How many times can I enter Singapore

Stay minimum 5 days outside Singapore. No need to open a separate thread for this. You should have continued with your last query where you had mentioned that you are going to ICA for extension. Good luck

If an SVP extension already was denied for you, you better stay out of Singapore for about as long as you were in. This is just a rule of thumb, as there are no published regulations and the immigration officer decides (after seeing the rejection and all your entry/exit history on the screen).

Hi, i'm new here and I'd like to ask a few questions.

My bf is a Singaporean and I'm from Indonesia. Previously I worked in Manila, Philippines for 4 years and I resigned last Dec ‘17. After that on 17 Dec I went to Singapore to spend time with my bf and returned back to Jakarta on 10th Jan ‘18.

On Feb I went to SG again and I stayed there for 28 days. 2 days before I went back to Indo, my friend and her husband (the husband is Sg citizen so friend got DP) took me to JB to go sightseeing since i've never been to JB before. When we were about to exit Sg, at the immigration, the IO started to question me like what am i doing in sg, why do i wanna go to JB. I alrd felt something fishy. Then after the trip, right when we were at the SG immigration about to enter SG, I was escorted to the immigration office, they asked me where do I stay, then the lady asked for my ticket back and I showed her, she asked me if the ticket has been purchased and I told her yes, it's alrd confirmed and paid. And she told me next time if I wanted to stay longer in Sg, I shud apply for online extension. And that time I was quite confused why did she told me that because I had no intention to stay longer so I just said okay.  And she stamped my passport and wrote the exact date of my departure.

After 30 days, I came back to SG, I had an interview invitation this week in a SG company, I didn't even apply, they found my profile on linkdin and contacted me and asked if I'm interested then the interview would be this week. Now I am in Singapore.

The thing is, yesterday upon entering SG, the IO was malay guy and his line was moving very slow since he took extra time to examine each person on his lane. And on my turn, he asked me questions like, who am i visiting in Sg? Is your bf Singaporean, Japanese, American? You need to print your return ticket next time. And your Bf's IC. Because you visited your bf so often and you stayed for almost a month each. Are you working? Where did you get the money to travel if you're not working?

I read about being denied entry in this forum after the JB incident and I realised my travel pattern might cause red flags, I am aware of that. The reason why I come to SG initially was because since I am now not working, I have more time to spend with my bf before I start working again. I didn't know that would be a problem, Until I found this forum.

I don't think I'll come back to SG until October. He'll just visit me in Indo.
My Bf and I will go to Japan this Oct and the flight will depart in Sg so I will need to fly to Sg and exit immigration before checking in to my Japan flight.

What I wanted to ask is, there's a chance that I might get in trouble with the immigration even if I gave them my BF's printed IC as they asked me. Is there any chance to prevent this?

And I will have trip to Thailand, the flight will have layover in SG but it's on same airline so I don't need to clear custom. Would it be a problem if i just have layover without even exiting the immigration?

Sorry for the long details, I just want to give clear picture of what's happening.

Yes, your "travel pattern" does throw up huge red flags in the eyes of Singapore immigration. You are lucky to not have been denied entry or even banned yet!
It is a good idea to avoid entering Singapore until October. Changing flights without clearing immigration is not a concern, but if you plan on staying longer, you should first get written clearance by ICA or your nearest Singapore embassy.
And by all means, bring along a printout of your return ticket and hotel booking (or invitation letter by your host) on all trips - plus proof of sufficient finances and a job back home for good measure!

Hi Beppi, thanks for the reply.

I don't think I'm going to stay longer in Sg anymore. My only big concern is for my Japan trip this October.

Say my flight to japan will be at 11PM, so I plan to arrive in Sg on the same date so I can exit immigration, take my baggage and move on directly to my Japan flight.  I'm not risking being denied entry and spoil my Japan trip and lose all the money for the booked hotels and tickets.

In this case, Do I still need to go to Singaporean Embassy to get clearance to enter singapore? For precaution only. I'm not gonna stay even overnight in Singapore for my transit.

As I said, if you want to be sure you should seek clarification with ICA or the embassy before travelling - or you book both flights on the same airline and check in for both at the same time.

It's a generic view at immigration office, if a person travels so often to Singapore where he or she doesn't have direct family. Same thing happened in your case, you don't have direct family here (ICA doesn't recognise bf or partner terms - it only recognise marriage certificate), so when you travel frequently in last 5 months (visiting JB was not a good idea as Immigration officer will see this as a trick to extend your tourist visa in Singapore). Many ASEAN people do this trick and denied entry to Singapore.

I would suggest if you have flight to Tokyo via Singapore (international transfer) then either avoid to check out in Singapore for sight seeing (that's the only reason an international traveler to check out during transit in Singapore) or reach out ICA to get a clearance that they won't deny to go out (provide your Tokyo air tickets on same day).

At least this year try not to travel Singapore, ask your bf visit you instead. Good luck

Hi Surya, thanks for the reply.

I wish I can just continue with my Japan trip without exiting the immigration. But the Japan air ticket booking will depart from Singapore. Me and my bf is in the same booking so we will check in together in Sg. But before that, I will need to go to Singapore from Indonesia to catch the Japan flight, and that is another booking for me, so I definitely need to exit immigration.

My Japan flight is still on October. Should i go to ICA next week, since I am currently in Singapore, or wait until maybe September to seek clearance from ICA? And would it be better if I go with my bf to see them?

And if i go to ICA now, is there a chance they suddenly ask me to go back to Indonesia or they will just let me stay until my departure date, which is 10 May?

On my passport, they still stamp it with the 30 days stay though.

Please visit anytime ICA (at level 4) for their official confirmation (carry your tickets to Tokyo and other documents as supportings). If they didn't provide any letter to confirm the same, after then you must write a mail stating that on XYZ date you met officer “name” and got verbal confirmation that you can enter SG . On their reply, print out the email and keep as proof).

Unless you are engaged and soon to be married (and can show proof of this),, don't bring along your boyfriend or mention the relationship as reason for your long and frequent visits - MoM won't accept or like it!

British passport holder

90 days 'Electronic Visit Pass' to Singapore runs out shortly.

Leaving on day 88.

Q. Is there a specific number of days needed to be out of Singapore before returning?

planning to return for around 30 days before leaving again before xmas.

@Dennis2003 There is no hard and fast rule, but a general rule of thumb is you must be out of the country at least as long as you were inside before.

If you cannot follow that, and don't want to face a risk at the immigration counter, you can apply for an STVP at any Singapore embassy before travelling.

How did you manage to stay 90 days? Such a long extension is difficult to get and only given if you have very good reasons for staying that long.