform statutory rule on insurance for foreign nationals. Whether an applicant is accepted, on what terms, and which countries of residence and pass types are acceptable are decided by each insurer for each product, so the answer may differ between companies and products, and the insurer's latest rules prevail.

Splitting "how foreign nationals buy insurance" into three independent questions avoids a common confusion:

1. Can you buy? This is decided by the insurer's underwriting and product rules.
2. Do the national schemes cover you? This is decided by the statutory boundaries set by MOH, the CPF Board and others, which mostly apply to citizens and PRs.
3. What information is reported once you have bought? This is decided by your tax residency and by international tax information exchange rules such as CRS.

Being able to buy a policy does not mean being covered by the national schemes, and it does not mean there is no tax reporting.

The edge of the national schemes: foreign families build their own base

Singapore residents are already covered by national schemes such as MediShield Life before they buy any commercial insurance; that is the premise of the national schemes page. Foreign nationals are in a different position.

How foreign families usually fill the gaps, and in what order, is covered in scenario one on the scenarios page. This page covers only eligibility, documents and reporting.

How insurers assess foreign and non-resident applicants

What public material shows is insurers' questionnaires. Take Etiqa's Foreign Life and Residence / Travel Questionnaire (2025-03): it asks applicants who are neither citizens nor PRs to answer the questions below. The third column of the table is this site's summary of why the question is asked, not the questionnaire's wording.

Three points need explaining. First, this is one insurer's example. Other insurers' questionnaires, acceptable countries of residence and pass lists differ; these are internal underwriting documents, and the insurer's latest rules prevail. Second, insurers' product pages also set eligibility product by product. For example, Singlife's announcement of 2026-08-26 lists its hospital plan as open to holders of the EP, PEP, ONE Pass, EntrePass, S Pass, Work Permit, DP, LOC, LTVP and Student's Pass, among others, and says it is subject to the product terms. Third, whether to accept an applicant, and on what terms, is decided by the insurer case by case. Possible outcomes include standard acceptance, a premium loading, an exclusion, a postponement or a decline, and this site makes no prediction about any outcome.

Documents to prepare and common sticking points

The basic application material falls broadly into four groups: identity, residence, underwriting and tax. MAS Notice 314 (anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, applicable to life insurers, 2025-06-30) requires insurers to perform customer due diligence before and after establishing a business relationship, so identity, address and source of funds documents are all checked.

An insurance contract is a contract of utmost good faith. If your residence, pass status or health changes during the application, tell the insurer promptly. This is consistent with the duty of disclosure explained on the policy terms page and the claims page.

Tax residency self-certification and CRS: what you fill in, what is reported, and to whom

Who has to complete it, and why

CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is the standard for automatic exchange of financial account information. Singapore completed its first exchange in September 2018 (using 2017 data). In Singapore, a "Specified Insurance Company" means a licensed insurer that issues Cash Value Insurance Contracts or annuity contracts; such insurers must determine the account holder's jurisdiction of tax residence and report annually (IRAS). A Cash Value Insurance Contract is an insurance contract that has a cash value, where the cash value is the greater of the amount obtainable on surrender or termination and the amount that can be borrowed. Qualifying term life insurance (cover ends before the insured reaches age 90, premiums do not decrease, there is no accessible contract value, and so on) is an excluded account.

What the self-certification contains

IRAS explains in the CRS e-Tax Guide, fifth edition (2026-08-11), that a valid self-certification must be signed or otherwise positively confirmed by the account holder, dated, and must contain:

1. the name;
2. the residence address;
3. the date of birth;
4. all jurisdictions of tax residence; and
5. where applicable, the tax identification number (TIN) for each jurisdiction of tax residence.

Without a valid self-certification the insurer may not open the account; in certain situations (for example, a policy transfer) a period of up to 90 days to provide it may apply. An account holder who is tax resident in two or more jurisdictions should declare all of them. From 2027-01-01, a dual tax resident whose documentation is re-obtained can no longer report only one jurisdiction by relying on the tie-breaker rules in tax treaties that are used to determine a single residence. When the account holder's circumstances change (for example, moving house or changing tax residence), the self-certification should be updated with the insurer (IRAS).

What the insurer reports, and to whom

FATCA is a US regime that looks at US citizenship as well as tax residence. US citizens or tax residents must provide an additional form (such as W-9) at application and at death claim, as the insurer's forms prescribe (LIA death claim checklist). For differences in CRS reporting between Hong Kong and Singapore, see HK vs SG insurance differences.

