Student Pass Eligibility

Any foreigner wishing to pursue full-time studies in Singapore in an institution that:

• is registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE); or
• is not required to register by MOE and has obtained permission from the Commissioner, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to accept foreign students; or
• is licensed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) to operate as a Childcare centre.

A foreigner is exempted from applying for a Student's Pass if he/she is a:

• Dependant’s Pass holder studying in a Government/ Government-Aided/ Independent school/ Foreign System School/ Kindergarten registered with MOE or Childcare centre licensed by MCYS;
• Immigration Exemption Order holder; and
• Visitor who has been granted a short term Social Visit Pass at the Singapore Checkpoint and wish to attend a short course that can be completed within the validity of the initial Social Visit Pass granted to him/her at the Singapore Checkpoint or 30 days, whichever is shorter. It must satisfy two other criteria, that are, the course:
1. Must be a complete module and stand-alone module of its own. Courses with multiple programme modules are excluded from this Student’s Pass exemption scheme; and
2. Must not involve hands-on practical occupational training and/or industrial attachment which have interaction with walk-in customers or be conducted at premises that are also places of business, e.g. hair salons and beauty salons.

To apply for a Student's Pass, applicant must first be accepted by an approved Private Education Organization, a Kindergartens registered with Ministry of Education or a Childcare centre licensed by Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to pursue an approved full-time course.

With EDB’s launch of the new initiatives under the Education Excellence Framework from 1 Dec 2004, all private education organizations will need to have the CaseTrust-endorsed Student Protection Scheme to offer school placement for international students. With effect from 1 Dec 2004, Student's Pass applications will be accepted only if there is an accompanying "Acknowledgement for Student Escrow" or "Confirmation of Student Insurance".

*Reference from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

VISA Required Countries

Reference from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

Foreigners holding travel documents issued by the following countries will require a visa to enter Singapore:

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Bangladesh (Except Diplomatic/Official passport holders)
• Commonwealth of Independent States* (Except Diplomatic/Official/Service passport holders for a stay of up to 30 days)
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova
• Russia
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan
• Egypt
• India (Except Diplomatic/Official passport holders)
• Iran
• Iraq
• Jordan (Except Diplomatic/Official passport holders)
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Morocco
• Myanmar (Except Diplomatic/Official passport holders)
• People's Republic of China (Except Diplomatic/Service/Public Affairs passport holders for a stay of up to 30 days)
• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Tunisia (Except Diplomatic/Official passport holders)
• Yemen

In addition, visitors holding Hong Kong Document of Identity, Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Travel Permit, Palestinian Authority Passport, Refugee Travel Document issued by the Middle-East countries and Temporary Passport issued by United Arab Emirates will also require a visa to enter Singapore.

• Nationals of the Commonwealth Independent States may be granted entry into Singapore without visas if they are on transit to a third country. However, they are required to fulfil the following conditions:-
• They are in transit to a third country;
• They hold a valid passport, a confirmed onward air-ticket, entry facilities (including visa) to the third country and have sufficient funds for the period of stay in Singapore;
• They continue their journey to the third country within the 96-hour visa free period granted; and
• They satisfy Singapore's entry requirements. As in all arrivals, the grant of the social visit passes to travellers will be determined by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers at the Singapore Checkpoints.