Travellers refused entry into Singapore will take next available flight or ferry back to where they came from

SINGAPORE: Travellers refused entry into Singapore at air and sea checkpoints will return to their last port of departure on the next available flight or ferry, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Friday (Sep 13).

It coordinates with airlines and ship operators to ensure this.

For land checkpoints, those refused entry will be turned back to Malaysia, the agency added.

ICA was responding to queries from CNA after Monday's parliament sitting, where Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam revealed that about 2,500 visitors to Singapore are refused entry every month for various reasons.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling also said in the same session that the percentage of travellers refused entry into Singapore has increased, with ICA’s new automated clearance processes.

CNA asked ICA for specific numbers over the years, as well as a detailed breakdown of reasons for the 2,500 people being turned away. The authority did not address these.

In its Friday statement, ICA said some reasons for travellers being turned away include the use of forged or tampered travel documents, or genuine travel documents that belong to a different identity from the agency's records.

Others include being on the authorities’ watchlist, or being found to have “dubious intentions” to enter Singapore after further assessment.

Before visitors arrive, ICA uses advance passenger information, including flight manifests and information from the SG Arrival Card, to analyse data and assess the risks, its spokesperson said. 

After arrival, all travellers, including those who use the automated lanes, are screened against a watchlist of persons of interest and people already flagged by ICA to be of higher risk.

These individuals are then stopped for more stringent immigration and security checks.

Mr Shanmugam's Monday comments came after Members of Parliament asked about Singapore's border security measures, in the wake of Bangladeshi extremist preacher Amir Hamza entering the country illegally.

Ms Sun, meanwhile, was answering a parliamentary question on whether more travellers from China have been arrested since a visa exemption arrangement was introduced in February. 

This came after a recent spate of housebreaking cases in private residential estates, which the police linked to foreign syndicates involving Chinese nationals.