To visit Singapore, with the exception of transit (which will be discussed at the end of the article), Russian citizens need a visa. You cannot obtain it independently; you will have to act through authorized agents or a local resident. We will not consider the second option, as it is unlikely you have friends in Singapore, and will focus on simpler and more popular methods.
A Singaporean visa is processed online; nothing is pasted into your passport. You will receive a file via email; print it out and take it with you. It will be useful when boarding your flight and at passport control in Singapore.
You can apply for a Singapore visa in person at the Asian Countries Visa Center or
online on their website.
In addition to the application itself, you will need the following documents:
- Hotel booking. Bookings from popular booking systems like booking.com or agoda.com are accepted.
- Flight booking/itinerary for travel to and from Singapore or train/bus ticket bookings.
- Insurance. It is not mandatory, but desirable. Coverage amount should be at least 50,000 USD.
- Copy of the foreign passport page with data and photo. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months at the time of entry into Singapore.
- Photo
Requirements are stricter for women under 31. Some of our compatriots have distinguished themselves, and now everyone suffers. In general, if you are a woman, you are not yet 31 years old, and you are traveling unaccompanied, additionally provide:
- your itinerary in Singapore and an approximate travel budget;
- a certificate from your place of employment indicating salary and position, or a bank statement;
- an application for leave.
At the time of writing this article, the cost of the visa and visa center services was 2,700 rubles (payment can be made online). The standard processing time for a visa is 2-3 days, for women - up to 6 days.
The visa is issued for 5 weeks from the date of issue with the right to stay in Singapore for 30 days. Therefore, there is no point in applying for a visa too far in advance.
Another popular way to obtain a visa is through an authorized agency in Singapore. The visa is processed online; you need to fill out an application form, send the agent your photo and a scanned passport page with your data and photo.
You do not need to provide hotel or flight bookings.
Visa processing takes 1-3 days. The cost is 40-50$ depending on the agent. The visa is valid for 9 weeks from the date of issue with a right to stay for 30 days.
How to check the authenticity of a visa?
If you have doubts about an agent or simply want to check how this works, enter the VSC number (Visa Reference Number - this is a 19-digit alphanumeric code) and your passport number (exactly as it is indicated on the visa).
If the visa is approved, you will see the message - Visa application is Approved.
Visa-free transit in Singapore
If you are transiting through Singapore on your way somewhere else, you do not need to apply for a visa. CIS citizens can stay in Singapore for 96 hours (4 days) without a visa.
What do you need for this?
- to travel through Singapore to a third country. Specifically to a third country; the Bangkok - Singapore - Bangkok option will not work, but Bangkok - Singapore - Kuala Lumpur is OK.
- have a valid foreign passport (valid for at least 6 months), a confirmed air ticket from Singapore to a third country, documents required for entry into the third country (including a visa), and sufficient funds for your stay in Singapore;
- depart to a third country within 96 hours.
If you are flying to Singapore with a low-cost airline, such as Tigerair, Air Asia, etc., you may encounter problems during boarding. You need to explain to the check-in staff or the Visa Check counter that you have the right to visa-free transit. To be safe, it's best to print out the page from the immigration website where visa-free transit is mentioned:
https://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=96
