Over 33,000 Foreigners Denied Entry into Singapore in 2024: ICA

They were assessed to either potentially overstay or work illegally, or commit crimes

- Andrew Wong and Joakim Kang

More than 230 million travellers passed through the Republic's checkpoints in 2024, about 38 million more than in 2023.

But this spike also saw more visitors being turned away by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Its annual statistics released on Feb 14 showed 33,100 foreigners were denied entry in 2024 after they were found to pose immigration or security risks to the nation.

This was 4,500 more than the 28,600 foreigners refused entry in 2023.

ICA said these people were assessed to either potentially overstay or work illegally, or commit crimes here.

ICA said the jump in annual visitors was largely due to an increase at Singapore's land checkpoints, accounting for more than 75 per cent of all travellers.

For example, a record number of more than 562,000 land crossings in a single day was logged on Dec 20, 2024 at the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints.

ICA said its New Clearance Concept (NCC) at Changi Airport, with automated lanes and passport-free clearance at the airport and progressively at all sea checkpoints, has helped to weed out undesirable visitors.