The Straits Times
24 July 2017

 

Report change of residential address within 28 days: ICA

 

We thank Mr Woon Wee Min (Reach out to S'pore PRs abroad to get addresses updated; July 18) and Mr Ho Kok Fei (Immovable rules out of step in borderless world; July 19) for their letters on the importance and need for updated addresses.

 

Under the National Registration Act, an identity card (IC) holder is required to report any change in his residential address within 28 days.

 

Details of the process can be found on the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) website.

 

Those who are residing overseas can choose to register either a local or overseas address.

 

It is the responsibility of IC holders to update their residential addresses to ensure that they remain contactable.

 

The updated addresses also facilitate their transactions with government agencies.

 

Serene Wong (Ms)

Head, Public and Internal Communications

Corporate Communications Division

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority


<Original Letters>

The Straits Times
19 July 2017

 

Immovable rules out of step in borderless world

Mr David Ng of Assurity Trusted Solutions mentioned that overseas Singaporeans are required to update their foreign address with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority under the National Registration Act (Important for overseas S'poreans to update foreign address with ICA; July 15).

 

I left Singapore a decade ago.

 

Then, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority had asked for my foreign office address.

 

But as I did not hold a job overseas and, thus, had no work permit from my adopted country, it informed me that my registered address in Singapore would suffice.

 

Why did the authorities not register my foreign residential address?

 

I wonder if the authorities know that I have not been residing in Singapore all this while. They seem to have assumed that the people at my registered Singapore address can get hold of me if necessary.

 

I also empathise with Dr Lee Siew Peng, who has had difficulty getting an HDB flat (Difficult for returning S'porean to get HDB flat; Forum Online, July 15).

 

I have encountered difficulties too.

 

I am expected to personally check with HDB if I am qualified to buy a flat and the type of flat I can buy, and to be present during the sale.

 

Why is this necessary? Instead of having to fly to and fro several times, why can't I appoint a lawyer or a relative or friend to settle the choosing, booking and payment for me, especially if I am paying fully in cash?

 

Such rigid immovable technicalities, rules and regulations are out of place in a borderless world where people are constantly on the move.

 

Ho Kok Fei

The Straits Times
18 July 2017

 

Reach out to S’pore PRs abroad to get address updated

 

It is worrying that there may be Singaporeans and permanent residents who are unaware of their obligations under the National Registration Act to update their addresses (Important for overseas S'poreans to update foreign address with ICA, by Assurity Trusted Solutions; July 15).

 

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority needs to address this issue.

 

It has to reach out to Singaporeans and PRs who have been physically absent from Singapore for, say, the better part of five years, and ensure that their addresses are accurate.

 

Inaccurate addresses, particularly those on identity cards, could potentially be a point of vulnerability and pose very real risks, especially during these times of heightened security concerns.

 

The ICA should especially reach out to PRs, where the updating of foreign and Singapore addresses is concerned.

 

Singapore permanent residency is, after all, a privilege and not an entitlement. PRs should respect and appreciate this by giving an account to the ICA if they have been residing outside Singapore.

 

The authorities could also reciprocate by engaging these overseas PRs so that they are in regular contact with the Singapore authorities.

 

For PRs who are overseas because their spouses are based overseas for work, solutions should be crafted to help to bring them as well as their spouses and children home to Singapore.

 

With the global fight for talent intensifying every day, keeping tabs on our PR talents and bringing home those who reside overseas is the right thing to do.

 

Woon Wee Min