border crossing twice to stay 3-month in SIN

[zorysia]

Hi! I'm hoping someone out there would be able to provide us with some information on this:

my boyfriend who's of EU nationality would be coming with me to SIN to look for a permanent job. I read from previous posts in this forum that foreign visitors would only have 30 days tourist visa stamp. We've bought a 3-month air-ticket; however we don't wish to go through the hassle of applying for a long-term social visit visa. My question is: would it be possible for him to travel to Batam/Bintan/Johor Bahru and still get another 30 days upon entering SIN? This means that he'd have to cross the border twice in order to fully stay 3 months in SIN. Is this method viable? Has anyone been through similar situation?

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone of you can shed some light on this. Thanks in advance!

[Guest]

Hi! I'm hoping someone out there would be able to provide us with some information on this:

my boyfriend who's of EU nationality would be coming with me to SIN to look for a permanent job. I read from previous posts in this forum that foreign visitors would only have 30 days tourist visa stamp. We've bought a 3-month air-ticket; however we don't wish to go through the hassle of applying for a long-term social visit visa. My question is: would it be possible for him to travel to Batam/Bintan/Johor Bahru and still get another 30 days upon entering SIN? This means that he'd have to cross the border twice in order to fully stay 3 months in SIN. Is this method viable? Has anyone been through similar situation?

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone of you can shed some light on this. Thanks in advance!

Yes it is acceptable, but whatever you do, do not risk over staying the 30 day limit. I believe first offenders can get a max 6 months prison

[Guest]

Yes, I've been in a similar situation. It's viable, it's acceptable, but it's certainly not fool-proof. For starters, hopping across to JB and the likes will get you 14 days only. Not 30 days. So that ups the number of border runs he's got to do to cover the 3 months.

More importantly - and more ominously - you're not guaranteed to get any days at all. Whether or not you're allowed in is "up to the discretion of the immigration officer".

He's a outward-bound ticket, which works in his favor in the stamp sweepstakes. But I wouldn't count on this method.

Why not hop over to Lavender MRT station (Immigration) and request for a 3 month visa. It seems like this is a lot less "hassle" than all these border-runs. No?

G

P.S. Flying in and out of Singapore increases your chances of getting 30 days.

[Yutenji]

Hi, previous replies are spot-on. You 'might' get away with it, but the immigration officers are nowhere near as dumb as we'd like to hope!
A colleague of mine played this game for a long time, but was finally given a "leave the country within 3 days" chop!
If your friend already has a return ticket & EU passport, there should be no real problem to get a 3 month visa.
Good luck

[zorysia]

Thanks for the above replies.

We've been reading the info at www.icac.gov.sg. There are 2 relevant visas we think he can choose to apply for. That is: (a) Social Visitor on Short Visit & (b) Social Visitor Seeking Employment in SIN under the Long Term Social Visit Pass.

I've read from somewhere besides a return air-ticket, the ICAC requires a written proof that my boyfriend has every intention to return to his home-country. This written evidence could be a letter of employment from his current employer.

Another thing which is dissuading us from applying a 3 months social visit visa is: we contacted the Contact Singapore in Europe and they suggested that my boyfriend applied for an EPEC (Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate) which we haven't heard of. CS made the enquiry on our behalves and understood that he didn't qualified for this. No reason was given but we were told anyhow that EPEC doesn't gurantee one immediate qualification for EP.

Now, does anyone know if the EPEC is similar to the Social Visitor Seeking Employment in SIN under the under the Long Term Social Visit Pass? We're wondering if the best bet would be to apply for the Social Visitor on Short Visit visa.

Please kindly advice us if we've overlooked on some things. Also, can anyone let us know what other documents would be needed to apply for the 3 months social visitor short visit visa? We'd like to hear from anyone who've experienced similar situations or know of someone who had. Thanks once again!

