It’s when they say “the people” that surprises you the most. Or perhaps when they say “the climate”, as rivulets of sweat run down your back and the air feels thick as cotton. The expectation has always been that the answer to “why do you live in Singapore?” is simple: money. For Australians who’ve made this unique city home for a long time, the answers immediately take on more colour and more depth.

Singapore’s ex-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a 2012 speech said 20,000 Australians were living in Singapore, a number that has surely only grown. Whether it be for family, work, or lifestyle, these Australians choose to spend years of their lives away from the land down under. Some moved with no plans of ever returning, while others left for what they thought would be a few years, only to find Singapore had captured their hearts for decades to come.

Why did they emigrate to Singapore, how does the immigration process work, and what would convince them to call Singapore their home for good?

This story was produced as part of the Curtin Journalism 2025 Singapore Study Tour and supported by funding from the federal government’s New Colombo Plan.