Rejected Entry to Singapore (Changi Airport)

[itachipawn]

Hello, I am a Singapore citizen and my girlfriend is from South Korea. I've seen some similar post however most of the post involved people using a 3rd world passport. From what I've read, immigration treat people holding different class of passport different (Correct me if I'm wrong).
She came to Singapore Via Terminal 3 and was rejected entry by the ICA officer, only reason given was she did not fulfilled requirements to enter Singapore.

Some background about her. She was working here in Singapore as a Kitchen staff in some restaurant. At around June 2016, she accidentally got her hand messed up by a grinding machine. The company sent her back to Korea for the full medical treatment there. After awhile, she was informed by the company that she was terminated. After she fully recovered, she came back to Singapore using White Card on 22nd Oct 2016 and was allowed to stay in Singapore for 90 days. She then began to look for a job while staying in Singapore (I believe this is not illegal?)

Early January 2017, she went to Malaysia with her roommates to get her hair done at the saloon there. Eventually when she came back to Singapore, she was stopped and ushered to a holding room by the officer whereas her roommates all had no issues (work permit holder). The officer checked her bag and phone. I believe they suspect her of illegal employment. Fingerprint was recorded. Subsequently they released her after not finding any incriminating materials in her phone.

22nd January 2017, her last day allowed in Singapore, still no luck in job. So she flew back to Korea and celebrated New Year with her family there.

9th February 2017, she flew back to Singapore however she was rejected entry reason being she did not fulfill requirements to enter. She did not have a return ticket booked. She has accommodation ready for her and also a pending interview today (10th Feb). Currently I heard she is hold up in the holding room/ lodging and I have no means to contact her. She has not overstayed nor committed any offences. I managed to call the ICA after hours of trying and the officer told me that she will be able to come back if she have a MOM letter or a work permit.

My questions:
1) Will she be staying at the lodging until she managed to book a flight back?
2) Is the flight back covered by the airline or she have to pay herself?
3) Is the cost of staying at the lodging expensive?
4) I heard that people who have been rejected entry before have difficulty applying for job,
is it true?

Need all the help I can get

[PNGMK]

It sounds as though she has hit a black list as a visa-border runner. Try obtaining a visa (with your sponsoring her) from the Singapore embassy in Korea.

For work issues I don't think it will be a major issue with MOM but it will be hard finding a job from Korea.

She's probably already on a flight back to Korea at the airlines expense (and they will try to get her to pay). The lodging is a jail basically.

[itachipawn]

Thanks for the response! For the sponsorship, if the company is keen on hiring her, the company will communicate with MOM and be the sponsoring party indicated in the ICA Form 14 right? Does she need both the company and me to sponsor or having the company sponsor be good enough? First time dealing with this issue, not a chance to explain was given Called ICA earlier just now and was informed that she will have to bring along a copy of the form together with MOM letter/ work permit and she comes back for work. Confused if the form is put up by her future company or me -cross fingers-

[ecureilx]

Thanks for the response! For the sponsorship, if the company is keen on hiring her, the company will communicate with MOM and be the sponsoring party indicated in the ICA Form 14 right? Does she need both the company and me to sponsor or having the company sponsor be good enough? First time dealing with this issue, not a chance to explain was given Called ICA earlier just now and was informed that she will have to bring along a copy of the form together with MOM letter/ work permit and she comes back for work. Confused if the form is put up by her future company or me -cross fingers-

If she found a job, employer will Apply for EP. Not form 14.

From 14 is for YOU to appeal to ICA, to let her come in under SVP.

Most employers, especially kiasu ones, will refuse to sign form 14 as it talks about being a guarantor and such

[itachipawn]

Thanks for the response! For the sponsorship, if the company is keen on hiring her, the company will communicate with MOM and be the sponsoring party indicated in the ICA Form 14 right? Does she need both the company and me to sponsor or having the company sponsor be good enough? First time dealing with this issue, not a chance to explain was given Called ICA earlier just now and was informed that she will have to bring along a copy of the form together with MOM letter/ work permit and she comes back for work. Confused if the form is put up by her future company or me -cross fingers-

If she found a job, employer will Apply for EP. Not form 14.

