Visit pass
12.—(1)  A visit pass may be issued by the Controller to any person other than a prohibited immigrant who satisfies the Controller that he wishes to enter Singapore —
(a)on a social, business or professional visit;
(b)as a tourist; or
(c)for the purposes of seeking employment or being employed in Singapore.
(1A)  Despite paragraph (1), the Controller may issue a visit pass, valid for such period as the Controller may determine but in any event not exceeding 90 days, to a prohibited immigrant referred to in section 8(3)(ba) of the Act (in these Regulations called an exempt prohibited immigrant) where the exempt prohibited immigrant satisfies the Controller that he wishes to enter Singapore for any of the purposes referred to in that paragraph.
[S 168/2015 wef 01/04/2015]
(2)  The Controller may also issue a visit pass to an exempt prohibited immigrant or a person who is not any other prohibited immigrant to enable him to remain temporarily in Singapore after the cancellation of any pass that had been issued to him.
[S 168/2015 wef 01/04/2015]
(3)  A visit pass shall not be issued to an unberthed passenger otherwise than prior to his embarkation unless he is —
(a)ordinarily resident in the Rhio Archipelago, Sumatra, the States of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak or Brunei Darussalam;
(b)travelling to Singapore on a direct journey from a port or place in any of those territories; and
(c)in possession of a valid passport or other travel document which permits his return to his place of embarkation.
(4)  Where under paragraph (3) a person is required to obtain a visit pass prior to his embarkation, that person may apply for a visit pass himself or through a person in Singapore acting on his behalf.
(5)  Every application for a visit pass shall —
(a)be made in such form as the Controller may require;
(b)be made in such manner as the Controller may approve, which may include the use of such electronic application service on what is commonly known as the Internet as the Controller may provide for this purpose; and
(c)if required by the Controller or made under paragraph (4), be accompanied by 2 recent photographs of the applicant.
(5A)  [Deleted by S 702/2016 wef 01/01/2017]
(6)  Subject to these Regulations and any conditions which the Controller may impose, a visit pass shall authorise the holder thereof to remain, or enter and remain, temporarily in Singapore during the period —
(a)commencing on the date stated in the pass to be the date from which the pass is valid; and
(b)ending on the date stated in the pass, or specified by the Controller under paragraph (6A), to be the last date on which the pass is valid.
(6A)  The Controller may extend, on more than one occasion, the validity of any visit pass to such date as the Controller may specify but not to exceed, adding the initial period and all extensions, an aggregate period as follows:
(a)for a visit pass issued under paragraph (1A) to an exempt prohibited immigrant, 90 days beginning on the date on which the visit pass was first issued under that paragraph; and
(b)for any other visit pass, 5 years after the date which, but for the extension, would be the last date on which the visit pass is valid.
[S 168/2015 wef 01/04/2015]
(6B)  The Controller may impose such further conditions for the extension under paragraph (6A) as the Controller may determine.
[S 168/2015 wef 01/04/2015]
(7)  Every visit pass issued to any person as a tourist or for the purpose of a social visit shall be subject to the condition that the holder shall not engage in any form of paid employment or in any business, profession or occupation in Singapore during the validity of that pass unless he is a holder of a valid work pass issued under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (Cap. 91A).
(8)  A visit pass may be —
(a)in Form 15A or 32B or such other form as the Controller may determine; and
[S 626/2012 wef 19/12/2012]
(b)issued in such manner as the Controller may determine.
(8A)  [Deleted by S 702/2016 wef 01/01/2017]
(8B)  [Deleted by S 702/2016 wef 01/01/2017]
(9)  Where a work pass under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act is issued to the holder of a visit pass, and the work pass is cancelled under that Act, the visit pass shall by operation of this paragraph cease to be valid on the cancellation of the work pass, and the holder of the visit pass shall not remain in Singapore thereafter unless he is otherwise entitled or authorised to remain in Singapore under the provisions of the Act or other provisions of these Regulations.