Appeal Mechanism under the New No-Boarding Directive, and Similar Scheme for Sea and Land Checkpoints

Question:

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the new No-Boarding Directives to commence from 30 January 2026, (a) whether any appeal mechanism be made available to travellers who wish to enter Singapore; and (b) whether ICA has any plans to implement adapted schemes at our sea and land checkpoints.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. Travellers who are issued with No-Boarding Directives (NBD) but wish to enter Singapore nevertheless may appeal to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) by writing to the ICA Feedback Channel on its website. If the appeal for entry is approved in due course, the travellers may then re-book their flight to Singapore. There is no mechanism for immediate appeals.

2. NBD will be implemented at our air and sea checkpoints from 30 th January 2026 and by end - 2028 respectively. ICA has no plan to implement NBD at the land checkpoints for now. This is because while we can conduct screening for air and sea travellers before they board the craft at the country of departure, this does not wo rk for the land checkpoints where most of the travellers turn up at the checkpoints in their own vehicle or on public transport.