Amendments to the National Registration Act to Take Effect from 1 January 2017

The amendments to the National Registration Act (NRA), which were passed in Parliament on 10 November 2016, will take effect from 1 January 2017.

2.            The National Registration Act (NRA) was enacted in 1965 for the registration of persons in Singapore, for the issue of identity cards and related purposes. The amendments will enable the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations.

3.            With the amendments coming into force, ICA will collect iris images from Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) as   another identifier, in addition to photographs and fingerprints. This will be done as part of the NRIC registration and re-registration process, as well as part of the passport application and renewal process.

4.            ICA will also be appointing selected SingPost employees as registration officers.  They will assist to enrol iris images from NRIC holders at selected SingPost outlets, as part of NRIC registration or re-registration.

5.            For more information, please refer to:

• Second Reading Speech of the National Registration (Amendment) Bill – Speech by Mr Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs

• Response Speech on the National Registration (Amendment) Bill – Speech by Mr Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs