Yes it is true that getting PR is difficult today than, say 10-12 years back. Moreover, for some segments like the sector of the economy, country of origin it might be especially harder to get PR.
Do not rely on YouTube Gurus
Because of the difficulty on obtaining PR, you should take your PR application seriously. Do not rely on youtube gurus who proclaim how they got PR in 1 year or so. Their case maybe quite different than yours.
Policy Changes
Singapore’s government has made immigration policies more stringent since 2009. Prior to 2009, PR applications were approved in higher numbers. At that point of time, the population of foreigners eligible to file PR Application was also limited.
In light of the long-term plans now, the number of PR application being approved per year is reduced to 30,000. At the same time the number of people eligible to file PR application has gone up by as much as 50%. As a result the approvals are becoming difficult now. However, you should not worry about strict criteria if you have shown outstanding commitment, efforts, and social contributions to the city-state.
Statistics to prove
Refer to the image below to understand this in detail. You will see that in 2008 the ratio of number applicant to number of PR approved was much favourable than today.