From 14 is for YOU to appeal to ICA, to let her come in under SVP.

Most employers, especially kiasu ones, will refuse to sign form 14 as it talks about being a guarantor and such

Thanks for the response. So to confirm, do I put up Form 14 first or wait until the employer applied for the EP, then I send in Form 14? Not really sure how the process goes chronologically...

[x9200]

Hello, I am a Singapore citizen and my girlfriend is from South Korea. I've seen some similar post however most of the post involved people using a 3rd world passport. From what I've read, immigration treat people holding different class of passport different (Correct me if I'm wrong).
She came to Singapore Via Terminal 3 and was rejected entry by the ICA officer, only reason given was she did not fulfilled requirements to enter Singapore.

Some background about her. She was working here in Singapore as a Kitchen staff in some restaurant. At around June 2016, she accidentally got her hand messed up by a grinding machine. The company sent her back to Korea for the full medical treatment there. After awhile, she was informed by the company that she was terminated. After she fully recovered, she came back to Singapore using White Card on 22nd Oct 2016 and was allowed to stay in Singapore for 90 days. She then began to look for a job while staying in Singapore (I believe this is not illegal?)

Early January 2017, she went to Malaysia with her roommates to get her hair done at the saloon there. Eventually when she came back to Singapore, she was stopped and ushered to a holding room by the officer whereas her roommates all had no issues (work permit holder). The officer checked her bag and phone. I believe they suspect her of illegal employment. Fingerprint was recorded. Subsequently they released her after not finding any incriminating materials in her phone.

22nd January 2017, her last day allowed in Singapore, still no luck in job. So she flew back to Korea and celebrated New Year with her family there.

9th February 2017, she flew back to Singapore however she was rejected entry reason being she did not fulfill requirements to enter. She did not have a return ticket booked. She has accommodation ready for her and also a pending interview today (10th Feb). Currently I heard she is hold up in the holding room/ lodging and I have no means to contact her. She has not overstayed nor committed any offences. I managed to call the ICA after hours of trying and the officer told me that she will be able to come back if she have a MOM letter or a work permit.

My questions:
1) Will she be staying at the lodging until she managed to book a flight back?
2) Is the flight back covered by the airline or she have to pay herself?
3) Is the cost of staying at the lodging expensive?
4) I heard that people who have been rejected entry before have difficulty applying for job,
is it true?

Need all the help I can get

Something seems wrong (see underlined). If she left for Malaysia, this normally would cancel her previous 90 days visa, so how can her last legal day of stay be 22nd of January... theoretically of course possible but looks a bit weird - was she given 14 days visiting Malaysia on the 8th of January?

[itachipawn]

Hello, I am a Singapore citizen and my girlfriend is from South Korea. I've seen some similar post however most of the post involved people using a 3rd world passport. From what I've read, immigration treat people holding different class of passport different (Correct me if I'm wrong).
She came to Singapore Via Terminal 3 and was rejected entry by the ICA officer, only reason given was she did not fulfilled requirements to enter Singapore.

Some background about her. She was working here in Singapore as a Kitchen staff in some restaurant. At around June 2016, she accidentally got her hand messed up by a grinding machine. The company sent her back to Korea for the full medical treatment there. After awhile, she was informed by the company that she was terminated. After she fully recovered, she came back to Singapore using White Card on 22nd Oct 2016 and was allowed to stay in Singapore for 90 days. She then began to look for a job while staying in Singapore (I believe this is not illegal?)

Early January 2017, she went to Malaysia with her roommates to get her hair done at the saloon there. Eventually when she came back to Singapore, she was stopped and ushered to a holding room by the officer whereas her roommates all had no issues (work permit holder). The officer checked her bag and phone. I believe they suspect her of illegal employment. Fingerprint was recorded. Subsequently they released her after not finding any incriminating materials in her phone.

