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Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

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imsanal
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Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by imsanal » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 11:29 pm

Hello all there,

I'm an Indian guy working on spass and I tried to bring my wife to sg on visit pass last month. My freind who is a sg citizen applied visa for her, and the visa ws approved by ICA. But when she landed at changi airport ICA refused entry and was send back to India on same day. They didn't gave any reason for refusal of entry, just stated "its due to immigration issues issues".

The background is she visited me last year 4 times and each time she stayed with me one month each. I don't know whether thats the reason. They took copies of all the documents she had and took finger print and photograph before sending her back India.

Is there any option I can apply the visa again? Also we are planning to join college, so that she can do her master degree here and also stay with me. Will the entry refusal affect student visa approval?

Please help

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by imsanal » Sun, 26 Jul 2015 11:38 pm

She didn't overstayed a single day nor she have done any illegal activities here during her last visits. Only thing she have done is job search and she told the same at immigration point. She also stated that she s trying to get master degree admission in sg.

Please help. Thanks in advance.

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Re: RE: Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by ecureilx » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:07 am

imsanal wrote:She didn't overstayed a single day nor she have done any illegal activities here during her last visits. Only thing she have done is job search and she told the same at immigration point. She also stated that she s trying to get master degree admission in sg.

Please help. Thanks in advance.
Fill form 14, and submit it to ICA.

Maybe a case of mistaken identity or ... your wife couldn't explain something.

Unlike in another Asian country nearby, searching for a job is not a crime in Singapore

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sgstrait » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 7:08 am

They may have thought that staying four months a year on a simple entry visa is excessive. Two more months and you become tax resident. To be resident here need a long term pass.

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 8:17 am

My thoughts exactly. Also, obtaining a visa to visit Singapore is not a guarantee of being allowed in. Like everything in Singapore, all is given but contingent on the officer dealing with at the time. A lot of items throw up red flags for closer inspection and it sounds like her passport was flagged on the previous trip. As wives are not allow to be on DP passes for S pass holders, it was pretty obvious to the Immigration Officer that you and your wife were trying to circumvent the rules governing the issuance of S passes and the restriction of having a spouse residing here without the proper visa.

You did not indicate what your salary was so I am assuming that is was under 4,000/mo as that is the minimum salary on an S pass for a spouse to be allowed to stay here on a Dependent Pass. Just for awareness sake, that minimum will be raised to a minimum salary of 5K/mo with effect from 1 September 2015 (5 weeks from now)).

So, with that in mind, and the fact that an employer would obviously much rather put you on an EP (low level) as then they would save between $315 and $550 dollars that they current have to pay for S pass holders (No levies - YET - for EP holders and no CPF payments either. So this is why my assumption that your salary level is below 4K/mo. I'm pretty sure this is also why ICA has rejected your wife's entrance for a 5th time in a 12 month span.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by imsanal » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 9:55 am

sundaymorningstaple wrote:My thoughts exactly. Also, obtaining a visa to visit Singapore is not a guarantee of being allowed in. Like everything in Singapore, all is given but contingent on the officer dealing with at the time. A lot of items throw up red flags for closer inspection and it sounds like her passport was flagged on the previous trip. As wives are not allow to be on DP passes for S pass holders, it was pretty obvious to the Immigration Officer that you and your wife were trying to circumvent the rules governing the issuance of S passes and the restriction of having a spouse residing here without the proper visa.

You did not indicate what your salary was so I am assuming that is was under 4,000/mo as that is the minimum salary on an S pass for a spouse to be allowed to stay here on a Dependent Pass. Just for awareness sake, that minimum will be raised to a minimum salary of 5K/mo with effect from 1 September 2015 (5 weeks from now)).

So, with that in mind, and the fact that an employer would obviously much rather put you on an EP (low level) as then they would save between $315 and $550 dollars that they current have to pay for S pass holders (No levies - YET - for EP holders and no CPF payments either. So this is why my assumption that your salary level is below 4K/mo. I'm pretty sure this is also why ICA has rejected your wife's entrance for a 5th time in a 12 month span.

Thank you all for the info. I wasn't aware about this thing of staying in Singapore for more than 5 months a year using entry visa. I think that should be the reason for refusal of entry.

