Securing Our Borders

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is responsible for securing Singapore's borders against the entry of undesirable people and cargo through land, air and sea checkpoints.

ICA also administers immigration and registration services, such as issuing passports and identity cards to Singapore citizens, and immigration passes and permits to foreigners. As a security agency, we enforce laws and regulations relating to immigration and registration.

What We Do

ICA keeps our borders safe and secure against the entry of undesirable persons and cargo through our land, sea and air checkpoints.

ICA also performs national registration functions, oversees the issuance of immigration and travel documents for Singaporeans and foreign visitors, and conducts operations against immigration offenders.

Legislation

Our laws on immigration, registration and checkpoints include the following:

The Immigration Act (IA) serves to regulate the entry, stay and exit of foreigners. It provides a practical legal framework to facilitate the movement of people, while keeping criminals and undesirable elements at bay.

The Act was last amended in 2018 to enhance the Home Team’s operational effectiveness at the checkpoints and strengthen border security. Key amendments included:

• Expanding the range of powers of ICA officers at the checkpoints, including powers relating to search, seizure and arrest
• Empowering ICA to collect personal information from travellers transiting through Singapore for more effective screening

The National Registration Act (NRA) regulates the registration of persons in Singapore for the issuance of identity cards and its related purposes.

The NRA was last amended in 2016, to allow the ICA to:

• Collect more forms of personal identifiers
  
• Refuse the registration of certain types of names
  
• Appoint non-ICA employees as registration officers
  
• Give registration officers the powers to conduct searches

The amendments were aimed at strengthening the operational effectiveness and efficiency of ICA officers, and allows ICA to provide more convenient registration services to the public, while enhancing security in Singapore.

The Registration of Birth and Deaths Act (RBDA) regulates the registration of births and deaths in Singapore.

The Passports Act (PA) provides for the issuance of Singapore passports and other travel documents to be used as evidence of identity and citizenship by citizens of Singapore who are travelling internationally. It regulates the use of the Singapore passport and its related matters.

The PA was last amended in 2007 to:

• Introduce measures against the abuse and misuse of Singapore passports and travel documents, as well as foreign travel documents
• Set out a comprehensive regime for the issuance and handling of our passports and travel documents
• Allow ICA to adopt new technologies to enhance the security of Singapore passports and travel documents

Part X of the Constitution sets out the requirements for the grant, renunciation and deprivation of Singapore citizenship.