Singapore, one of the most exciting places to visit in Southeast Asia. Singapore is a nice combination of both eastern and western culture, values, and lifestyle. Singapore is officially known as the Republic of Singapore. But, it has other names such as the Lion City, the Garden City or the Little Red Dot. Singapore is known as a global commerce, finance, and transport hub. It is also known as the most “technology-ready” nation, best investment potential city, top international meetings city, second-most competitive country, third-largest foreign exchange market, third-largest financial center, third-largest oil refining and trading center, the second-busiest container port, and as tax heaven. Sounds exciting, Nah? Then, plan for a visit to Singapore for your next vacation. You are going to love it. Here, we will guide you through step by step procedure to apply for Singapore VISA.
1. The first thing you need is to think about the type of VISA you need, i.e. the purpose of your visit to Singapore. Are you planning to work for a while under Work and Holiday Program Singapore? Or, you just want to enjoy the beauty of Singapore as a tourist? If you are planning to work under Work Holiday Program Singapore, I recommend you to read this page where you will find all information need to know. Otherwise, just follow the next steps.
2. It’s a good idea to check whether you need a VISA or not to visit Singapore. Based on your citizenship or the country providing your permanent residence, the VISA requirements might vary. You can check this simply from this link. If you figure out that you don’t need VISA to visit Singapore, then that’s great. For example, if you hold a travel document, i.e. passport issued by a country which is not listed on the list then you don’t need a VISA to visit Singapore. If you need a VISA, then follow the next steps.
3. Find out overseas mission representing Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs. You can find all the lists here.
4. Then your task is to download the VISA application form, fill up the form, attach required documents (see next point), and send it to that overseas mission you selected in step 3. You can choose to send it by post or simply you can send your application as an email attachment. Please remember that you might need to send your passport as well depending on your citizenship or the country providing your permanent residence permit. They need your passport to post (stamp) the VISA sticker on your passport. Please double check the address you are going to send your passport. Send an email to the overseas mission asking the exact address. It’s a good idea to gather all you question and email them at once.
The application form is called “Form IMM 14A”. You can download the form directly from here or you can download it from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website.
5. One useful document is Letter of Introduction (LOI). It means that someone holding a permanent residence permit in Singapore or a citizen from Singapore can recommend you to visit Singapore. It helps a lot to get the VISA if you know someone living in Singapore. This LOI can also be your business partner in Singapore. But, don’t worry if you don’t know someone who can provide you an LOI. Just ignore this LOI and proceed with your application. This LOI is not a must but it helps a lot to get the VISA. This form called “Form V39A” and you can download it directly from this link or from ICA website mentioned in the previous step.
Among other documents, you need to submit a copy of your valid passport, your current residence permit provided by the country you are currently living, your travel itinerary (travel tickets to and from Singapore), one copy of your photo in white background, application fee, and postal fee to return your passport and VISA back to you. Your photo should be in JPEG format, less than 60 Kbytes in size, and dimensions must be 400 x 514 pixels. You must pay a processing fee in advance to get your processing started. Please ask the overseas mission for bank details and the amount of processing fee. You can also pay the postal fee together with the processing fee. You can choose whether you want your passport and VISA to be delivered to you either by DHL or registered postal service.
6. Once you have completed above steps, then you are done! Congratulations!! All you need to do now is to wait for the decision. Usually, it takes around 5-10 working days, but it may vary. It’s good to apply in advance so you will have time to prepare for your visit. You can always send them an email asking the progress of your application. Usually, they reply quite fast.