22nd January 2017, her last day allowed in Singapore, still no luck in job. So she flew back to Korea and celebrated New Year with her family there.

9th February 2017, she flew back to Singapore however she was rejected entry reason being she did not fulfill requirements to enter. She did not have a return ticket booked. She has accommodation ready for her and also a pending interview today (10th Feb). Currently I heard she is hold up in the holding room/ lodging and I have no means to contact her. She has not overstayed nor committed any offences. I managed to call the ICA after hours of trying and the officer told me that she will be able to come back if she have a MOM letter or a work permit.

My questions:
1) Will she be staying at the lodging until she managed to book a flight back?
2) Is the flight back covered by the airline or she have to pay herself?
3) Is the cost of staying at the lodging expensive?
4) I heard that people who have been rejected entry before have difficulty applying for job,
is it true?

Need all the help I can get

Something seems wrong (see underlined). If she left for Malaysia, this normally would cancel her previous 90 days visa, so how can her last legal day of stay be 22nd of January... theoretically of course possible but looks a bit weird - was she given 14 days visiting Malaysia on the 8th of January?

Sorry for the confusion, I'll clarify on the issue. She indeed came to Singapore on 22nd October 2016. The exact date she went to Malaysia with her room mate was on 18th January 2017 for a day trip and came back the same night when she got detained for the first time. Officer did a check on her, acquired her finger prints and let her go. The officer then chopped her passport to allow her stay in Singapore until 22nd January 2017 (4 more days from date of being detained, coincidentally or not, the same date as originally date allowed for her to stay when she came from Korea). At that point of time, she had not booked a return air ticket yet which I suspect may have caused the suspicion. After she reached Korea, she messaged me telling me that earlier she asked Singapore's immigration officer if she will have any complications when she come back in the future as she had her finger print recorded and the officer said that there will be no issue.

As of now, she is still in the holding room with no means of getting in contact with and will only be boarding the flight back home tomorrow 11 pm. Meaning that she had to spend 2 full days at the 'lockup' without committing any offences and have to waste the money of the flight ticket. When she was here, she spent the day together with my family while looking for kitchen jobs through the web. When we're not together, we communicate through Whatsapp Video Call so I believe that there is zero chance for any misconduct and illegal employment. Sincerely need any advice I can get from expert bros

[taxico]

...After she reached Korea, she messaged me telling me that earlier she asked Singapore's immigration officer if she will have any complications when she come back in the future as she had her finger print recorded and the officer said that there will be no issue.

As of now, she is still in the holding room with no means of getting in contact with and will only be boarding the flight back home tomorrow 11 pm. Meaning that she had to spend 2 full days at the 'lockup' without committing any offences and have to waste the money of the flight ticket. When she was here, she spent the day together with my family while looking for kitchen jobs through the web. When we're not together, we communicate through Whatsapp Video Call so I believe that there is zero chance for any misconduct and illegal employment. Sincerely need any advice I can get from expert bros

i think there may be a few ways of looking at this. regardless of the language proficiency of her and the person fingerprinting her, without getting it in writing, there's no way to know for sure what "no issue" means - if that person had indeed meant what he/she said.

(perhaps if your girlfriend had come back in 1 year's time, it would be "no issue"?)

i don't think you can fault ICA for holding her for so long for what looks like no good reason - some times the airline has no available seat for an inadmissable passenger... the airline will also (likely) be paying for all the costs incurred (the room/bed and guards cost money and is not cheap) during the detention.

so, the sooner they give her a seat, the less the airline has to pay ICA. the airline may or may not chase her for payment...

i do not believe ICA has anything against foreigners with an SVP attending job interviews, or even looking through the singapore classifieds. none of that is paid work.

perhaps it's not so much that your girlfriend took part in illegal employment, but whether or not her travel patterns and work history suggests to the average immigration officer that there's a good chance she fits the mold of an unwanted (or non-bona-fide) visitor.

none of the above matters in the long run - i think it would help if you figured out what she/you want out of this entire exercise... and work towards getting those answers.

