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Singapore: Whether a foreign woman married to a citizen of Singapore would lose her permanent residence status if that status had been obtained using false documentation; the maximum penalty for having obtained residence status based on false documents

According to a senior corporate communications executive at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore,

[E]ach and every application for Singapore Permanent Residence is considered carefully on its own merits. The Controller of Immigration may cancel the Entry / Re-entry Permit if any material statement made in or in connection with the application for the permit was false or misleading. Under the Immigration Act, the Controller of Immigration also has the statutory power to revoke the permanent resident status if a Permanent Resident has committed an offence and [been] sentenced to an imprisonment term (Singapore 22 Apr. 2003).

The following information regarding lawful entry to Singapore and the penalties meted out to a person who breaches the Immigration Act was also found.

Regarding the control of entry into Singapore, Section 6(1) of the 1963 Immigration Act, which was amended as recently as 2003, stipulates that in order to lawfully enter the country a person must present a valid and legal entry permit or pass (ibid. 16 Sept. 1963). The punishment for breaching Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act is

imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months and shall also, subject to section 231 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), be punished with caning with not less than 3 strokes, or where by virtue of that section he is not punishable with caning, he shall, in lieu of caning, be punished with a fine not exceeding $6,000 (ibid., Sec. 6(3)).

Individuals exempt from the punishment of caning are women, men sentenced to death and men over 50 years of age (ibid. 16 May 1955, Sec. 231). Enacted in 1872 an last amended in 1998, the Penal Code of Singapore explains that a person shall "be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 7 years, and shall also be liable to fine" for knowingly giving false evidence that could be "used in any stage of a judicial proceeding" (ibid.16 Sept. 1872, Sec. 193). Criminal offences also include "using evidence known to be false" (ibid., Sec. 196), "issuing or signing a false certificate" (ibid., Sec. 197) and "using as a true certificate one known to be false in a material point" (ibid., Sec. 198).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Singapore. 22 April 2003. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. Correspondence sent

by a senior corporate communications executive.

_____. 16 September 1963. Immigration Act. (Chapter 133).

<http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/non_version/cgi-bin/cgi_retrieve.pl?actno=REVED-133&doctitle=IMMIGRATION%20ACT%0a&date=latest&method=part> [Accessed 11 Apr. 2003]

_____. 16 May 1955. Criminal Procedure Code. (Chapter 68).

<http://www.statutes.agc.gov.sg/non_version/cgi-bin/cgi_retrieve.pl?actno=REVED-68&doctitle=CRIMINAL%20PROCEDURE%20CODE%0a&date=latest&method=part> [Accessed 11 Apr. 2003]

_____. 16 September 1872. Penal Code. (Chapter 224).

<http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/non_version/cgi-bin/cgi_retrieve.pl?actno=REVED

224&doctitle=PENAL%20CODE%0a&date=latest&method=part> [Accessed 11 Apr. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority

Law Town

World News Connection