Singapore Arrival Card for Malaysians: 2026 SGAC Guide

Travelling from Malaysia to Singapore? Before your trip, you will usually need to complete the Singapore Arrival Card, also known as the SG Arrival Card or SGAC.

The SG Arrival Card is a free electronic arrival declaration managed by Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). It includes your travel information and electronic health declaration.

For most Malaysian short-term visitors, SGAC is required whether you arrive by:

• ✈️ Plane
• 🚗 Car
• 🚌 Bus
• 🚆 Train
• ⛴️ Ferry or other sea transport

You must submit it within three days before arriving in Singapore, including your arrival day.

Here is everything Malaysian travellers need to know.

👤 Who Needs a Singapore Arrival Card?

Malaysian citizens visiting Singapore as short-term visitors generally need to submit an SG Arrival Card each time they enter Singapore and clear immigration.

✅ You usually need SGAC if you:

• Drive from Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur into Singapore
• Take a cross-border bus through Woodlands or Tuas
• Fly from Kuala Lumpur, Penang or another Malaysian airport to Singapore
• Enter Singapore by train
• Arrive by ferry or other sea transport

For example, if you drive from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore via the Causeway, you should submit the SG Arrival Card before reaching the immigration checkpoint.

⚠️ What about the land-checkpoint exemption?

This exemption often causes confusion.

Singapore citizens, Singapore Permanent Residents and eligible Long-Term Pass holders may be exempt from submitting SGAC when entering through Woodlands or Tuas.

However, this exemption does not normally apply to Malaysian tourists or other foreign short-term visitors.

Can Malaysians use MyKad instead of a passport?

No.

Your MyKad is not a replacement for your Malaysian passport when entering Singapore as a visitor.

You should travel with a valid passport that generally has at least six months of remaining validity.

MyICA also offers QR-code immigration clearance at some land checkpoints, but this is a separate system. The QR code is linked to passport information.

👉 Important: Your SG Arrival Card confirmation and your MyICA immigration QR code are not the same thing.

🗓️ How long can Malaysians stay in Singapore?

Malaysian passport holders generally do not need a Singapore entry visa for ordinary short visits.

However, do not assume that every Malaysian visitor automatically receives a fixed 30-day or 90-day stay.

Your permitted period of stay is determined by Singapore immigration when you enter.

After immigration clearance, check your electronic Visit Pass, or e-Pass, which shows the last day you are allowed to remain in Singapore.

📱 Step-by-Step: How to Submit the SG Arrival Card Online

You can submit your Singapore Arrival Card using either:

• 💻 The official ICA SG Arrival Card website: https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard/
• 📱 The MyICA mobile app

Submission through the official ICA system is free.

⚠️ Be careful with third-party websites that charge “application”, “service” or “processing” fees.

⏰ When should you submit it?

You can submit SGAC within three days before your arrival date, including the arrival day.

For most travellers, submitting it around 48–72 hours before departure is convenient.

Do not submit it too early because applications outside ICA’s permitted window may not be accepted.

💻 Option 1: Submit through the ICA website

Step 1: Select “Foreign Visitors”

Malaysian tourists and other short-term visitors should choose the foreign visitor option.

Step 2: Enter your passport details

Copy the details exactly from your passport.

You may need to provide information such as:

• Full name
• Passport number
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Passport expiry date

🔎 Double-check your passport number.

Do not enter your MyKad number in the passport field.

Step 3: Enter your travel information

Add your Singapore arrival details.

For example:

Flying from Kuala Lumpur:
Enter your KUL–SIN flight details.

Driving from Johor Bahru:
Select the relevant land-arrival information.

Arriving by ferry:
Enter the vessel or sea-arrival information requested by the form.

Step 4: Enter your Singapore address

Provide the address where you will stay.

This may be:

• 🏨 Hotel
• 🏠 Friend or relative's home
• 🏢 Serviced apartment
• 🛏️ Other accommodation

Use your Singapore accommodation address rather than your Malaysian home address where the form asks for your Singapore stay.

Step 5: Complete the health declaration

Answer all current health and travel-history questions accurately.

If your health status changes before you arrive in Singapore, update your information using ICA's Update SGAC function.

Step 6: Review and submit

Before clicking submit, check:

✅ Passport number
✅ Full name
✅ Arrival date
✅ Accommodation
✅ Email address
✅ Transport details

After successful submission, you should receive an acknowledgement through the contact information entered in the form.

📲 Option 2: Use the MyICA app

The MyICA app follows a similar process.

For frequent travellers, it can be more convenient because saved traveller profiles may reduce repeated data entry.

This can be especially useful for Malaysians who travel frequently between Johor and Singapore.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Travelling with family?

Use ICA's Group Submission option when several people are travelling together on the same trip.

This can save time when entering information for:

• Couples
• Families
• Children
• Infants
• Small travel groups

Each traveller still needs their own correct passport information.

📸 Suggested image for this section:
Add annotated screenshots showing the passport-details page, arrival information, accommodation field and health declaration.

Suggested alt text:
Singapore Arrival Card online form for Malaysian travellers showing passport and arrival information fields.

🧳 Required Documents and Printable Checklist

You do not need a huge document folder to submit SGAC.

However, preparing everything before you start can prevent errors.