[itachipawn]

...After she reached Korea, she messaged me telling me that earlier she asked Singapore's immigration officer if she will have any complications when she come back in the future as she had her finger print recorded and the officer said that there will be no issue.

As of now, she is still in the holding room with no means of getting in contact with and will only be boarding the flight back home tomorrow 11 pm. Meaning that she had to spend 2 full days at the 'lockup' without committing any offences and have to waste the money of the flight ticket. When she was here, she spent the day together with my family while looking for kitchen jobs through the web. When we're not together, we communicate through Whatsapp Video Call so I believe that there is zero chance for any misconduct and illegal employment. Sincerely need any advice I can get from expert bros

i think there may be a few ways of looking at this. regardless of the language proficiency of her and the person fingerprinting her, without getting it in writing, there's no way to know for sure what "no issue" means - if that person had indeed meant what he/she said.

(perhaps if your girlfriend had come back in 1 year's time, it would be "no issue"?)

i don't think you can fault ICA for holding her for so long for what looks like no good reason - some times the airline has no available seat for an inadmissable passenger... the airline will also (likely) be paying for all the costs incurred (the room/bed and guards cost money and is not cheap) during the detention.

so, the sooner they give her a seat, the less the airline has to pay ICA. the airline may or may not chase her for payment...

i do not believe ICA has anything against foreigners with an SVP attending job interviews, or even looking through the singapore classifieds. none of that is paid work.

perhaps it's not so much that your girlfriend took part in illegal employment, but whether or not her travel patterns and work history suggests to the average immigration officer that there's a good chance she fits the mold of an unwanted (or non-bona-fide) visitor.

none of the above matters in the long run - i think it would help if you figured out what she/you want out of this entire exercise... and work towards getting those answers.

Ah thanks for clarifying, really appreciate it. Just hoping that there will be an employer willing to become the sponsor for her to land a job and enter Singapore, sigh...

[PNGMK]

We are seeing a very strong pattern of ICA turning back people they consider to be visa runners. There has been a definite up tick in the last 6 months. I don't think any of the old rules apply anymore. This makes it very hard to work out where the line is for;

1. What a reasonable number of visits is to Singapore
2. How long you need to be away before returning
3. What relationships or activities are permitted in Singapore while visiting (I'm not joking on that one - you ask yourself if this gal would have had the same issues if she did not have a SC bf?).

[taxico]

Ah thanks for clarifying, really appreciate it. Just hoping that there will be an employer willing to become the sponsor for her to land a job and enter Singapore, sigh...

which was probably what you wanted to find out all along.

if your gf is willing to accept the low pay, there are plenty of job placement companies in SK that can find her a job in a singapore hotel (or even some sort of korean-owned business) on a WP.

the working conditions will not be the best, but she can look for something else when she's in sg.

just be mindful she will need to apply for permission (ex-WP-holder) if you two want to take it one step further...

[itachipawn]

Hello, just to check. My girlfriend has reached home and her passport has not been chopped stating how long has she been banned from entering Singapore, I've read that usually they will chop saying the ban period. My question is, what is the usual time period when the ban will be lifted (6months?). Does this ban thing only apply to white card? Will it be okay if she comes back using study pass or work permit?

[ecureilx]

Hello, just to check. My girlfriend has reached home and her passport has not been chopped stating how long has she been banned from entering Singapore, I've read that usually they will chop saying the ban period. My question is, what is the usual time period when the ban will be lifted (6months?). Does this ban thing only apply to white card? Will it be okay if she comes back using study pass or work permit?

To be safe, apply for A visa, Form 14A.

Chops happen if deported or despatched for nefarious reasons.

[itachipawn]

Hello, Dropping another question here. If my girlfriend found a job, the company will apply EP for her, Do I still need to put up form 14?

[ecureilx]

Hello, Dropping another question here. If my girlfriend found a job, the company will apply EP for her, Do I still need to put up form 14?

Going by recent events, EP still doesn't guarantee entry ..

Form 14A is recommended