Persons who Missed Deadline to Re-register for New NRICs due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) upon the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, how many Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents born before, in or after 1962 missed the one-year deadline to re-register for their new NRICs, thereby forfeiting the option to pay the subsidised fee of $10 or $50 respectively; and (b) whether a one-off extension of time may be provided to these persons having regard to the effect of the pandemic on them.

It is compulsory for Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) born in or after 1962 to re-register for a new National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) within one year upon turning ages 30 and 55. These compulsory re-registrants will receive a notification letter from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to remind them to re-register within a year. Re-registrants are eligible for a subsidised fee of $10 for SCs and $50 for PRs for the issuance of their new NRIC. NRIC holders who re-register beyond the one-year period will be asked for the reason for their late re-registration. However, the subsidised fee will still be extended to them. From January 2020 to December 2021, approximately 9% of compulsory re-registrants missed the one-year deadline to re-register for their new NRIC.

For SCs and PRs born before 1 January 1962, NRIC re-registration is optional. They will receive the notification letter from ICA to notify them that they have the option to re-register within one year at the subsidised fee of $10 for SCs and $50 for PRs. If they miss the one-year window, a higher re-registration fee of $60 will apply. ICA will assess appeals for the subsidised fee on a case-by-case basis. From January 2020 to December 2021, approximately 72% of optional re-registrants did not re-register for their new NRIC.