Singapore

Singapore, an island nation, is known for being a city-state. While Singapore lays claim on a total of sixty-three islands (most of them tiny and unpopulated), the large majority of the country is found on a relatively tiny island (officially called Pulau Ujong) which measures 704 km². For an Asian Tiger with a booming economy and a per capita GDP that matches many Western, First World countries, it is surprising that Singapore is so small in size!

Perhaps due to its burgeoning economic activity and the plethora of people commuting into and out of Singapore, despite its small size, Singapore has many points of entry. According to the Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Singapore has the following checkpoints:

Air Checkpoints

»	Changi Airport
»	Seletar Airport

Air Cargo Checkpoints

»	Airport Logistics Park
»	Changi Airfreight Centre
»	Parcel Post Section

Coastal Checkpoints

»	Singapore Cruise Centre
»	Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
»	Changi Ferry Terminal
»	Jurong Fishery Port
»	Marina South Pier
»	West Coast Pier

Land Checkpoints

»	Tuas Checkpoint
»	Woodlands Checkpoint
»	Woodlands Train Checkpoint

Ports Checkpoints

»	Ports Command HQ
»	Brani Gate
»	Jurong Port Main Gate
»	Jurong Scanning Station
»	Jurong West Gate
»	Keppel Distripark
»	Pasir Panjang Terminal Gate 4
»	Pasir Panjang Scanning Station
»	Tanjong Pagar Gate
»	Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station
»	Sembawang Gate

I suppose that most of these are not open to civilians and that many of the ones listed above (such as the Air Cargo and especially "Ports Checkpoints" are only for transporting goods). To my knowledge, there are seven points of entry and exit that can be used by civilians:

Changi Airport
Tuas Checkpoint
Woodlands Checkpoint
Woodlands Train Checkpoint
Singapore Cruise Center
Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
Changi Ferry Terminal

Of these seven, I have used four. Here are my immigrations stamps from Singapore (not including two more which are unintelligible except for the dates):

This first one from 2007 is an excellent stamp; it is clear enough that you can read the permit message: "Permitted to enter and remain in Singapore for ninety days for Social Visit only from date shown above." Most Western passport holders get 90 days while most Asian passport holders get 30 days. This was applied at the Singapore airport.

This was my first passport stamp from a country other than the US, Canada, the Philippines, and Korea (although the Korea ones were just transit stamps - I didn't spend more than 24 hours there).

Exit stamps from the Woodlands ("W") train checkpoint. I also have one from the Woodlands pedestrian checkpoint, but it is heavy and not very nice, so I did not include it in this post. Anyway, it also uses "W" as its checkpoint code, so you can't really tell the difference unless you know the story (as in my case) or you have access to Singapore's archives and can check where the immigration officers were posted that day (using their officer numbers).

This is a Woodlands entry stamp which is generic in the sense that the number of days you are permitted to stay is written in by the officer rather than incorporated into the stamp design. Perhaps this generic one was issued to make it more convenient for the immigration officers; instead of switching from 30-day to 90-day stamps when processing different passports, they can just easily write down the number of days. Strangely, though, the others who were with me when I made the crossing (and they also hold US passports) received chops with "90 days" already on the stamper..... I do not recall, though, if they got rectangular stamps (like this one), hexagon stamps (like the ones for 90-day permits), or round edge rectangular stamps (like the one shown below, used for 30-day permits).

The stamp above is not very clear, but it gives you an example of how the 30-day rounded-edge permits look - quite similar to the 30-day entry stamps of Indonesia. This one was applied into my Philippine passport. This was applied at Terminal 1 of Changi airport.


One of the benefits of the Philippine passports is that it does not have images for its background designs on each page, so stamps can be seen more clearly. This stamp above is very sharp and clear and was applied at Changi airport Terminal 1. Perhaps the reason it is very sharp is because it is the stamp used by the immigration "station" and not the immigration counters. This is because the immigration officer escorted me to the special immigration station since he has a problem with the fact that my passport was due to expire in less than six months and I was not heading for my "home country." I explained to them that I was a permanent resident in Macau and that I was flying back via Penang. The officer at the immigration station consulted their superior who replied something along the lines of, "Well, he's leaving Singapore, so it doesn't matter." After that, the rather rotund Indian-looking lady applied this stamp on my passport very clearly. It is probably sharp because, unlike the others, it is not used on so many passports.

The episode was a bit humiliating, however, because I was a Filipino passport holder being held at immigration and the first question that one of the staff asked the one escorting me was, "Overstayed?" Ironically, this was the second time I was held at immigration in less than two weeks! The first time I was ever "detained" was while crossing the Gongbei border crossing on the Macau side, but that anecdote is for the post on Macau.


This is a stamp from Tuas checkpoint. I had to manipulate the image a bit to make it clearer since the boat in the background has such a complicated design that it makes the stamp (which is actually a bit darker in reality) difficult to read. You can, however, make out the big "T" for "Tuas."


Unlike in 2007, this time the immigration officer at Woodlands used the 90-day hexagon on my passport. This may have been because I asked him to stamp clearly for a "souvenir" and so he thought it would be best to use the right stamp rather than write in the number of days permit. This officer was the first I have encountered who as very meticulous about his work. The process was very slow and he made sure to check my information page thoroughly and even looked through all my visa pages. When he finished processing me (after he had already stamped the passport), he gave the thing one more hard look before returning it. I am not complaining, but I was just a bit surprised. Many other immigration officers in this region (especially in thoroughly used border checkpoints like Gongbei in Macau and KLIA-LCCT in Kuala Lumpur) seem like they couldn't really care less. Perhaps there is a negative correlation between frequency of use of a checkpoint and thoroughness in checking (of not-so-exotic passports)?

The departure stamp is, like the one last time, very clean and sharp. It was applied by an elderly, rotund Chinese officer, whom I asked to please stamp my passport clearly. She did stamp clearly, but on top of the entry stamp, so it's not as "clear" as I would like it.

The next time I visit Singapore, I really want to take a ferry to Malaysia from Changi Ferry terminal, where I believe the checkpoint code is an "R." There are few ferries that operate there, and they are quite small 12-seaters that leave only when full (!).