IMMIGRATION (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 5.15 p.m.

The Minister for Home Affairs and Education (Mr Chua Sian Chin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The enactment of the Immigration (Amendment) Bill, 1977, will mark the opening of a new dimension in immigration control in Singapore, namely, Exit Control. However, it does not constitute a change in the basic principles of immigration control. This point needs to be emphasised in order to allay the apprehension in some quarters about the significance and effect of an Exit Control Scheme in Singapore.

The present immigration law in Singapore had its origin in the Immigration Ordinance of 1952. This was amended by the Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959, with effect from 1st May 1959 to take account of the creation of the status of a citizen of Singapore under the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance, 1957. Thereafter the substance of immigration law has remained substantially unchanged although there have been some modifications of the form of the law to reflect the various constitutional changes. The only major change during this period was the introduction of immigration control at the Causeway with effect from 1st July 1967.

Throughout the years, the Immigration Department has regulated the entry into and stay in Singapore of visitors through the issue of various types of temporary passes, such as Social Visit Pass, Student's Pass or Employment Pass. It is an offence for a visitor to remain in Singapore after the expiry of his pass and he is liable - on conviction to imprisonment for a term of up to six months or to a fine of up to $2,000 or to both such imprisonment and fine. To ensure that foreigners will submit to examination by Immigration Officers on arrival in Singapore, they are only allowed to enter Singapore at entry points such as immigration anchorages, immigration control posts, authorised airports, or authorised landing places which are designated under the provisions of the Immigration Act.

The major defect in the present system is that although the Immigration Department has the power to restrict the stay of foreigners in Singapore, the mechanism is not there for it to ensure that they leave Singapore on or before the expiry of their temporary passes. There is no scheme to require all foreign visitors to submit to immigration check when leaving Singapore. There are also no specially designated exit points through which they are required to leave Singapore. As a result, foreigners can walk out from Singapore undetected even though they may have long overstayed the validity of their passes.

A special survey conducted by the Immigration Department at various checkpoints revealed that during a two-day period in October 1976, a total of 2,447 visitors had overstayed in Singapore for periods ranging from a few days to over a year. These survey figures indicate only those who after having overstayed here subsequently, for some reasons, found it necessary to leave Singapore. The figures do not, however, disclose the number of visitors who have been overstaying here for very long periods and have no intention of leaving Singapore.

At the moment, the Immigration Department takes action to track down those who overstay when information is received about their presence in Singapore. For the who4e of 1976, only 2,695 persons who overstayed were arrested by Immigration Officers in this way. This compared unfavourably with the figures of those who overstayed as disclosed during the two-day survey conducted in October 1976. Although quite a number of foreigners have overstayed in Singapore unintentionally, there are many others who have deliberately overstayed for one reason or another. If this is left unchecked, there is a danger that the number of overstayers may increase to critical proportions with all its attendant security and social implications. There is, therefore, an urgent need to institute measures to ward off this danger.

The amendment Bill before the House will empower the Immigration Department to require foreign visitors to leave Singapore only through designated anchorages, airports or points or places of departure. It will also be empowered to require such persons to hand in Embarkation Forms at the time they leave Singapore. By matching, through the use of computer, the information contained in these Embarkation Forms with the arrival information of visitors obtained from the Disembarkation Forms submitted by them on arrival in Singapore, the Department will be able to identify the visitors who have overstayed. Follow-up action will then be taken against them.

Although overstaying is an offence, some allowance will be made for tourists and other categories of visitors who may have unwittingly overstayed in Singapore for a few days. For such cases, the authorised Immigration Officers will have the discretion to either issue a warning or compound the offence for a sum of up to $100 (under clause 21 of the amendment Bill).

There is no intention at this stage to apply the Exit Control Scheme to Singapore citizens. However, when Exit Control is implemented, the Immigration Department will be empowered to check those liable for national service leaving the country. It is an offence under the Enlistment Act for persons liable for national service to leave Singapore without an exit permit from the Central Manpower Base. However, due to the absence of departure checking at the moment, such people could leave Singapore undetected temporarily or permanently. When Exit Control is implemented, the Immigration Department will have the manpower to provide departure checking for foreign visitors as well as Singapore citizens liable for national service. It is proposed in clause 17 of the Bill to confer upon an immigration officer the power to prevent those liable for national service from leaving Singapore if he does not have an exit permit. This will assist in the cutting down of the number of deserters and other cases of absence without leave.

The Immigration Department will incur a one-time capital expenditure of $824,000 in implementing the Exit Control Scheme. The annually recurrent expenditure on manpower and other operating expenditure may amount to $2,000,000 and $850,000 respectively. But this expenditure is necessary to prevent the accumulation of foreigners who overstay, including undesirable elements, that can be a factor to affect the security and social stability of Singapore. The new Woodlands Checkpoint is ready and the Exit Control Scheme can be implemented as soon as the legislation is passed and necessary regulations enacted.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Chua Sian Chin].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.