[joyful12]

My bf has almost the same situation as Zorysia. He is French and is planning to stay with me in SIngapore. Right now, I am rather worried whether he will be able to get the stay of 30 days in SIN of free visa. He has bought an air ticket from Kuala Lumpur to SIngapore and the date of departure is after 2 months he arrives Singapore. I wonder this is acceptable by the Customs officer as I know one of the requirement is to have an air-ticket out from Singapore upon arrival. Will they look specifically when is the departure date? Anyone, any idea??

I called the Singapore Immigration yesterday and I was told by the customer service that the duration of stay for free visa is from 14 days to 30 days, depending on the Customs officer on duty.

The 90 days free visa is subject to approval and applies on case by case basis. Also, the 90 days free visa can be applied when you are in Singapore. Just go to the Singapore Immigration dept at Kallang Road for the application. So anyone thought a free visa of 90 days will be given, this is just partially true.

Awaiting advises..

By the way, Zorysia are you in Singapore yet?? if yes, how did you handle his visa issue, could you please share. I am really desperately needs advise.

[zorysia]

Hi Joyful12,

In answer to your question, we aren't in Singapore yet. We'll only arrive in mid-July.

Honestly, we haven't decided on the best option for his visa situation. He has already bought a 3-month return air-ticket before we realized that as an EU citizen, he'd only obtain 30 days tourist visa upon arrival. (He was visiting SIN for 2 weeks in 2004 but it hadn't crossed our minds to check the visa stamp in his passport. Anyway the stamp stated 30 days of stay.) Additionally we haven't decided on a suitable reply in case the Immigration Officer at Changi Inter'l Airport would to enquire about his return date on the air-ticket. At the moment, we've too much on our plate, so I guess we'll cross the bridge when we come to it.

Alternatively, we're also thinking of flying to Bangkok as one of the posters had suggested. As flying could possibly enabled the visitor to obtain a 30 days visa stamp. So you might wish to consider this option as well.

I wish you & your boyfriend luck. I understand that the situation could be difficult and at times hopeless. Don't give up though, when there's a will, there's a way.

[xq]

Thanks for the above replies.

We've been reading the info at www.icac.gov.sg. There are 2 relevant visas we think he can choose to apply for. That is: (a) Social Visitor on Short Visit & (b) Social Visitor Seeking Employment in SIN under the Long Term Social Visit Pass.

I just gave a call to ICA because I have similar queries like yours, except that i am a local. Just to clear some doubts, I was told that to apply for a LTSVP, you don't need a valid air ticket. LTSVP is usually given for a period of 3-6 months stay in Singapore.

[fx8fx]

Hi! I'm hoping someone out there would be able to provide us with some information on this:

my boyfriend who's of EU nationality would be coming with me to SIN to look for a permanent job. I read from previous posts in this forum that foreign visitors would only have 30 days tourist visa stamp. We've bought a 3-month air-ticket; however we don't wish to go through the hassle of applying for a long-term social visit visa. My question is: would it be possible for him to travel to Batam/Bintan/Johor Bahru and still get another 30 days upon entering SIN? This means that he'd have to cross the border twice in order to fully stay 3 months in SIN. Is this method viable? Has anyone been through similar situation?

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone of you can shed some light on this. Thanks in advance!

in case
to look for a permanent job


http://www.contactsingapore.org.sg/movi ... bity.shtml

Employment Pass Eligibility (EPE) Certificate

An EPE certificate will be issued to foreign professionals who hold acceptable degrees, professional qualifications or specialist skills and who would like to have a longer stay in order to seek employment in Singapore. With this certificate, foreign professionals can apply for a 6-month social visit pass to allow them sufficient time to look for a job in Singapore. The EPE certificate is issued on a one time basis and is non-renewable.

Foreign professionals with an EPE certificate will be issued with an employment pass by Work Pass Department upon securing a job in Singapore.

Foreign professionals should apply for an EPE certificate only when they are ready to come to Singapore. They will still need to apply for a relevant visa to enter Singapore (if a visa is required) even if they hold a valid EPE certificate.


i 8) good luck