Are you frantically scrolling through the forums for advice on appealing your rejected Singapore Student Pass (SP) application? Don’t worry, not all hope is lost. While appealing may seem daunting, today, I’m sharing with you 3 highly potential reasons as to why your application got rejected.
1. You did not include a sponsor.
According to the ICA, if you are enrolled in any Independent Schools, Government-aided or Government Schools in Singapore, you need a local sponsor who is a Singapore Citizen or a Permanent Resident and be aged 21 or older. Companies and organisations are not eligible to be local sponsors.
Have a parent or step-parent who is Singaporean or a Permanent Resident? He or she must act as the local sponsor for the student pass application.
Furthermore, the local sponsor needs to log into the e-service platform to submit forms V39s (Additional Undertaking to the existing local sponsor) and V39Q (undertaking).
2. You did not provide vaccination documents.
(caption: children under the age of 12 need to provide necessary vaccination documents)
You may not have been aware of this requirement. With effect from 1st February 2019, the Ministry of Health (MOH) requires documentation of diphtheria and measles vaccination as a pre-requisite for foreign-born children aged 12 years old and below when they apply for a SP.
These documents are to be submitted through the Verification of Vaccination Requirements (VR) eService managed by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). Upon successful verification, HPB would provide you with a “Verification of Vaccination Requirements (for entry to Singapore)” document that you need to submit together with your SP application.
When renewing a SP, the VR document needs to be valid. The validity of the document varies according to the age of your child. Should your document become invalid, you will need to re-apply with HPB. For more information, visit the HPB website.
Without the VR document, your application will automatically be rejected.
3. Applying for the Wrong Pass
Are you getting nervous because you have an internship in Singapore but your SP application keeps getting rejected? Well, that’s because you’re applying for the wrong kind of pass!
Depending on what kind of work or training you intend on pursuing, you will need to apply for different passes or permit, but a SP is definitely not the one for you. Here’s three of them you can consider:
Training Employment Pass: This is for foreign students or trainees who want to undergo training in Singapore for up to 3 months. Foreign students will need to be from an acceptable institution, while foreign trainees will need to be from a foreign office or subsidiary and draw a fixed monthly salary of at least $3000. However, regardless of being a foreign student or trainee, applicants must be sponsored by a well-established Singapore-registered company. Employers will apply for the pass on your behalf. If your Employers are unsure of this process, do connect them to us.
Training Work Permit: This is for unskilled or semi-skilled foreign trainees or students on practical training in Singapore for up to 6 months. This is also for foreign students studying in educational institutions in Singapore whose training must be part of their course requirements. The employer will apply for the pass on your behalf.
Work Holiday Pass: This is for foreign students or young graduates aged between 18 to 25, whom are from accepted universities and wish to work and holiday in Singapore for up to 6 months. There is a capacity of 2000 places at any one time and is thus highly competitive. Candidates can apply for the pass themselves or we can assist you with your application to maximise your chances of approval.
That being said, each application is unique so the rejection of your application could be a result of something else. Together with the advice in our previous article on the top four things you need to know about the Singapore Student Pass, hopefully you will get to study in Singapore after a successful appeal!
Still confused and want more personalised help regarding your appeal? Reach out to us!
Author: Jiayi