Singapore Arrival Card for Indian travellers

Indian passport holders are not visa-exempt for Singapore. Before you can board your flight, you need a valid Singapore visa stamped or e-issued. Then, separately, before you arrive, you need to file the Singapore Arrival Card (SGAC) with Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.

Both are mandatory. Skip the visa and you don't board the flight. Skip the SGAC and you board but get turned back at Changi immigration. The visa is permission to enter Singapore. The SGAC is the pre-arrival declaration that lets ICA pre-process your details and speed you through the border. Confused about the two? See SGAC vs visa for a side-by-side comparison.

Indian passport holders cannot apply for a Singapore visa directly with the Singapore High Commission. All visa applications go through ICA's Authorized Visa Agents (AVAs), the largest of which is VFS Global India. Here's what you need to know.

Two main types cover most leisure and short-term business travel:

• Single-entry tourist visa for one entry, stays up to 30 days. The default for first-time visitors.
• Multi-entry visit visa for multiple entries within the validity period (typically 1 or 2 years). Usually issued to applicants with a clean travel history or family ties to Singapore.

Standard processing is 3 to 5 business days for tourist visas. Apply 4 to 6 weeks before travel during peak seasons (Diwali, Christmas, summer holidays from May to July) to avoid delays. Last-minute submissions during peak seasons sometimes don't get processed in time.

Visa fees and VFS Global service fees change. Always check current rates at VFS Global India directly. The fee is paid in INR at the application centre.

Things that delay or reject visa applications. Most are fixable before submission:

Once your Singapore visa is approved, the SGAC is the second mandatory step. The SGAC is a pre-arrival declaration that tells Singapore ICA who you are, when you're arriving, and where you're staying. It's separate from the visa and has its own 72 hour window.

See required documents for the full list before you apply.

File the SGAC up to 72 hours before your arrival date in Singapore, not earlier. Earlier submissions are rejected by ICA. The 72 hour window starts from your arrival date, so if you arrive on the 15th, you can file from the 12th onward.

If you're applying through SGAC Online, you can submit your details to us anytime. We'll hold the application and file it inside the 72 hour window automatically. Read when to submit for the full window rules.

Our team checks every form for the common mistakes that delay or reject SGAC submissions: passport spelling that doesn't match the visa, accommodation address that's incomplete, dates that don't align with the flight booking. We file the corrected form with ICA and email you the official approval. See how it works if you'd rather we handle the form for you.

If your visa is approved late and you're now inside the 72 hour SGAC window, file the SGAC immediately. Approval is usually within hours, sometimes faster on weekdays. If your flight is the next day and you don't have your SGAC by the time you head to the airport, contact us, we can flag your application as urgent.