Debated in Parliament on 11 Nov 2024.
Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in each year of the past two years, what is the average number of foreigners who remain in Singapore illegally after the expiry of their visit passes issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority; and (b) what is the total number of overstayers who have not yet been arrested by the authorities.
In the past two years, an average of 450 overstayers were arrested each year. Of these, about 270 were holders of a Short-Term or Long-Term Visit Pass.
We estimate that there are about 500 to 600 overstayers who have not been arrested. This is less than 0.001% of our annual visitor arrival numbers. Some may have inadvertently stayed past the validity of their issued pass, while others do so intentionally for reasons, such as to seek employment.
It is not always possible to immediately arrest overstayers as they may have changed their contact details or residential address from the details previously declared to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). That said, ICA will continue its rigorous enforcement checks and work with other law enforcement agencies, such as the Singapore Police Force, to detect and arrest overstayers to ensure the situation is kept under control.
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