High-risk, undesirable travellers will be barred from boarding Singapore-bound flights from Jan 30
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Airlines that receive no-boarding directive notices must not allow prohibited or undesirable travellers to board flights bound for Singapore.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – From Jan 30, Singapore-bound flights will be issued notices listing travellers identified as undesirable or who do not meet Singapore’s entry requirements, and are thus barred from getting on the plane.
The move is aimed at strengthening border security by keeping potential threats from reaching Singapore’s shores in the first place, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a statement on Nov 28.
The no-boarding directive (NBD) notices will also cover travellers barred from entering Singapore, and will be issued to airline operators at Changi and Seletar airports.
ICA said: “The NBD allows ICA to prevent identified prohibited or undesirable travellers whom we are aware of from advance traveller information that they are headed to Singapore, from boarding the flight for Singapore.
“ICA may also issue NBDs against travellers who do not meet Singapore’s entry requirements, such as possessing a valid visa or a travel document with at least six months’ validity.”
Airlines that receive an NBD notice must not allow the flagged travellers to board the flight. ICA added that it has briefed airline operators and will continue to work with them to enforce the NBDs.
Currently, advance traveller information, such as those provided in the SG Arrival Card (SGAC) and flight manifests, are used by ICA to identify high-risk travellers before they arrive at Singapore’s checkpoints.
Travellers are flagged for more stringent checks after clearing immigration upon arrival, ICA added.
Under the new rules, ICA will screen travellers bound for Singapore upon receiving advance traveller information from airlines.
When a traveller who has been issued an NBD checks in for a flight to Singapore, the airline that was issued the NBD notice must stop the person from boarding.
Airlines may also be required to conduct additional checks, such as visa verification or SGAC submission before allowing the passenger or crew member to board the flight.
Airline operators that do not comply with the rules can be fined up to $10,000, while pilots and employees can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
Travellers who are denied boarding but still wish to travel to Singapore will be required to write to ICA to seek approval for entry. This should be done through the ICA Feedback Channel, and before arranging a new flight to Singapore.
From 2028, NBDs will be extended to cover sea-going vessels
The NBD is part of moves by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to beef up border controls, and was among a suite of measures passed by Parliament in September 2023.
Apart from the NDB, another new rule will require permanent residents (PRs) outside Singapore without a valid re-entry permit (REP) to apply for one within a 180-day period to retain their PR status.
MHA said on Nov 28 the new rule will kick in on Dec 1, and the entry permit and REP conditions for all PRs will be updated and published on ICA’s website.
For now, PRs outside of Singapore without a valid REP are deemed by ICA to have lost their PR status immediately.