Reminder (applies to: Singapore): CRS is part of the compliance process and not an accusation against any individual; account information is reported according to the rules. Your tax outcome depends on the law of your jurisdiction of tax residence, so obtain professional advice in that jurisdiction.

After leaving Singapore: keeping the policy, notification duties and overseas claims

Leaving Singapore does not in itself terminate a policy. Whether it stays in force depends on whether premiums are paid and on the contract terms. The questionnaire discussed above also asks what you plan to do after you leave, so it is best to think this through at the time of application. Five things need attention around departure:

1. Update contact details: LIA's nomination guide lists "updating contact details with the insurer" as a responsibility of the policy owner, so that important notices and renewal documents are not missed.
2. Update tax residency information: after becoming tax resident in another country, update your self-certification with the insurer so that reporting does not go to the wrong jurisdiction.
3. Confirm the premium payment method and currency: whether overseas accounts or cards can be used for payment depends on the insurer's rules.
4. Confirm whether the national schemes still apply: foreign nationals were never within MediShield Life, so confirm the medical cover before and after departure with the insurer and the employer.
5. Know the document requirements for overseas claims: according to the LIA death claim guide (2025-11), when a death occurs outside Singapore, the insurer needs, in addition to the basic documents, a letter or email from ICA on the deceased's life status, the overseas cremation or burial permit, the repatriation report and the cause-of-death report of the last attending doctor. Documents issued by overseas authorities must be notarised or authenticated by an embassy and translated into English. The list is not exhaustive; see the claims page.

Residents of Mainland China and Hong Kong: compliance and reporting only

For readers in Mainland China and Hong Kong, three points are matters of compliance and do not involve any funding arrangements:

• Tax reporting: insurers report cash value insurance contract account information to the tax authority of the account holder's jurisdiction of tax residence under IRAS's CRS rules. Hong Kong has likewise exchanged financial account information with other jurisdictions since 2018 (Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department, 2017-06). Readers in either place should declare all jurisdictions of tax residence truthfully when completing the self-certification.
• Compliance of sales and signing: Mainland regulators have publicly expressed concern about practices such as "introduction in the Mainland, signing offshore", which amount to selling offshore insurance products in the Mainland, for example in the China Insurance Regulatory Commission's Notice on Strengthening Supervision of Illegal Sales of Offshore Insurance Products of 2016-05-11 (Bao Jian Shou Xian [2016] No. 46; according to commentary by Junhe Law Offices dated 2016-06-01, a secondary source). Rules and enforcement priorities may have changed since then; rely on the current provisions of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and the local authorities.
• Place of signing: the Hong Kong IA's guidance on virtual applications requires the intermediary to first confirm that the client is in Hong Kong at the time and to obtain consent to audio and video recording (see the HK vs SG page). In Singapore, some insurers accept remote meetings and electronic signature, provided MAS's non-face-to-face identity verification requirements are met; whether this is available depends on the insurer, the product and the case.

This site does not discuss routes for moving funds out of a jurisdiction or foreign exchange methods, and it does not provide or assist with cross-border sales. For questions involving Mainland foreign exchange, tax or regulation, consult a licensed professional locally.

Self-check list before a foreign national or non-resident applies

1. Are my pass type, expiry date and country of residence within the target insurer's acceptable range?
2. Have I worked out what my employer's medical insurance covers, and whether dependants are included?
3. Can I answer clearly "why do I need this Singapore-dollar policy" and "what will I do with it after leaving Singapore"?
4. Are all my jurisdictions of tax residence and TINs listed in the self-certification?
5. Do I have US citizenship or US tax residency, and which additional forms (such as W-9) will be needed at application and for any later claim?
6. Is every disclosure (health, occupation, residence, other policy applications) true and complete, and have I told the insurer about any change during the application?
7. Have I thought through the beneficiary arrangements, and which documents are needed when the beneficiary is overseas (see the nomination page)?
8. Do I understand that the free-look period runs from receipt of the policy documents, and how to contact the insurer and the adviser?
9. Do I know how to update my contact details and tax residency information after leaving Singapore?

This page is general educational material and does not constitute legal, tax or insurance advice. If you would like it interpreted for your own circumstances, you can register your needs through the contact details on this site.