Passports Bill

Bill No. 53/1970

Read the first time on 4th November 1970.
An Act to repeal and re-enact the law relating to passports.
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Passports Act, 1970, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, “passport” means a Singapore passport or other travel document.
Power to make regulations
3.—(1)  The Minister may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes: —
(a)appointing authorised officers who may issue, renew or endorse a passport;
(b)empowering officers to issue, renew and endorse a passport and to grant a visa on any travel document requiring a visa for Singapore;
(c)empowering the authority who may approve forms to be used for the issue, renewal and endorsement of a passport and also forms to be used for the grant of a visa;
(d)prescribing the fees to be charged in relation to the issue, renewal or endorsement of a passport or for the grant of a visa for Singapore;
(e)empowering officers to grant exemption from the payment of fees under the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
(f)prescribing the terms and conditions subject to which any person may be granted a passport;
(g)empowering officers who may invalidate, cancel, withdraw and re-possess a passport which has been invalidated or cancelled;
(h)empowering officers who may cancel any visa, renewal or endorsement of a passport;
(i)empowering officers to demand the delivering up of a cancelled or invalidated passport bearing any visa, renewal or endorsement which has been cancelled or invalidated;
(j)prescribing the procedure to impound, re-possess or recover any passport;
(k)providing for the arrest, detention and prosecution of any person who contravenes the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
(l)prescribing for the search of any person, premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle and to seize or recover any evidence of the commission of any offence committed under any regulations made under this Act;
(m)prescribing the prohibitions for any person or class of persons from entering or leaving Singapore by land, sea or air without the production of a passport and for enforcing such prohibitions by requiring answers to enquiries and for the delivering up of any passport;
(n)governing the procedure to be followed and the fees and costs to be paid on appeal under the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
(o)prescribing penalties not exceeding imprisonment for a term of six months or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or both such imprisonment and fine for the breach of any regulations made under this Act.
(2)  All regulations made under subsection (1) of this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.
Fees, fines, etc., to be paid into Consolidated Fund
4.  All fees levied, all fines imposed and recovered, and all monies forfeited under any regulations made under this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Transitional provisions
5.  A passport or any visa, renewal or endorsement issued or granted under any written law relating to passports prior to the coming into operation of this Act shall continue in force unless cancelled under the provisions of any regulations made under this Act.
Repeal
6.  The Passports Ordinance (Cap. 103) is hereby repealed.