Singaporeans in the United Kingdom may refer to people who have full or partial

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an origin or descent, born or settled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, or Singaporeans in Britain which are

high-income A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First World" ...

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

professionals as well as

skilled workers A skilled worker is any worker who has special skill, training, knowledge which they can then apply to their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Alternatively, a skilled worker may have learned the ...

, with many still maintaining close ties with Singapore, especially those who continue to retain Singaporean citizenship while having permanent residency in Britain, as well as students. As

is a multi-racial country, a Singaporean British could either be of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent, the main races of Singapore.

Background

The story of the Singaporean community in the UK has some similarities follows that of the

British Chinese British Chinese (also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons) are people of Chineseparticularly Han Chineseancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France. T ...

community, as Singaporeans of Chinese descent (see

Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Chinese descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th ...

) make up around 70% of the population. The Singaporean diaspora in Britain stems from Singapore's history as a former British colony (as part of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

' capital from 1826 to 1942, and separately as the

Crown Colony of Singapore Singapore was a British colony for 144 years, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945 during the Pacific War. When the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, at the end of World War II, Singa ...

from 1946 to 1959), and its current membership in the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Population

40,474 Singaporean-born people were recorded by the

2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

, with 40,180 of those living in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The Singaporean-born population of Great Britain has increased by 19 per cent since the 1991 Census, when 33,751 Singaporean-born people were recorded. The

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

estimates that, in 2009, 41,000 Singaporean-born people were resident in the UK. The distribution of Singaporean-born residents according to the 2001 census is shown on the map. Nine of the ten census tracts with the most Singaporean-born residents in 2001 are in London. The most popular tracts were

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, Southall West,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, Cambridge West,

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

, East Ham South, Richmond North.

Notable individuals

The list below includes British people of Singaporean descent and Singaporean immigrants to the UK, regardless of ethnicity. This is a non-exhaustive list. * Richard Sreeharan, ComputerAid International *

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

, journalist *

Nigel Callaghan Nigel Ian Callaghan (born 12 September 1962) is a former professional footballer. Playing career Callaghan played on the right-wing for a number of clubs including; Watford, Derby County and Aston Villa. Internationally, he represented Englan ...

, footballer *

Michael Chan, Baron Chan Michael Chew Koon Chan, Baron Chan (; 6 March 1940 – 21 January 2006) was a Singaporean-born British physician and life peer who sat in the House of Lords between 2001 and 2006. Early life and education Chan was born in Singapore on 6 Ma ...

, physician and politician *

Jasmine Lowson Jasmine Lowson (born 1972) is a British actress, journalist and presenter of Singaporean descent. Early life Lowson was born in Chatham, Kent, South East England to an English father and a Singaporean mother (''née'' Yam Kheng Chan). She moved ...

, news presenter *

Vanessa-Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

, pop and classical musician *

Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduating fro ...

, broadcaster * Paul Thompson, head coach of the

Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze are an ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the ''Solihull Barons'' and ren ...

and the Great Britain national men's ice hockey team *

Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (13 July 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer. Born in Brentford, Middlesex, Thurston played in bands in London before he "bluffed his way" into audio engineering.Pierre Perrone (24 ...

, recording engineer and producer * Nancy Yuen, singer * Richard Fortin, cricketer * Jen Theng Craven or Jin-Theng Craven (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Goh), daughter of former

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister, a Member of Parliament (MP) who in their opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of the majority of ...

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.Wendy Kweh, actress *

Nancy Lam Nancy Lam (born in Singapore in 1948) is a Singaporean celebrity chef famous for her Southeast Asian cuisine and television appearances. Beginnings Nancy Lam moved to London, United Kingdom from Singapore at the age of 22. After originally tra ...

, celebrity chef * Soo Bee Lee, soprano singer *

Melville McKee Melville McKee (born 19 August 1994) is a British racing driver. He currently drives for Bamboo Engineering in the GP3 Series. His grandfather Mike was a Formula Two and 24 Hours of Le Mans racing driver. Career Karting McKee began karting at ...

, racing driver * Matt Carmichael, footballer *

Clive Rees Clive Frederick William Rees (born 6 October 1951 in Singapore) is a former Wales, Welsh rugby union player. He won thirteen cap (sport), caps as left wing for Wales national rugby union team, Wales between 1973 and 1983. Clive Rees's rugby car ...

, rugby union player *

Sam Quek Samantha Ann Quek, MBE (born 18 October 1988) is an English former field hockey player, and television personality. She played as a defender for both the England and Great Britain teams, wearing squad number 13, and won gold as part of the Brit ...

, former field hockey player and Olympic gold medalist

References

External links

BBC Born Abroad - Singapore

The Singaporean Embassy in London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singaporeans In The United Kingdom Asian diaspora in the United Kingdom Immigration to the United Kingdom by country of origin

Background

Population

Notable individuals

See also

References

External links