Singaporeans travelling to US advised to check latest entry requirements and comply: MFA
Singaporeans travelling to the US should contact the US Embassy in Singapore to keep up with the latest developments and comply with the official visa entry requirements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), in response to queries, on May 30 said Singaporean students can also stay abreast of the latest updates on the documents needed to enter the United States.
MFA said: "Students are also advised to stay in touch with their International Student Services offices regularly for updated information on entry requirements for international students."
In recent days, there have been a flurry of changes involving visa requirements for international students, as part of efforts by the Trump administration to implement a hardline immigration agenda.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent out a cable to the country's overseas missions directing them to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visa applicants.
The US government also has plans to issue guidelines on "expanded social media vetting".
On May 28, Mr Rubio said the US will start "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, although he did not specify when the revocations would begin.
Singaporeans in the US can contact an overseas mission if they require consular assistance during their travels, MFA said.
The overseas missions are as follows:
Singapore Embassy in Washington DC
+1 202 537 3100
+1 202 537 3100 extension 140 (for after hours assistance)
+1 202 436 4777 (for after hours assistance)
+1 202 412 0074 (for after hours assistance)
singemb_was@mfa.sg
Singapore Consulate-General in San Francisco
+1 415 543 4775
+1 415 290 9000 (for after hours assistance)
singcg_sfo@mfa.sg
Singapore Consulate in New York
+1 212 223 3331
+1 917 293 4540 (for after hours assistance)
singcon_nyc@mfa.sg
Singapore Honorary Consulate in Miami
+1 305 858 4225
+65 6379 8000 (for after hours assistance)
sgreen@sg-miami-consulate.org
Singaporeans can also contact MFA's 24-hour hotline, at either 6379 8800 or 6379 8855.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Scope of each country's defence no longer so neatly defined: Chan Chun Sing
While the business of security has become more complex, it also opens up new opportunities for Singapore to work with more partners, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO SINGAPORE – Technological and geopolitical changes to the world have intensified security challenges and prompted countries to redefine how they think of their defence in three crucial ways, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing. While this means the business of security has become more complex, it also opens up new opportunities for Singapore to work with more partners, Mr Chan told reporters on May 31. Speaking to the media after he hosted visiting ministers and representatives to a closed-door ministerial roundtable discussion, Mr Chan said a key topic of discussion was how 'defence and security can no longer be cut up so neatly based on geography, as per the past'. Instead, there was a strong sense that a geographic concept of security has become inadequate, with European ministers talking about their security being intertwined with that of the Asia Pacific, and vice versa. A more networked world and greater awareness of threats from the information and cyber domains has also prompted new conversations about securing critical infrastructure, such as the underwater cables that link nations to the Internet, said Mr Chan. And whereas defence ministers used to be more concerned about kinetic warfare - the deployment of armed forces in combat - they are today equally concerned about the security and resilience of their supply chains and economies, he added. Mr Chan said a point made at the roundtable discussions was that meeting these challenges would be a long-term endeavour, requiring countries to work together. Ministerial roundtables are a regular feature of the Shangri-La Dialogue, where ministers engage in informal conversations over lunch. 'If we are really serious about building capabilities for the long haul, it must be a commitment across different political cycles,' he said. It also opens up new avenues for Singapore to work with countries that are further away but who have shared interests in developing capabilities, such as to secure supply chains and to counter disinformation, he added. During the 20-minute interview, Mr Chan was also asked about US defense secretary Pete Hegseth's remarks earlier in the day, which included a call for Asian countries to raise their defence spending and to not become economically dependent on China. Mr Chan said ministers at lunch were 'appreciative of (Mr Hegseth's) candor'. But while the ministers were 'cheered' by the US' commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, they were also keen to see how this would translate into tangible action. On the Chinese defence minister's absence at this year's forum, Mr Chan said most, if not all ministers at the roundtable, would have hoped for the presence of the Chinese delegation. This is as participation at the forum has continued to grow, and many countries find it a useful platform to exchange views, he added. For the first time since 2019, China sent a delegation not led by its defence minister, which meant it could not hold bilateral meetings at the ministerial level with other countries, such as the United States. The Shangri-la Dialogue allows countries to have side meetings with each other, which helps minimise the chances of miscalculation or the misreading of another country's intentions, said Mr Chan. 