Indian citizens need to apply for and obtain an e-visa before
entering Singapore. There is no visa on arrival facility and no Singapore
Government-run facility for obtaining an online visa like the one offered by
Sri Lanka. As a result, for my previous visits to Singapore, I had to hand-over
my original passport and other documents to an authorised agent who arranged a
Singapore e-visa for me.
I got my e-visa via an email after 4 days and my passport
back by courier in about a week. Of course I had to pay a fee which was equal
to 30 Singapore Dollars plus the agent's service charges. Why Singapore makes
us endure so much hassle? All the other countries I cover in this blog offer
either a visa-free entry or a visa on arrival.
But I like Singapore too and cannot allow a visa requirement
to stop me from going there. It has been quite a while since my last visit to
Singapore and hence I have decided to go there in May 2014. A couple of days
ago, I started searching for an authorised agent who would get me a visa for
vising Singapore.
I currently live in Bengaluru and, therefore, my search query
in 'bing.com' was "Singapore visa from Bangalore". It must have been
my lucky day because the search result at the top took me to a Singapore visa
authorised agent who not only did the regular "submit the documents"
type of visa but also a completely online visa for Singapore for Indian
citizens. And as a cherry on top, the requirement of documents to get a
completely online visa was much less than the regular visa.
Documents required for Singapore Online Visa
The list of documents required for completely online visa for
Singapore is really short. Here it is:
1. One scanned photo of the applicant
400 x 514 pixels JPEG image with white background and showing
the face prominently and clearly. Maximum image file size of 60KB.
2. Scanned (color) copies of 1st (Photo) and last (address)
pages of your passport.
3. One-page MS-WORD form that takes 5 minutes per applicant
to fill. This is to be typed-in. No writing and scanning. You just download the
MS-WORD file, edit it and mail it back.
That is all. No more documents, no original passport to be
submitted. Not even your air-ticket.
Fee to be paid for Singapore Online Visa
A non-refundable fee of Rs. 3500/- is to be paid that can be
paid online through the Federal Bank Payment Gateway following the link given
on the agent's website.
The process for Singapore Visa for Indians
I prepared the scanned copies of the documents as stated
above and my photo in 400x514 pixels. It was 57KB in JPEG format. Then I made
the online payment using my credit card. I got a payment reference number on
the payment success page that I noted down.
I mailed the scanned documents and the payment reference
number to the authorized agent at about 9.50pm on April 16, 2014. At 10.18pm on
the same evening, I got a reply from the agent asking me if I had visited
Singapore before and wanted the dates of my previous travel to Singapore.
I replied immediately with the information. 10 minutes later,
I got another email from the agent confirming that they had received all the
required information and would apply for the visa. I liked their efficiency
because it was after 10.00pm Indian Standard Time.
They must have forwarded my application that night itself
because in less than 24 hours, exactly at 06.16pm on April 17, 2014, the agent
forwarded my Singapore e-visa to my email. Their website promised a response
time of 2-3 days for this service but actually managed to get a Singapore visa
for me in less than a day's time.
The Fine Print
My experience was wonderful. But the following points are
worth knowing:
1. The fee requirement for the completely online Singapore
e-visa is Rs. 3500 whereas for the "submit the documents" type of
visa, one needs to pay only Rs. 2750. The same agent (particulars given below)
does the cheaper visa too.
2. The online visa is given for "two months - multiple
entry" only. The regular e-visa may be for "two months-multiple
entry" or "two years-multiple entry" depending on the decision
of the Singapore Consulate.
3. A print-out of the e-visa (see picture above) is to be
carried to the airport for verification at the airline check-in counter in
India.
[Source: http://www.desiyatri.com/2014/04/completely-online-singapore-visa-for.html]
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