Singapore · Visitor
Singapore entry visa
Singapore entry visa is issued by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). VisaAI tracks 20 official requirements for it, each traced to the government page that states it.
Last verified against the official source on .
VisaAI is not a government body and does not issue visas. It cannot decide, predict or guarantee the outcome of an application, and this page is not legal or immigration advice.
Requirements change. Confirm every item on Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)’s own page before you apply.
Each requirement below is written in plain English by VisaAI. The indented text beneath it is quoted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)’s own page, so you can check what we say against what they say. Where a quotation shows “ ... ”, text has been left out.
Conditions you must meet
- Your travel document, not your citizenship, decides whether you need a visaICA's list is a list of issuing countries and places for TRAVEL DOCUMENTS. A person holding a document issued by one of them needs a visa regardless of any other nationality they hold.
If you hold a travel document 1 issued by one of the countries or places listed below, you will require a valid Singapore entry visa to travel to, and seek entry, into Singapore.
- Every traveller needs their own travel document, at any ageCollective travel documents are not accepted, so a child cannot travel on a parent's document.
1 All travellers, regardless of age, must hold a valid individually-issued travel document as collective travel documents are not accepted.
- The visa is permission to travel and ask, not permission to enterICA states this twice on the same page, in two different forms. The decision to admit is taken by an officer at the checkpoint, after the visa is granted.
A Singapore entry visa is not an immigration pass. It is a pre-entry permission for the holder of a valid visa to travel to, and seek entry, into Singapore.
- A valid visa does not guarantee entryThe plainest sentence on the page, and the one most often assumed away.
Possession of a valid visa does not guarantee entry into Singapore.
- How long you may stay is decided at the checkpoint, not by the visaThe period of stay comes from the electronic visit pass issued on arrival. A visa valid for two years does not mean two years of stay, and extending the stay is a separate application.
The period of stay in Singapore is not tied to the validity of your visa. The period of stay is determined by the duration of the Visit Pass issued to you in the form of electronic visit pass (e-Pass) at the checkpoint upon entry.
- Your visit pass arrives by email, and nothing is stamped in your passportSince 11 March 2022 the pass is digital. The email address given on the SG Arrival Card is where the period of stay and last day of stay are stated, so a wrong address means not knowing when you must leave.
From 11 March 2022, all foreign visitors arriving in Singapore will be notified digitally of their Visit Pass (e-Pass) through email. There will not be any endorsement on your passport. The e-Pass notification will indicate the period of stay granted and last day of stay allowed.
- The SG Arrival Card is not a visaICA says so on the visa page itself, because the two are routinely confused. Submitting an arrival card does not obtain a visa, and a visa does not remove the arrival-card obligation.
SG Arrival Card is not a visa.
- For 14 nationalities a letter of introduction is only case-by-caseArmenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Read from ICA's own detail pages and re-provable with scripts/visa-registry/sg-entry-visa-groups.mjs.
Additional supporting documents (e.g., Form V39A (PDF, 192KB) (Letter of Introduction for Visa Application (LOI)) may be required on a case-by-case basis.
- Who may issue that letter of introductionA Singapore citizen or permanent resident, at least 21, with a Singpass account. For a business visit the contact must act for the Singapore-registered business. ICA also allows the applicant's own embassy to issue the letter where no local contact can be secured — the escape hatch that keeps this from being a hard sponsor requirement.
*The local contact must be either a Singapore citizen (SC) or a Singapore permanent resident (PR) who is at least 21 years old with a Singpass account. If you are applying for an entry visa for business visit (attending business negotiations or discussions), the local contact must be acting on behalf of the Singapore-registered business entity. LOIs issued by your Embassy can also be accepted, if you are unable to secure an LOI from a local contact to support your visa application for social and business visits.
Official forms
- Form 14A, completed and signed by you (14A)The application form itself. ICA states that the application is decided on what this form declares, and that it may ask for the form to be produced.
Duly completed Form 14A (PDF, 202KB) signed by you. Your visa application shall be made based on the information declared in this form. ICA may request for the form to be submitted.
Official form - For 19 nationalities a completed Form V39A letter of introduction is required (V39A)Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. Not case-by-case: the form is on the required-documents list. Same visa, same fee, same processing time as the other 14 — and a Singaporean sponsor is needed before the application can be made at all.
A completed Form V39A (PDF, 192KB)(Letter of Introduction for Visa Application (LOI)), which may be issued by a local contact* in Singapore.
Official form
Documents you must provide
- A passport-sized colour photograph taken within the last three monthsThree months, not the usual six.
Your recent passport-sized colour photograph taken within the last three months.
- A photocopy of your passport biodata page, valid at least six months from entryThe six months runs from the date you enter Singapore, not from the date you apply.
A photocopy of your passport biodata page (valid for at least six months from the date of your entry into Singapore)
- Originals plus official translations, and copies for ICA to keepICA names who may translate — the issuing country's embassy, a notary public, or a private translation attested or notarised — and says plainly that it endorses no translation company and that insufficient documentation may mean the application is not accepted.
You will need to provide original documents and official translations (for documents in languages other than English), as well as copies of the documents for ICA to retain.
Steps in the process
- The application cannot be handed in at an immigration counterThere is no over-the-counter route at the border.
ICA does not accept submission of visa application over the immigration counters.
- Submit online through a Singapore local contact or a strategic partnerThe e-Service is not opened to the applicant directly. Somebody in Singapore with a Singpass or Corppass account submits on your behalf.
Your visa application can be submitted online using the e-Service through a strategic partner or a local contact in Singapore.
- Without a local contact, apply through an authorised visa agent or a Singapore overseas missionICA names the alternative rather than leaving the applicant stuck, and directs the detail question to the mission rather than answering it centrally.
If you do not have a Local Contact with a Singpass/Corppass account, you may submit the visa application: ... Through an authorised visa agent appointed by the Singapore Overseas Missions; or ... At the nearest Singapore Overseas Mission.
- Apply within 30 days before arrivalICA's own advice, on both regimes' pages, and it cuts both ways: too early is as much a problem as too late.
You are advised to apply for an entry visa within 30 days prior to arrival in Singapore.
- Processed within three working days, excluding the day you submitICA qualifies its own figure twice: the submission day does not count, and some applications take longer.
Your visa application will be processed within three working days (excluding the day of submission). Some applications may take longer to process.
Government fees
- S$30, non-refundable, paid online by Visa or MastercardSGD 30Non-refundable means it is spent whether or not the visa is granted, and ICA names the only two card networks it takes.
A S$30 non-refundable processing fee is payable online using a Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card.
Official sources
- India visa requirements — Document checklist, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
- Check if you need an entry visa — Requirements, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
- Pakistan visa requirements — Official form, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)