All the previous visits were done during 2014. This is the first time she came to Singapore in 2015 and she was send back. What I'm afraid is will there be any ban imposed on her? If we apply student visa whether this U-turn will be a reason for rejection of student pass?

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:14 pm

She will probably not be allowed in for 6 months although we have nothing in black & white on that. But it seems, from anecdotal evidence, that it's usually that long as a minimum for those who are found abusing the system. However, with the mindset of the citizens in the run up to the coming GE it might be even longer than that. No telling what is going to happen after that. If you will reread my earlier post you will note I didn't say in a calendar year. I said in a 12 month span (that can cross over from one calendar year to the next). In Singapore it doesn't pay to abuse the system.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sgstrait » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:20 pm

I agree with all that. The best way to achieve your goal is doing it the proper way. Improve your salary and your pass so that you get a proper right for your wife to enter using the proper entry procedures for spouses. Otherwise everyone would be here.

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:31 pm

Also, based on the fact that she has been refused entry already (probably for the spoken about abuse) any application will be seen for what it probably is, just another way for you to try to game the system here. They have seen that as well and unless she is accepted into one of the "vetted" schools here (most are not) she will be rejected and even if she is accepted to an accepted school, she may still be rejected as they will assume it nothing but more abuse as she would have applied for a student pass in 2014 on her first or second visit here. Do you think the officers at ICA are bumbling idiots? They've seen it all before. Umpteen times.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: RE: Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by ecureilx » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:54 pm

imsanal wrote: All the previous visits were done during 2014. This is the first time she came to Singapore in 2015 and she was send back. What I'm afraid is will there be any ban imposed on her? If we apply student visa whether this U-turn will be a reason for rejection of student pass?
Go the form 14 way, for now

Meantime do you have enough finance for stories ?

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by komatineni » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 5:18 pm

This is certainly something which i haven't heard before. I have seen people staying here more than 6 months in a year with visa free status (couple months, then a week out and return) as recently as last year. So I don't think OP is intentionally 'abusing' the system. I dont even use the word abuse here. If ICA really want to stop people coming over to Singapore on SVP they could have stopped issuing the visa altogether.
Anyway, the student pass is a legal way and my 2c is try not to spend money on private schools/collages. If your wife could get in to the local schools that would be the best. i.e. NUS, NTU, SMU etc.

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 5:42 pm

I've been here over 30 years and in HR for the last 20 years. Just because you haven't heard about it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just my 2c and a heck of a lot of anecdotal evidence that it does in fact happen. And yes, if you come from a country with a 90 day visa, it is, in fact possible, but if you come from a 3rd world country on a 30 day visa it gets much trickier. after the 3rd or 4th entry. This especially so when they keep tightening up the requirements for work pass holders with regards to who can apply for DP and who cannot. As mentioned, the minimum salary for Dependents for S pass holders will be raised to 5K/mo on 1 Sept. There is a reason for doing this. By separating families ICA is hoping to thin out the ranks of S pass holders and other work pass holders without seeming to be doing so. If families cannot stay together then the odds of the S pass hold returning to their country of origin is much higher. You need to see it from the larger perspective. Everything they have done since the 2011 GE is been geared to make S pass holder less welcome as these are the PMET positions that have been usurped the most by all of the Asian neighbours. Raise the levies, reduce the quota percentages and raise the income levels required to have a normal family unit here and it is starting to reduce the demographics that got out of hand from 2000 to to 2010. Sure they could, as you say, stop issuing SVPs but that is no good for tourism. But when the Immigration office check and finds a pattern, then it's only a matter of time.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sgstrait » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 5:47 pm

Yeah and they're tightening up all levels of foreign workers. This is their way of improving quality of foreign workers.

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by komatineni » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 5:49 pm

I am not saying that it doesnt exist. But I do have reservations using the word 'abuse'. It seems there are different rules which probably only ICA is aware. So we all can guess why and not to jump on conclusions.

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Re: Entry rejected at Changi airport while holding a approved entry visa

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 6:02 pm

A rose by any other name is still a rose. And certain groups of people have been "taking advantage?" of the system for a long time and in the eyes of most, it is abuse of the system, or trying to 'game' the system. Even ICA calls it abuse. So how?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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