Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority

Apply for Student's Pass 

 Who should apply for Student's Pass?

A foreigner is required to apply for a Student's Pass if he/she has been accepted by an educational institution to pursue full-time studies in Singapore, unless 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; or
• Visitor who has been granted a short term Visit Pass at the Singapore Checkpoint and wish to attend a short course that can be completed within the validity of the initial Visit Pass granted to him/her at the Singapore Checkpoint or 30 days, whichever is shorter. The course 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
  • 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.

 A foreigner is required to apply for a Student’s Pass if he/she wishes to pursue full-time studies in Singapore in a EduTrusted private education institute (PEI) that:

• is registered with Council for Private Education (CPE); or
• is not required to be registered with CPE but had obtained permission from the Commissioner, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to submit Student’s Pass applications for international students intending to take up its courses.
• With the Council for Private Education (CPE)’s launch of the Enhanced Registration Framework, from 21 Dec 2009, all PEIs will need to be awarded with EduTrust to offer school placement for international students. Student's Pass applications will be accepted only if they are for international students who are enrolled in a EduTrusted PEI. Please refer to http://www.cpe.gov.sg for a list of EduTrust-certified institutions.

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

• Holder of the Immigration Exemption Order; or
• Visitor who has been granted a short term Visit Pass at the Singapore Checkpoint and wish to attend a short course that can be completed within the validity period of the initial Visit Pass granted to him/her at the Singapore checkpoint or 30 days, whichever is shorter. However, this is only applicable if the course:
  • Is a complete and stand-alone module of its own. (i.e. the courses should not have multiple programme modules); and
  • Does 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 the places of business, e.g. hair salons and beauty salons.

New Applications

New applications are to be submitted at least 2 months and not more than 6 months from the course commencement date.

Applicants are not required to be present in Singapore while their applications are being considered. Hence, applicants are advised to apply for a Student’s Pass before arriving in Singapore as no extension of stay will be granted while the applications are under processing.

Applicants are advised to enter Singapore to complete the formalities for the issuance of a Student’s Pass only after their applications have been approved. They will be issued with Student’s Passes within one month from the course commencement date.

Submission

With effect from 1 June 2007, new applications are to be submitted via the SOLAR System. New applications by PRC nationals, who are above 19 years old (i.e, passed their 19th birthday at the time their applications are submitted to ICA) and wish to attend a language, commercial, vocational or fine arts non-graduate/postgraduate degree course [including the University of London (UOL) tuition programmes], will be routed to the Singapore Embassy in Beijing (where an interview with the applicant may be required) for processing before routing to ICA for assessment. The applications will be routed directly to ICA for assessment if the PRC nationals are intending to take up a full-time course at an approved PEO that is awarded the Singapore Quality Class for Private Education Organization [SQC(PEO)] by SPRING, Singapore.

Processing Time

The general processing time for a new application is about 4 weeks [2 weeks for PEOs that are awarded the SQC(PEO) status] upon the receipt of a duly completed application by ICA. Some applications may however take a longer time to process. The PEO will be notified of the outcome via (SOLAR+) system.

Renewal of Student's Passes

Students who wish to continue taking the same course in the same school may renew their Student’s Passes via the SOLAR+ system.

Submission

Applications to renew a Student’s Pass are to be submitted via the SOLAR+ system 2 weeks before the expiry of the existing Student’s Pass.

Processing Time

In general, renewal of a Student’s Pass would take about 3 working days to process (excluding the day of submission and collection) upon the receipt of a duly completed application by ICA. Nonetheless, some applications may require a longer time to process.

Transfer of Schools / Courses of Study

Applicants who wish to apply for a new Student’s Pass in order to take up a different course or to study in a different PEO, are to submit an application for the transfer of school/course of study at least 4 weeks before the course begins.

Processing Time

In general, an application to transfer school/course would take about 3 working days to process (excluding the day of submission and collection) upon the receipt of a duly completed application by ICA. Nonetheless, some applications may require a longer time to process.

Local Sponsor

No local sponsor is required for applications submitted from 15 December 2008 onwards.

Completion of Formalities

With effect from 1 April 2009, all completion of formalities is strictly by appointment only. Please use our e-appointment facility to select the preferred date and time to complete Student’s Pass formalities. On the date of the appointment, please proceed to the Self-Service Ticketing Kiosk 3 located at Visitor Services Centre (4th Storey), ICA Building to obtain a queue ticket. Applicants are advised to be punctual for their appointments.

Processing Fee

A processing fee of $30 is required for every application submitted to ICA. The fee is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the application or if application is withdrawn after submission. For submission via Solar, please make payment by credit/debit card or internet banking.

Issuance Fee

A $60 issuance fee for every student’s pass issued and a further $30 multiple-entry visa fee for visa required nationals, where applicable. The fee is payable when the successful applicant completes the formality to collect the Student’s Pass.

Prior to collection of Student's Pass, applicant has to acknowledge a copy of the Terms & Conditions of Issue for Long Term Pass (LTP) Card.

Cancellation of Student's Passes

Foreign students are required to surrender their Student's Pass cards for cancellation within 7 days from the date of cessation or termination of their study.

With effect from 3 Nov 2008, student/school can now submit an application of Student’s Pass cancellation online via a new e-service, namely e-Cancellation (the module can be accessed via SOLAR+.

For those who are unable to do the cancellation online may submit the following documents to the Student’s Pass Unit, anytime from Monday to Friday (8am to 4.30pm), Saturday (8am to 12.30pm) by obtaining a queue ticket at the Self Service Kiosk 1 at Visitor Services Centre, 4th Storey ICA Building, with the following documents:

• A duly completed cancellation form;
• Student’s valid travel document;
• The Student's Pass Card;
• Student’s Visit Pass and Disembarkation/Embarkation Card; and
• A duly completed Disembarkation/Embarkation Card (IMM Form 27A), where applicable (will be provided at ICA counters). 

Change of Local Address

According to the Immigration Regulations 19(3)(b), the foreign student is required to report any changes in his/her address in Singapore within 14 days of such change. The student who wishes to report the change of his/her local address is required to submit his/her request via  e-update of address. Schools can now login to SOLAR+ to report any changes in the student’s address. An acknowledgement will be sent within minutes if the report is successfully registered by the system. Alternatively, the student may also deposit the ‘Change of Address’ form into the drop-box located at the Student's Pass Unit near Counter 19. It will take 2 weeks to process the application and the student will be informed of the outcome by post.

Other Important Information

• For the application of a Student’s Pass, an applicant must be accepted into an approved full-time course. An applicant who wishes to take up a part-time course or a course conducted in the evening or weekend will NOT be eligible for a Student’s Pass.
• The applicant and school will have to furnish additional documents and information whenever necessary.
• Official/Notarised translation of the documents is required if they are not in the English language.
• All forms are to be duly completed and signed by the applicant and the school. No part of the form should be left blank or incomplete. If any section or part of the form is not applicable, it should be filled as ‘Nil’ or ‘Not applicable (N.A.). Applications with incomplete forms or documents will NOT be accepted for processing.
• Applicant has to call in person with a valid immigration pass to collect the Student’s Pass only after the application has been approved. The Student’s Pass will only be issued if the conditions as stipulated in the In-Principle Approval letter, are fulfilled.
• The student shall not enter or be retained as a student in any other school or course other than that indicated on the Student's Pass.
• ICA may share your personal information with other government agencies to process any applications you have made or to render you a service, so as to serve you in a most efficient and effective way, unless such sharing is prohibited by legislation.
• ICA reserves the right to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted in the application with the relevant issuing authorities or through the affiliated government agencies.