Singapore Expats

Hi all, currently facing an issue with ICA's procedure...

A friend of mine was caught working without a work permit at a pub during a white card visit to singapore.. her passport is currently being confiscated by ICA & awaiting to report back to Repatriation Branch, Enforcement Division.

May i know what are the following things i will be expecting?

If she's banned from Singapore, how long would it be?

** She has a stable boyfriend going on for years and planning to get married next year

Anywhere from six months until forever. Depends how long she has been working illegally, how many times she has been to Singapore (and probably working illegally) and whether or not she has been caught before. Three years, at a minimum, seems to be what people have previously posted here.

She has been to singapore very frequently but not to work.. but to visit her relative & also her boyfriend.

jacob888 wrote:She has been to singapore very frequently but not to work.. but to visit her relative & also her boyfriend.

Then she will have a big problem with ICA. You say "not to work" but ICA has no reason to believe that. They will be more inclined to believe that she has been working in Singapore a lot because she has visited so frequently. As they see it, she finally got caught. And, she won't be able to prove otherwise.

I could be wrong, and if I were she, I'd plan on being locked out from Singapore for a very long time. The authorities have zero tolerance for work permit violations.

Is her boyfriend a Singaporean or PR? He can appeal on her behalf, but since she was actually working don't count on it going through. I'm aware of a single female who was recently deported on entry. Her BF jumped through immense hoops and was able to appeal and get the 6-month ban rescinded. But based on the amount of effort that required for someone who simply came back to visit too soon vs. illegally working in a "pub", don't hold your breath.