PRs who exit S’pore without valid re-entry permit will get 6 months to apply for one before losing status

From Dec 1, Singapore permanent residents (PRs) who leave the country without a valid reentry permit will get about six months to apply for one before losing their PR status.

- Ng Wei Kai

Currently, PRs who are outside Singapore without a valid reentry permit lose their residency status. They have a one-month grace period after their reentry permits expire to apply for a new one to reinstate their PR status.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been allowing some PRs who miss the deadline to have their PR status reinstated if they have legitimate reasons, for example, if they were hospitalised overseas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Sept 29.

But this means that PRs effectively lose their PR status between their reentry permit expiring and getting their status reinstated, it added.

MHA said: “This process presents some uncertainty about an individual's PR status and corresponding benefits, from the time he loses his PR status till his application for a reentry permit is approved.”

PRs are issued two permits: an entry permit when they first receive PR status, which allows them to enter and remain in Singapore; and a reentry permit with a fixed validity period, which allows them to reenter Singapore after having left temporarily.