SINGAPORE: A visa regime is not a foolproof way to keep unwanted characters away from Singapore, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling on Monday (Sep 9).
While a visa regime enables the government to screen individuals before they travel to Singapore, no regime will “completely weed out” undesirable visitors or stop them from committing crimes here, she added.
Ms Sun, who is also Minister of State for Social and Family Development, was responding to a parliamentary question from Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai, on whether the number of Social Visit Pass holders from China who have been arrested has increased since a 30-day visa exemption arrangement for Chinese passport holders was implemented in February.
He also asked whether allowing foreigners to enter via automated lanes at Changi Airport since May has increased the risk of people who “are not bona fide travellers” entering Singapore.
Ms Sun noted that Mr Leong’s question may be related to the recent spate of housebreaking cases in private residential estates, which the police have linked to foreign syndicates involving Chinese nationals.
Three Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged in court so far, while the police are trying to locate another 14 who are currently not in Singapore. The suspects are believed to be transient travellers who had entered Singapore as Social Visit Pass holders, usually one to two days before committing the offence, said the police in August.
There has been no increase in the number or percentage of short-term visitors from China who were arrested in Singapore since the mutual visa exemption arrangements were implemented in February, said Ms Sun in her response on Monday.
Even after accounting for the 14 Chinese nationals who are “of interest” to the police, the percentage of Chinese visitors arrested in Singapore is still lower than the corresponding percentage in 2023, she added.
“The only way we can be sure that foreigners will not commit crimes here is to close our borders to them. But doing so would destroy Singapore’s economy,” said the minister of state.
The mutual visa exemption with China was a “carefully assessed and weighed decision”, said Ms Sun.
The government decided that the security, criminal and immigration risks were manageable and that the economic and bilateral benefits would be significant, she said, adding that it was in Singapore’s interests overall to have this arrangement with China.
