MHA revises PR re-entry permit application process

29 October 2025

On 29 September 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”) announced that from 1 December 2025, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (“ICA”) will implement changes to the permanent resident (“PR”) re-entry permit (“REP”) application process for PRs who are outside of Singapore without a valid REP. This is part of the phased operationalisation of the Immigration (Amendment) Act 2023 (“Act”), which was passed by Parliament on 18 September 2023.

Revisions to REP application process

A PR is issued with two permits: (i) an Entry Permit (“EP”), when PR status is granted, which allows a person to enter and remain in Singapore; and (ii) an REP with a fixed validity period, which allows him to re-enter Singapore after having left Singapore temporarily.

Existing process

Currently, a PR who is outside of Singapore without a valid REP is deemed by ICA to have lost his PR status immediately. He has a one-month grace period after his REP has expired to apply for a new REP, if he wishes to reinstate his PR status. If the application is approved, his PR status will be reinstated by ICA. ICA has been exercising flexibility in allowing some PRs who miss the deadline to have their PR status reinstated if they have legitimate reasons, e.g. due to hospitalisation overseas. However, this means the PR had effectively lost his PR status during the period between the REP expiry and PR reinstatement. This presents some uncertainty about the individual’s PR status and corresponding benefits, from the time he loses his PR status till his application for an REP is approved.

New REP application process from 1 December 2025

From 1 December 2025, a PR who is outside of Singapore without a valid REP will have a prescribed period of 180 days (“prescribed period”) to apply for an REP, before his PR status is lost. The prescribed period starts from 1 December 2025 if the PR is outside Singapore without a valid REP on 1 December 2025, or in any other case, the date on which the PR is first outside Singapore without a valid REP. This is a grace period during which PRs can regularise their status and confirm whether they wish to continue being a PR by applying for an REP:

  • The individual retains his PR status if his REP application, submitted within the prescribed period, is approved.
  • If the individual applies for an REP within the prescribed period, and his application is unsuccessful, he loses his PR status the day after the Controller of Immigration has rejected the REP application.
  • If the individual fails to apply for an REP within the prescribed period, he loses his PR status the day after the prescribed period. This applies regardless of whether the person is still physically overseas or has since returned to Singapore.
  • Subject to (ii) and (iii), the individual remains a PR during the prescribed period or beyond the prescribed period when his REP application outcome is pending, even if he is outside of Singapore without a valid REP during this time.

These amendments make it clear that PRs must apply for an REP within 180 days of them being outside Singapore without a valid REP, failing which they will lose their PR status. With this revised process, there will no longer be an avenue for PR reinstatement once a PR loses his PR status. The individual who has lost his PR status may submit a fresh PR application, if he is eligible to do so.

During the prescribed period, the individual remains a PR and will be allowed to re-enter Singapore if he meets ICA’s usual assessment at the Singapore immigration checkpoints, even if he does not have a valid REP. These individuals will be issued a PR’s Single-Entry Pass for their re-entry into Singapore. A summary of the revised REP application process, along with some illustrative examples, can be found in the Annex to the MHA press release.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the MHA website www.mha.gov.sg: