chyrasg wrote:Therefore, the compromise could be for him to come to Singapore as a tourist, stay for just under 30 days, leave the country for 2 weeks or so, and then come back again with renewed 30 days.
There is nothing in the Singapore Immigration Act, dated 2008, saying he could not do so:
http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/d ... shed;rec=0
The ICA site says each case is judged individually & speaks about leaving for at least 5 days before returning again.
Other countries have had specific written rules forbidding what you suggest, but not Singapore. If that was something they wished to forbid, then it begs the question, why do they not simply make the rule, like others have done? Thailand, for example, had a rule a few years ago about visitors only being allowed to stay in Thailand 3 months out of every six.
Clearly SG wants to let some people in very liberally, like first world passport holders, and others of less desirable nationalities they often prefer to bar them quickly, even at their first attempt to enter the island. Therefore making an entry rule re frequency of visits that applied to everyone indiscriminately would not be in harmony with their purposes. Consequently they have written that each case is to be judged on its own merits of lack thereof:
"Note: Possession of a visa alone does not guarantee a foreigner entry into Singapore. The grant of an immigration pass to a foreign visitor is determined by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the point of entry at Singapore checkpoints and each case is considered on its own merits."
http://www.ica.gov.sg/services_centre_o ... pageid=252
List of less prefered countries (whose nationals require a purchased entry visa) & basic entry requirements:
http://www.visasinfo.com/singapore.html
While there are no publicly written rules re the frequency of visits to SG allowed via SVP passes, there is the following report that reveals ICA's mind on the matter:
"i've been rejected from entering singapore, for the reason too frequent for visiting sg, they said i spent my time in sg longer more than indonesia in 1 year period."
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic95545.html
Which implies it is not acceptable for a SVP visitor to spend more than 182 days in one year in SG, while it may be okay to spend less than 183 days (or up to 182 days) a year in the city.
"they said i stayed too long and too often coming"
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic80802.html
Again, though, each case is looked at individually, and first world passport holders have a much better chance of obtaining regular long visits than others. In fact others may be denied entry after a few short visits or on a first visit for no reason other than they are from a poor country & meet particular other criterion, such as being of a certain gender (female suspected prostitutes) or religion, etc, as i show below.
There are recent reports of people (US citizens) getting 90 days, skipping back & forth across the border within a day or two, & getting another 90 STVP. This possibility isn't available to people of many other countries.
Additionally, in 2011, almost 1700 Indonesians were forbidden from entering Singapore via certain crossings simply because they had particular Muslim names & or appearances that were considered high risk for terrorism:
http://keprionline.blogspot.sg/2012/02/ ... -sign.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012 ... hecks.html
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw02/020226at.htm
I am not aware of a single case of a first world passport holder being denied for such reasons.
Singapore turns away ship believed carrying shipwrecked Rohingya Muslims (2012):
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/12 ... -rohingya/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 83548.html
In another example, a young man from Zimbabwe (3rd world passport) was denied entry after a few short visits to see his GF in SG. OTOH a young UK (first world passport) guy reported visiting SG numerous times over 3-4 years without immigration blinking an eyelash. Likewise with the Korean mentioned earlier in this thread who was visiting his GF in SG (over 7 months in a 14 month period). Similarly with another UK resident who has visited SG for many years, many times, at least 1 month per trip.
"...I hold a Zimbabwean passport and i'm only 24. what an experience for a first timmer!"
http://terryzade.hubpages.com/hub/travelsoutheastasia
Here a Vietnamese 30 year old female is denied entry & given no specific reason for it:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g2 ... apore.html
http://sgforums.com/forums/8/topics/460117?page=1
What ICA probably didn't want to tell her or her BF was she was suspected of being a prostitute and he her pimp. BTW almost every foreign illegal prostitute in SG comes from one of 5 poor countries: China, PI, Indonesia, Thailand & Vietnam.
In another case reported on this site, a Pakistani (developing Muslim nation) man made 4 short visits under 7 days each, then was denied:
"pply visit visa and i having a Pakistani passport. i been 4th times this year. but i only stay less then a week and go up to newzealand. i don't know why this times they rejected my application for tow times."
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... ight=visit
In another thread is mentioned the nationalities of people being deported:
"i understand usually if someone prohibited to enter, mostly female, that's what i see inside IP lounge, mostly young girls, from what i heard, 8 of them is from vietnam, 3 from china, 2 from thai, and 5 from phillipines, at the same time with me inside IP lounge waiting to deported, i assume they come for prostitute thing (maybe if i see their clothes.., but i won't judge them, that's not my bussiness), other than this, also many indian guys inside IP lounge also waiting for deported back, mostly of them cannot speak english..."
"oh yeah, and also 1 mexico guy at the same time waiting to deported back, i talk with him, and ask why, he also don't know why he will deported back, because this is his 1st time to enter sg, and have a legal visa, and didn't bring something that prohibited, evn the office didn't tell him the exact reason why he cannot enter..."
So there was not a single Westerner or person from a first world country in the bunch.
No doubt the vast majority, if not all, illegal immigrants who have decided to willfully overstay & live illegally in SG are people from poor countries, not places like Japan & the USA. Consequently it shouldn't be surprising that the former are the ones immigration officers are much more likely to be suspicious of, question, interrogate and deny entry.
"Being a small nation, Singapore can ill-afford immigrants smuggling in. Protecting its social compact is one reason, keeping crime rates low is another, but lately, with terrorists on the prowl, nothing is being left to chance."
Other reasons why a person may be refused entry on a first or subsequent visit are in sections 8 & 9 of the above linked Singapore Immigration Act. There have been no changes to those except for a small ammendment to section 8 in 2012 which makes it easier for people to enter SG. (Not surprising as the PAP plan to increase the number of tourists from a record high 22 million in 2012 to 30 million in the next few years).
The restrictions of sections 8 include individuals having a foreign criminal record or prostitution career, certain types of political activists, insufficient funds or likely to become a vagrant, etc.
Section 9 allows immigration to prohibit entire classes of people, like SE Asian Muslims with certain names or looks (suspected terrorists}, young adult females from poor nations (high risk for engaging in illegal prostitution or premeditated overstay), etc.
In addition to first world nations, Chinese males from poor countries visiting Chinese dominated SG may also recieve preferential treatment, as they are most likely not Muslim or suspected of being potential terrorists or prostitutes, as in the cases mentioned above. For examples these "Chinese from Indonesia" were given a lot of leeway by immigration:
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic95545.html
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic80802.html
"...the majority are Chinese with almost 75% of the total population (of SG)..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore
To improve chances of entry, these may help:
1. can speak fluent English, rather than Singlish
2. well dressed & groomed & wearing chanel no 5
3. able to prove you are a koshur person:
"The burden of proof that any person seeking to enter Singapore is not a prohibited immigrant shall lie upon that person":
http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/d ... shed;rec=0
http://www.aseanhrmech.org/downloads/si ... gapore.pdf
4. in line with 3 above, having the appropiate financial, medical, airline, hotel, etc, documents. Such as tax returns, recent bank statements, return air ticket, travel insurance, STI results, hotel reservation papers, cash, travellers checks.
Bottom line: your SO's situation depends on a number of various factors. If he is not a first world passport holder, he is probably SOL.
Hopefully he'll be brighter than many Australians & an Italian who'd have trouble lining 3 rubber ducks in a row:
"Many Australians with less than six months validity on their passports have been refused entry into, or exit from, Singapore. If you are refused exit from Singapore..."
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/ ... /Singapore
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=22489