SG Arrival Card (SGAC): Singapore Arrival Card guide

The Singapore Arrival Card (also called the SG Arrival Card, SGAC, Singapore entry card or digital arrival card) is ICA's free electronic arrival declaration for most travellers seeking immigration clearance before entering Singapore. The official flow is ICA's SG Arrival Card e-Service or MyICA app.

The important distinction is simple: SGAC is free and it is not a Singapore entry visa. A visa-free traveller may not need Form 14A, but still has to meet Singapore's entry requirements and submit SGAC when no exemption applies. A visa-required passport holder still needs the entry visa or e-Visa before travel and then handles SGAC as a separate arrival declaration where ICA requires it.

Yes. The Singapore Arrival Card is free when submitted through ICA's official e-Service or the MyICA app. A third-party website may charge for its own assistance, but it should not make the card itself look like a paid visa product.

This is why we keep the SGAC path separate from VisatoSingapore's paid Form 14A support. If your passport does not need a Singapore entry visa for the trip, there may be no Form 14A case for us to file; use the official free SGAC route and check current ICA entry requirements.

ICA's current guidance says travellers can submit SGAC within three calendar days, including the day of arrival. There is no universal ICA rule that makes airline check-in the submission deadline. The practical choice is to submit after the window opens and before going to the airport, then keep the acknowledgement available. In a specific case, an airline may be instructed to verify the submission before boarding under ICA's No-Boarding Directive process.

Do not submit so early that the trip details are no longer current. If flight, accommodation, passport or health details change after submission, use the official ICA service or MyICA app to check the current update or resubmission route.

ICA's current e-Services directory estimates five to seven minutes for an individual SG Arrival Card submission. Allow extra time to check passport, trip, accommodation or contact and health-declaration details before sending it.

That estimate is for completing the free declaration, not for immigration clearance or a Singapore entry-visa decision. If your passport needs a visa, finish the separate Form 14A route before travel and verify both steps on ICA's live pages.

Submit only through ICA's SG Arrival Card e-Service or the official MyICA mobile app. ICA says the submission is free and warns that paid or misleading sites are not affiliated with ICA.

Check that the website is on ica.gov.sg or eservices.ica.gov.sg before entering passport or health information. Use VisatoSingapore's separate visa checker only to decide whether the passport also needs a pre-travel entry visa.

Most foreign visitors who clear Singapore immigration need SGAC. ICA lists exemptions, including transit or transfer passengers who do not seek immigration clearance and eligible residents entering through Woodlands or Tuas checkpoints.

If you remain airside without clearing immigration, the SGAC transit exception applies. If you must clear immigration to collect baggage, leave the airport or visit the city, check the SGAC requirement before arrival. Separate tickets or the label self-transfer alone do not settle this: confirm baggage collection and onward boarding arrangements with the airlines.

No. SG Arrival Card is not Form 14A, not an e-Visa and not proof that ICA has approved entry. It is an arrival declaration submitted before immigration clearance.

If your nationality or travel document is on ICA's visa-required list, prepare the Singapore entry visa route before travel. The SGAC acknowledgement does not cure a missing visa, and final entry is still decided by ICA officers at the checkpoint.

Expect passport details, travel details, contact or accommodation in Singapore and a health declaration where required. Names, passport numbers and dates should match the travel document and booking details exactly.

For families or groups, ICA provides Group Submission for travellers going to Singapore together for one trip. Each traveller's details still need to be correct; a group SGAC acknowledgement is not visa approval for anyone in the group.

Confirm whether you will seek immigration clearance. ICA lists exemptions for transit or transfer passengers who remain airside without clearing immigration and for eligible residents entering through the land checkpoints. Check the current ICA page for your trip rather than assuming every connection is exempt.

Check the entry-visa rule separately using the passport or travel document you will use. SGAC does not replace a required Singapore entry visa.

Use the SG Arrival Card e-Service linked from ica.gov.sg or the MyICA app. ICA does not charge a submission fee for SGAC, so verify the domain before entering passport or health information.

Enter each traveller's passport details exactly as shown on the travel document, then add the requested trip, Singapore contact or accommodation and health-declaration information. ICA also provides a Group Submission route for people travelling together on one trip.

Review names, passport numbers and arrival details before submitting. ICA currently says SGAC may be submitted within three days before arrival, including the day of arrival; verify the live ICA guidance before travel because requirements can change.

Keep the acknowledgement sent after submission. If travel or declaration details change, return to the official ICA service or MyICA app and follow ICA's current update or resubmission route; an acknowledgement is not visa approval or a guarantee of entry.

The main mistakes are paying a copycat site for access to a free official flow, assuming SGAC replaces a visa, submitting outside the current ICA timing window, using passport details that do not match the travel document, or forgetting that self-transfer and baggage collection can mean clearing immigration.

Use the official ICA SG Arrival Card page as the source of truth. If you are unsure whether your passport also needs a Singapore entry visa, start with the VisatoSingapore visa checker or the Singapore visa hub, then keep SGAC as the separate free arrival step.

SG Arrival Card is an online declaration, not a plastic card. After submission, keep the acknowledgement email; the ICA e-Service also lets you download a PDF. ICA accepts the acknowledgement on a mobile device or a printout. MyICA QR clearance at land checkpoints is a separate function and does not replace SGAC when the declaration is required.

A successful submission may appear as an acknowledgement email, a PDF or a MyICA record. It is a receipt, not a visa, entry approval or e-Pass. ICA publishes no universal deadline tied to airline check-in; submitting before you leave for the airport is practical. Since 30 January 2026, ICA can ask an airline to verify SGAC or visa in a case-specific no-boarding check.