Our Service Commitment


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We secure our borders and uphold our laws on immigration and national registration. In doing so, we will also strive to provide greater convenience and secured services to our customers.

We are committed to delivering the service experience that our customers value by:

  • Understanding your needs;
  • Processing your applications and clearance efficiently;
  • Providing you with accurate information;
  • Responding to you in a timely manner; and
  • Performing our duties professionally

Processing of Application for Immigration Facilities

We will process your application upon receiving all required documents.

For multiple products applied for (e.g. Citizenship, Permanent Residence, Long-Term Visit Pass) within a single application, the processing time will be based on the product with the longer processing time.

We strive to meet the following processing time, but seek your understanding that some applications may take longer to process:

Births & Deaths

ServiceProcessing Time
Alteration of Child’s Name Within 3 working days
Reporting of Overseas Death
Within 3 working days
Apply for Birth ExtractWithin 6 working days
Apply for Death ExtractWithin 1 week
Search for Birth/Death Records
Within 3 weeks*
*if required information is provided

Travel Documents

ServiceProcessing Time
Apply for PassportWithin 2 weeks
Apply for Temporary Travel DocumentWithin 2 weeks


Identity Cards

ServiceProcessing Time
IC First Registration (aged 15)*For school registrantsFor non-school registrants
Within 1 month
(after biometrics enrolment in school)
Within 7 working days
(after biometrics enrolment at ICA)
IC Replacement Within 7 working days
IC Re-registrationWithin 7 working days
Change of Residential Address for IC holderAfter application submissionAfter verification of PIN
For PIN mailer to reach applicant

Within 1 week
For address sticker(s) to reach applicant

Within 1 week 
Apply for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel CardWithin 9 months
*In person biometrics enrolment is required before processing can commence


Citizenship

ServiceProcessing Time
Oath-taking for Minors
Within the same day
Right of Entry
Within 3 working days
Apply for Citizenship
Within 12 months


Permanent Residence

ServiceProcessing Time
Apply for Certificate of Identity Within 3 working days 
Re-Entry Permit
Apply / Renew Transfer
Within 1 weekWithin 3 working days
Apply for Permanent Residence Within 6 months


Student's Pass

ServiceProcessing Time
ApplyRenewTransfer
Government/
Government-Aided/
Independent Schools

Within 1 weekNot applicable
Foreign System Schools
Within 1 week
Institutes of Technical Education
Within 1 week
Institutes of Higher Learning
Within 1 week
(Within 2 weeks if Visa is required)
Not applicable
Kindergartens and Childcare CentresWithin 2 weeksWithin 1 week
Private Education Institutions 
(EduTrust and Non-EduTrust)
By EduTrust institutions

Within 2 weeks
By Non-Edutrust institutions

Within 1 month
Within 1 week


Visa

ServiceProcessing Time
Apply for VisaWithin 3 working days


Visit Pass

ServiceProcessing Time
Apply for Extension of Short-Term Visit PassWithin 5 working days
Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass AssessmentWithin 1 month
Long-Term Visit Pass Apply / Renew
Within 6 weeks*
*For spouse of Singapore Citizen who did not submit a Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass Assessment (PMLA), application for LTVP would be processed within 6 months.



Counter Services

You are encouraged to book an appointment with us.


Waiting Time
With Appointment We will do our best to keep your waiting time to within 15 minutes of your appointment time, 80% of the time.
Without Appointment* We strive to attend to you as early as we can.
We will do our best to keep your waiting time to within 60 minutes, 80% of the time.

We seek your kind understanding that you may have to wait longer during peak periods.
*Where services are strictly by appointment only, walk-ins will only be accepted for urgent cases, on an exceptional basis.


e-Services

We strive to continuously improve and offer you a seamless and intuitive digital service experience that is available anywhere, anytime.

Our core services are available online. Approximately 95% of our customers have taken advantage of our online services to conveniently apply for ICA products and facilities.

Start accessing and enjoying the convenience of our e-Services. You may refer to the list of ICA’s available e-Services and the estimated time to complete each transaction.


Feedback/Enquiry

Written Correspondence

Our response time depends on the nature and complexity of the enquiry or feedback.

We will reply to straightforward enquiries and feedback within 3 working days, but may take longer for more complex issues. We will keep you updated if more time is needed.

Written CorrespondenceResponse Time
Simple, Straightforward IssuesWithin 3 working days
Complex IssuesWithin 15 working days


Call Centre

Our call centre offers a 24-hour automated answering service for information on our services and procedural requirements.

If you need to speak to an officer, we strive to answer 80% of calls within 3 minutes.


Our Service Charter

We are committed to perform our duties professionally. In return, please give us a safe environment to work.

It is an offence to threaten, abuse or insult a public servant under section 6 of the Protection from Harassment Act 2014.

ICA Service Charter