✅ Singapore Arrival Card Checklist

Before submitting, prepare:

• 📕 Valid Malaysian passport
• 🔢 Passport number
• 👤 Full name exactly as shown on passport
• 🎂 Date of birth
• 🌏 Nationality
• 📅 Passport expiry date
• 🛬 Singapore arrival date
• ✈️ Flight, vehicle or ferry information where applicable
• 🏨 Singapore accommodation address
• 📧 Valid email address
• 📱 Contact number where requested
• 🩺 Health declaration information
• 🎫 Return or onward travel details where relevant

After submission, save:

• ✅ SGAC acknowledgement
• 📧 Confirmation email
• 📄 PDF confirmation if available

👶 What about children and infants?

Children and infants must also have their own valid travel documents.

A parent or responsible adult can submit their SG Arrival Card information on their behalf.

When entering a child's details:

• Use the child's passport number
• Use the child's date of birth
• Use the child's nationality
• Do not copy the parent's passport details

📝 Simple family template

You can prepare this before filling in the form:

Traveller Name | Passport Number | Expiry Date | Date of Birth | SGAC Submitted

Example:

Parent 1 | A12345678 | 2029-05-10 | 1988-03-12 | ✅

Child 1 | B12345678 | 2028-07-21 | 2018-09-08 | ✅

This makes group submissions much easier.

📲 Save your confirmation offline

Save your SGAC acknowledgement on your phone before travelling.

Good options include:

• Screenshot
• PDF file
• Email
• Cloud storage
• Phone wallet or offline documents folder

This can be useful if mobile coverage is weak at the border.

However, ICA does not generally require travellers to carry a printed SGAC confirmation because the submission is electronically linked to your travel details.

💡 Tip: Keep your passport and SGAC acknowledgement easy to access while travelling.

🔧 Processing, Confirmation and Common SGAC Errors

The SG Arrival Card is not a visa application.

That means you normally do not need to wait several days for an approval decision.

After a successful submission, ICA provides an acknowledgement.

📧 What should you receive?

Depending on the submission method, you may be able to access:

• Confirmation email
• Submission acknowledgement
• SGAC PDF
• Submitted declaration in MyICA

Your acknowledgement may also contain a Disembarkation/Embarkation number, often called a D/E number.

After immigration clearance, foreign visitors receive an e-Pass.

Your e-Pass is important because it shows your permitted length of stay in Singapore.

❌ Didn't receive a confirmation?

Try these steps:

1. 📩 Check your spam or junk folder.
2. 🔍 Check whether you entered the correct email address.
3. 📱 Open MyICA and check submitted declarations.
4. 📝 Confirm that your arrival date is correct.
5. 🔁 Use the Update SGAC function where appropriate.
6. ☎️ Contact ICA if the problem remains unresolved.

⚠️ Common SG Arrival Card mistakes

Some of the most common errors include:

• Entering a MyKad number instead of a passport number
• Typing the wrong passport number
• Selecting the wrong arrival date
• Using details from an expired passport
• Entering an inaccessible email address
• Choosing incorrect transport details
• Forgetting to update health information

✏️ What if you entered something incorrectly?

Use ICA's Update SGAC function where the information can be amended.

If the error affects essential travel information, make sure the declaration matches the trip you are actually taking.

🛂 What if you reach Singapore without confirmation?

Have your passport and travel itinerary ready.

You can tell the immigration officer:

“I submitted my SG Arrival Card, but I cannot retrieve the acknowledgement. Here is my passport and travel information. Could you please help me verify the submission?”

Be ready to show:

• Passport
• Flight or transport details
• Accommodation information
• Screenshot of any error
• SGAC confirmation if available

✈️ Transit Rules, Privacy and Special Cases

🔄 Do transit passengers need SGAC?

Not always.

If you are flying from Malaysia through Singapore and remain inside the airport transit area without clearing Singapore immigration, you generally do not need to submit an SG Arrival Card.

For example:

Kuala Lumpur → Singapore → Tokyo

If you remain airside at Changi Airport and transfer directly to your next flight, you normally do not need SGAC.

However, you may need to submit SGAC if you have to:

• 🧳 Collect checked baggage
• 🛂 Clear Singapore immigration
• 🏨 Stay overnight landside
• 🎫 Check in again outside the transit zone
• 🚪 Enter Singapore for several hours

The same rule applies to short visits.

Even if you only enter Singapore for a few hours, SGAC is generally required once you clear immigration.

🔐 What happens to your SGAC data?

ICA collects personal and travel information for immigration and government purposes.

ICA's public privacy information does not specify one universal fixed retention period for SG Arrival Card records.

Instead, personal information is generally retained as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or for official government purposes.

Travellers who want to request access to or correction of personal information can use ICA's official enquiry or feedback channels.

🚀 Submit Your Singapore Arrival Card Before You Travel

Do not wait until you are already standing in the immigration queue.

Submit your Singapore Arrival Card within three days of your arrival, check every passport detail carefully and save the confirmation somewhere you can access offline.

✅ Before leaving Malaysia:

• Submit SGAC
• Check your passport number
• Confirm your arrival date
• Save the acknowledgement
• Carry your physical passport
• Keep your Singapore address ready

👉 Fill SG Arrival Card Now at ICA e-Service

Travelling with family? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Prepare everyone's passport information first and use the Group Submission option when travelling together.

And remember:

💰 The official Singapore Arrival Card submission is free.

Avoid websites charging unnecessary processing fees.