VISA process to Singapore

Any international student wishing to study full-time in Singapore is required to apply for a Student's Pass and visa (if applicable) from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). For applicants who require a visa to enter Singapore, please ensure that your application for the Student Pass is submitted to the ICA at least 2 months before the commencement date of the course.

1. Applicant must first be accepted by an approved Singapore institution to pursue an approved full-time course.
2. A local sponsor is required for the application for a Student's Pass. Local sponsor must be a Singapore Citizen/Singapore PR above age of 21 or the educational institution where applicant intends to study. (Exception: A local sponsor is not needed for students applying to the polytechnics and universities - 5 local polytechnics, NUS, NTU, SMU, INSEAD & University of Chicago)
3. Student's Pass application must be submitted at least 2 months in advance and not more than six months from the course commencement date.
4. The normal processing time is about 4 weeks, though some applications may take a longer time to process.

Note: For PRC national who wishes to pursue a language, commercial, vocational or fine arts course at private schools in Singapore (with the exception of students taking a degree or postgraduate degree course and students studying at SQC for PEOs schools), applicant is required to submit Student's Pass application through the Singapore Embassy in Beijing.

With the launch of CaseTrust for Education under the Education Excellence Framework, all private education organisations will need to have the CaseTrust-endorsed Student Protection Scheme to offer school placement for international students. This is effective from December 1 2004.