Saturday 4 April 2009

Get in

Get in

Banned in Singapore

There's more to the list than just porn and drugs:
- Overhead wires
- Satellite dishes
- Standing water
- Freestanding billboards
- Feeding pigeons or monkeys
- Malaysian newspapers
- Homosexual activity

Most nationalities can enter Singapore without a visa. Refer to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority for current guidelines, including a list of the 30+ nationalities that are required to obtain a visa in advance. Entry permit duration (in most cases either 14 or 30 days, with 90 days for US Citizens) depends on nationality and entry point.

Singapore has very strict drug laws, and drug trafficking carries a mandatory death penalty — which is also applied to foreigners. Even if you technically haven't entered Singapore and are merely transiting (i.e. changing flights without the need to clear passport control and customs) while in possession of drugs, you would still be subject to capital punishment. In addition, bringing in explosives and firearms without a permit is also a capital offence in Singapore.

As always, travellers should take care with their baggage and secure it appropriately. Bring prescriptions for any medicines you may have with you. The paranoid might also like to note that in Singapore, it is an offence even to have any drug metabolites in your system, even if they were consumed outside Singapore. Hippie types may expect a little extra attention from Customs, but getting a shave and a haircut is no longer a condition for entry.


Duty free allowances for alcohol are 1 L of spirits, 1 L of wine and 1 L of beer per person unless you are entering from Malaysia, from which there is no duty free allowance. Alcohol may not be brought in by persons under the age of 18. Note that cigarettes cannot be brought in duty free. One opened packet (not carton!) is acceptable, but anything more will be taxed. Foreigners can opt to pay the tax or let the customs officers keep the cigarettes until the next departure; locals get to choose between paying
or witnessing the cigarettes being destroyed.

Note that bringing in chewing gum is illegal, though customs officers would usually not bother with a few sticks for personal consumption as long as you are discreet about it.

Pornography, pirated goods and publications by the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unification Church may not be imported to Singapore, and baggage is scanned at land and sea entry points. In theory, all entertainment media including movies and video games must be sent to the Board of Censors for approval before they can be brought into Singapore, but in practice this is rarely if ever enforced for original (non-pirated) goods.


-Information courtesy of wikitravel Singapore travel guide, accurate as of publishing date-

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