'I encourage all my fellow counterparts, all my fellow defense ministers, that notwithstanding China's absence, we should continue to reach out to China,' he said. 'And I'm sure China, in its own time, will also want to reach out to the rest of the that we minimise the chances of misunderstanding.' To a question by a Chinese media outlet that mentioned Singapore's 'balancing act' between China and the US, Mr Chan said that is not the Republic's approach. 'Singapore is not trying to balance anybody, and we are also not the interlocutor (between other countries),' he said. Instead, Mr Chan said it sees itself as an open and inclusive platform that allows people to come together for frank and honest conversations. 'Where it's appreciated, we will also share with our partners our perspectives, our interpretations, and likewise we appreciate our partners sharing with us their perspectives and their interpretations of events,' he added. Mr Chan said one point that came up during the lunch was the importance of trust, without which it will be difficult for countries to work together on matters of defence. Building trust has to be done at multiple levels: from those in high political office meeting and talking, to soldiers, airmen and sailors having the opportunity to train together and understand each other's concerns, he said. The more such opportunities exist, the greater the chances that the next generation will work together to overcome new challenges, and Singapore will play its part, he added. 'We will always be an open and inclusive platform for people to come together and exchange notes, to have frank conversations with one another,' he said. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
China bristles at France's Macron linking Ukraine defence to Taiwan threats
French President Emmanuel Macron had delivered the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit on May 30. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH SINGAPORE - China on May 31 criticised as a "double standard" attempts to link the defence of Ukraine with the need to protect Taiwan from a Chinese invasion - a thinly veiled reference to a speech by French Emmanuel Macron in Singapore on May 30 night. As part of a broader address on the risks of division between China and the United States, Mr Macron told the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting that if Russia was allowed to take any part of Ukraine without constraint then 'what could happen in Taiwan?'. In a Facebook post, China's embassy in Singapore said that comparing the Taiwan issue with the Ukraine issue is 'unacceptable'. 'The two are different in nature and not comparable at all,' the post said, saying that Taiwan was entirely an internal affair for China. 'If one tries to denounce a 'double standard' with a double standard, the only result we can get is still a double standard,' the post said. The embassy post did not mention Mr Macron directly but it was accompanied by a photo of him talking at the event. Beijing has previously dispatched defence ministers and other senior military officials to the annual meeting, which ends June 1, but this year sent a relatively low-level delegation of military academics. China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games, saying the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the gathering on May 31 that China posed an 'imminent' threat and any attempt to conquer Taiwan 'would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world'. Regional diplomats said that Mr Macron's comments were far from isolated during the freewheeling, informal meeting and risks of a Russian victory emboldening a Chinese invasion of Taiwan had at times surfaced in sideline discussions. 'The message from many backing Ukraine is that the line must be held if a message is to be sent to China,' said one East Asian envoy. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
11 hours ago
- CNA
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compares Donald Trump with Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew
SINGAPORE: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday (May 31) likened US President Donald Trump to Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In a major speech outlining US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Hegseth referred to both leaders as "historic men". "Like the late prime minister, President Trump's approach is grounded in common sense and national interests," he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which gathers key defence leaders from around the world. Mr Lee served as Singapore's prime minister for three decades. Mr Hegseth praised his "sage leadership and strategic vision". "That's what common sense policies can achieve, and that's precisely what President Trump's vision is all about." Mr Lee, who turned Singapore into a high-tech industrial and financial centre, remains highly revered in Singapore more than a decade after his death.
