Is anyone on IPA getting entry approval from mom

I recently joined a company in Singapore for software engineer role. My EP was approved on mid march, the IPA is expired on Oct 2020 (after automatic extension from mom). My employer has been requesting entry since august but keeps getting rejected. Is anyone experiencing similar situation? or does anyone on IPA have entry approval from mom?

btw because of this border restriction, have been working as an independent contractor since April. worst case if I don't get the approval until my IPA expires, can it be extended again? or can I apply for EP again? Thanks!

MoM is very restrictive with entry approvals lately, as numerous forum posts by people in similar situations show.
It is not clear whether such expiring IPAs can be extended again. Your company should apply for an extention anyway (and please report back the result here!), with a clear rationale why they still need you after the restrictions are liftet.
A new EP application is also possible after the situation changes.

Thanks beppi for the answer. I'm just worried i don't get entry approval even after the extension. my employer mentioned that they might give up trying if i don't get the approval within next 3 months.

yes my employer intended to extend my IPA if i don't get approval until next month. surely will post the result here. thanks!

Hi all,
Has anyone from India got the entry approval in the last one month?
Please share your experience.
Thanks

Hi  All,
Have joined this forum recently to seek any help possible.

I have obtained my IPA in July'20 and have also got an extension on my IPA till Feb'21. However, all applications for entry approval are being rejected.

Hence was keen to know if anyone is aware of recent entry approvals given by MOM?

Has anyone on this group got an entry approval from MOM in last 3 months?

Also if any idea of how many approvals is MOM giving on a daily basis , as am sure  there are travelers arriving in Sg on a regular basis.

Many thanks in advance!!

You mean ICA's immigration approval to travel Singapore! MoM doesn't give approval to travel. In normal circumstances, IPA approval was enough to seek on arrival visa but due to COVID, every foreigner who wants to enter Singapore has to get a special approval from ICA before he or she enters Singapore.

If your request for approval is getting rejected then you may seek for IPA extension for another couple of months from MoM till the things get back to normal. I have heard people with work pass are stuck in their respective countries and are not allowed to return. Due to this their jobs future in Singapore are in jeopardy.

ICA is giving permit case by case basis. So, you continue with your request to obtain their approval. Same time reach out MoM for extension of your IPA with the evidences that your requests are getting rejected. You may discuss with your employer on how to take the things forward and act upon. Good luck

H687D wrote:

Hi  All,
Have joined this forum recently to seek any help possible.

I have obtained my IPA in July'20 and have also got an extension on my IPA till Feb'21. However, all applications for entry approval are being rejected.

Hence was keen to know if anyone is aware of recent entry approvals given by MOM?

Has anyone on this group got an entry approval from MOM in last 3 months?

Also if any idea of how many approvals is MOM giving on a daily basis , as am sure  there are travelers arriving in Sg on a regular basis.

Many thanks in advance!!


FYI, my friend & her boyfriend just gotten the entry approval from MOM last Thursday and they will be entering Sg this weekend. Probably your HR would have to keep applying.

Thanks so much for that information!!

May I ask if your friend and her boyfriend held a new or an existing employment pass/ work pass?

Also, are they from any essential services field?

Would be helpful to know the above and also did they get the approval within first application or did they get rejections earlier?

Many thanks!!

Thanks Surya....I am asking for entry approval from MOM to enter Sg during this pandemic.

Since i am a new Employment passholder, i have the IPA (In principle approval) which will be converted into Employment pass after i enter Sg.

Was keen to know if off late has anyone obtained this entry approval?

I am hearing most of them are getting rejected and with standard reason saying defer the visitors entry to a later stage when the situation stabilizes.

H687D wrote:

Thanks so much for that information!!

May I ask if your friend and her boyfriend held a new or an existing employment pass/ work pass?

Also, are they from any essential services field?

Would be helpful to know the above and also did they get the approval within first application or did they get rejections earlier?

Many thanks!!


Hi, both of them are new existing employment pass. They are in construction and IT respectively.

They are lucky to get it during first application.

However, I was in the same boat you before, gotten multiple rejections.

Hi, how long did your IPA take ? Are you from finance sector ?

As informed in my earlier message that due to COVID pandemic, without ICA approval no matter whether you have MoM's IPA letter or EP or S pass you can't enter Singapore. Everyone has to take special approval from ICA before they travel to Singapore. This is the guidelines issued by ICA few months back.

But, as I said ICA is approving entry of individual case by case basis. Did you reach out your employer if they can provide any letter for you to attach in your email to ICA for their consideration?

It's wise decision to request them again even earlier case was not successful. Good luck

Thanks so much Surya.....i got it now!

Basically, you are saying that ICA's approval is required to enter Sg, despite of one having any of the relevant work pass and especially during this pandemic time.

I shall check with my HR, as they are the ones who are applying to MOM for my entry. Infact, during this pandemic they have applied for other employees with existing Employment pass and these got approved in the first instance. Understand for the new EP holders MOM has been rejecting.

Neverthless, will check out the ICA angle too.

Many thanna for that advice...really appreciate!

Hi this is from India entry approval right ?

Yes from India.

This rule is across all countries including India. It was announced by ministry of Singapore. Recently there is a relaxation given to few countries (Australia, Newzealand, Vietnam) where they may not need 14 days home quarantine but mandatory COVID test negative at their home country before taking flight and Singapore does test on arrival.

You can read the below link for ref.

https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Overseas-Mission … o-COVID-19

Note1: For EP holders also they need prior approval from ICA before returning to Singapore. Without valid approval from ICA, likely you will be denied entry to Singapore.

Note2: If the candidate is not in Singapore then chances are tough to get work pass approval from MoM unless your job is part of medical services or any other field which is having heavy man power shortage. Most likely these criteria will be relaxed once the pandemic situation is lower down and economy is uplifted by demand.

Hi Vinod,

Are you currently in India?

what about your IPA extension and Entry approval.

I am also facing same issue.

Regards
Sumit

Did you get the approval now?