Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Average Number of Foreigners Who Remain in Singapore Illegally After Expiry of Their Visit Passes in the Past Two Years

Question:

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in each year of the past two years, what is the average number of foreigners who remain in Singapore illegally after the expiry of their visit passes issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority; and (b) what is the total number of overstayers who have not yet been arrested by the authorities.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1. In the past two years, an average of 450 overstayers were arrested each year. Of these, about 270 were holders of a Short-Term or Long-Term Visit Pass.

2. We estimate that there are about 500 to 600 overstayers who have not been arrested. This is less than 0.001% of our annual visitor arrival numbers. Some may have inadvertently stayed past the validity of their issued pass, while others do so intentionally for reasons such as to seek employment.

3. It is not always possible to immediately arrest overstayers as they may have changed their contact details or residential address from the details previously declared to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). That said, ICA will continue its rigorous enforcement checks, and work with other law enforcement agencies such as the Singapore Police Force, to detect and arrest overstayers to ensure the situation is kept under control.