AP Travel/Singapore StopOver:Do I need to get VISA from here?

D

dude_ca

Registered Users (C)
I'm travelling on AP to India and I have stop over of 19 hrs in Singapore. Do I need to get any VISA from the singapore embassy here itself? (or) Do they give the transit visa at the Airport.

If you have travelled recently to India Via Singaport stopover, please share your experience.

Thanks.
 
you need to request Singapore airlines to issue you a letter(its common). Present this letter at immigration in Singapore and you will get your transit visa.
 
I get off the plane at Singapore. Fill a form and take it to
Immigration officer. Has been issued 3 days visa thrice
on the spot without any problems. Never ever saw their
embassy. Dunno if situation changed recently.
 
If you are not planning to leave the airport premises you do not need a transit visa. There is also a 2 hr guided tour of the city, from the airport, for which you do not need a visa.
However if you plan to leave the airport, by yourself, you will need a transit visa.
Typically for a short duration, such as yours, the visa is granted at the airport. But with the ever changing rules and regulations it is always better to confirm with the local consulate.

For visas and general consular matters, please contact the Singapore Consulate-General in San Francisco at (415) 543-0474 or email sincgsf@aol.com
 
Hi ,

It is a good idea to obtain a visa here in the US. If you are in the bay area the embassy is located in SFO on market and the fee is USD11/-.

I have a friend who was refused a transit visa in singapore recently so if you do not want to take chances get one here.
 
Thanks for all your replies. I called singapore airlines. They mentioned that I *should* get a visa here itself, as they can't decide at the airport whether they can give me a transit visa or not.

Anyway, they asked me to send the following info :
VISA 415-543-0474 ( sincgsf@aol.com )

Fill the Form # : 14 available from their website. ( http://www.mfa.gov.sg/sanfrancisco/ )

1. photograph
2. original inidian passport
3. employement letter
4. hotel... confirmation.
5. money order of 11$(VISA Fee) + 19$ (UPS fee - over night)
6. copy of confirmed tickets

Damn.. I really forgot about this, I just have two more weeks. Hope I can get this done before that. I really hate my travel agent, who did not mention about this to me.
 
dude_ca
I would take my chances. Don't do visa here. Go to Singapore
and try to get visa at the airport. If they deny your visa you
can still stay at the airport Hotels in transit area. No problem
at all. They have good rooms for $40-$100. And Changi
airport is so cool that you can easily spend couple of days
having fun there. You can do lot of browsing, lot of arcade
gaming. They show free movies in the transit area theater.
They have restaurants and all kinds of crazy stuff in both
Terminal A and B. Besides you can take their shitty 2 hour
tour of Singapore.

Save the $40 and use it to do some shopping at the airport.

Thats too much to spend on getting in to a country of size
50 by 70 km. From one end of the country you can travel
from one end of country to other in a taxi for $15 ( singapore)
dollars.

Checkout the good malay food though. Very cool.
 
desi-bartender,
Thanks for the information. I guess it's good to know that, If I don't get VISA from here. [ because I really don't have enough time to get an VISA here. ], I can always stay in the singapore airport and spend 19 hrs. First, I thought I won't be able to spend 19 hrs in the airport. Looking at what you are saying, looks like I can easily spend 19hrs at the airport.
 
Last time I travelled to Singapore, I got a visa from San Francisco itself, but that was only because I was going to stay there for 4 days or so, on my trip back from India.

But if your trip is 2 weeks away, I wouldn't advise you to go through the visa process. Usually they take about 5-6 days, but that is only if you have all your documents in order and usually you will end up not providing exactly what they want like letters of recommendations etc.

A lot of people just take the transit visa on the spot, and it is usually granted. Keep in mind two things, one there is a huge line for the transit visa, so the moment your flight lands, make haste and get in line. And two, pack your bags accordingly, Changi airport has a baggage check for some nominal amount, so you can leave your bags there while you travel around Singapore.

There is a metro rail right from the airport itself, so it is very easy to travel. I definitely recommend a visit to Newton Circle, if you are in anyway into sea food. And offcourse a trip down Orchid road. The food is simply awesome.

If you don't get a transit visa, there are enough things to do in the airport itself, they have internet connection, TV's, game etc. Should be fun. So nothing lost.

Enjoy your trip, just be careful of SARS! :)
 
Yup,
Changi is as cool as it gets. They also have lockers and you
can put your luggage there fir 5 us bucks and then be tension
free. Its a really cool airport.

And don't worry. They will give you the visa. People get rejected
because they do not have enough time in transit. You have a
full day and so you will qualify.

If you don't its not such a big problem. Singapore makes it
big bucks on tourism. They want you to come there and
spend some money. So they are very lenient. Once you
get their visa you will never ever have problem entering
that country next time.

If you have friends there it also works well. You can give
your friends address and phone number. That also helps
to put their anxiety to rest.

Plus they are not so worried about illegal immigrants like USA.

In a country of 50 by 70 km it is just too darn difficult to hide.
No? Have a safe trip. :D
 
140_takes_4ever & jokerpoker_us,

Thanks for all your inputs. I can't even explain how great it helps to know others experience. I have decided not to apply for singapore visa from here. [ because I don't want to send my passport in mail to singapore consulate, when my travel schedule is just 2 weeks from now. I'm in LA, so I can't go directly to singapore consulate].

As you mentioned, I will go there , if they give me transit visa, I will go out and stay in the hotel, which my travel agent has reserved for me. If I don't get visa, I will stay in the transit-hotel [ http://www.airport-hotel.com.sg/reservation.htm ] at the airport and take the 2-hour tour which can be arranged from the airport itself and spend rest of my time in the Airport.

Also, another question. If they reject my transit visa at the airport, will they stamp something in my passport saying that the 'transit visa' was rejected? If yes, does it impact me in anyway ?.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top