A foreigner who has been offered a place at a EduTrusted Private Education Organisation* (PEO) or a kindergarten registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE)/childcare centre licensed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) [KID] in Singapore is eligible to apply for a Student's Pass electronically via the internet using the SOLAR+ system.

*PEOs refer to those that are registered with the Council for Private Education (CPE) and those that are not required to be registered with CPE but obtained permission from ICA to submit Student's Pass applications for foreign students intending to take up their courses.

The student should have the following documents:

i)   A valid travel document;
ii)  A photograph image in JPEG format, with a file size around 60 Kbytes and dimension of 400 by 514 pixels; and
iii) A notification from the PEO/KID with the necessary information for the student to access SOLAR+ to submit the Student's Pass application electronically.

Yes. Due to security of personal data, users are advised to save their data promptly and not to leave the system unattended when login to the SOLAR+ system. There will be a time-out session when there is a 30-minute period of inactivity. Users will be prompted and kept informed of the remaining time for a forced time-out session.

Yes, an incomplete application for Student's Pass via the SOLAR+ system that has not been submitted to ICA will be automatically treated as void after a 3-month period of inactivity. When this happens, the school and student will not be able to submit that particular application via the system. The school will need to re-register an application for the student's submission.

Completed applications for a Student's Pass that are submitted to ICA (i.e, application status is "Receiving Attention") after 1630 hrs on a full working day, on a Saturday/Sunday or on a Public Holiday will be considered as applications received on the next full working day.

Your photograph image should:

i)   be taken within the last 3 months;
ii)  show the full face and without headgear (headgear worn in accordance with religious or racial customs is acceptable but must not hide the facial features);
iii) be between 25mm and 35mm from chin to crown and 35mm wide by 45mm high without border; and
iv)  have a dimension of 400 by 514 pixels.

Your photograph image file attachment should:

i)   be in JPEG format;
ii)  the file size should be around 60 Kbytes and
iii) the preferred dimension of the photo image is 400 by 514 pixels.

To print the eForms, you will need to ensure that the page settings for your Internet Browser are as follow:

i)   Paper Size is A4 210 x 297 mm;
ii)  Page Orientation is Portrait and
iii) Margins (inches) : Left is 0.25, Right is 0.25, Top is 0.75 and Bottom is 0.75.

Schools can make use of the Remarks/Explanation column in eForm V36A to provide any explanation, clarifications or other details to support their students' applications.

You should register a "New Student's Pass" application for your international student if the student's last Student's Pass expiry date or cancellation date is more than three (3) months ago from the date that the completed SOLAR+ application will be submitted to ICA.

You should register a "Renew Student's Pass/Transfer Course (within same school)" (or "Renew Student's Pass" if your school is a KID) application for your international student if the student is continuing with the same course or taking a new course (only applicable to a PEO) with your school and the student's last Student's Pass expiry date or cancellation date is not more than three (3) months ago from the date that the completed SOLAR+ application will be submitted to ICA.

You should register a "Student's Pass for Transfer School" application for your international student if the student is transferring from another PEO to your PEO (or from another KID to your KID) and the student's last Student's Pass expiry date or cancellation date is not more than three (3) months ago from the date that the completed SOLAR+ application will be submitted to ICA.

Yes, you can leave Singapore. However, you are advised not to leave Singapore if your existing Student's Pass is expiring or you are no longer holding a valid Student's Pass and are holding a short-term Visit Pass as your subsequent entry into Singapore will be determined by the ICA officers at the point of entry and subject to the checkpoint entry requirements (for example, a valid Singapore visa will be required if you are from a visa-required country).

When an application for Student's Pass for transfer of school is registered via the SOLAR+ system by the new school, the system will prompt the former school to provide Section B of Form V36A. If the former school did not provide the required information within 7 days of receipt, the system will re-direct the application back to the new school whereby the new school will be able to continue with the registration of the application. Upon receipt of the completed application, ICA will deem the applicant has successfully completed his/her course in the preceding year/stage and his/her attendance and conduct are satisfactory, and proceed to process the application accordingly. The new school may wish to provide any further explanation/clarification in the Remarks/Explanation column in eForm V36A when registering the application for the student.

The Security deposit if required, will be indicated in the IPA letter to the student. Students who are required to furnish Security deposits will have to do so in the form of Banker's Guarantee (BG) only.

You can approach the banks in Singapore for assistance on the procedures of obtaining the BG.

ICA will issue a discharge letter to the bank within six weeks upon the student's departure out of Singapore. You may make prior arrangement with the bank for overseas transfer to your foreign bank account.

A message will be displayed on the screen to inform you that your application has been submitted successfully.

You may check the status of your application via the SOLAR+ system.

For those with application status "IPA", "Approved (LOC)" or "Rejected", your school can print the outcome letter using the function "Print Outcome Letters" or by clicking on the status of the application when enquiring on the student's application.

For those with application status "Interview Requested by ICA (Room 55)", ICA will not issue any outcome letter to your school.

If your application status is "Interview Requested by ICA (Room 55)", you are required to report in person at the Visitor Services Centre, ICA within seven (7) days from the date of the request for interview. Please obtain an interview queue ticket from the Information Counter at the 4th storey of ICA Building and bring along the following for the interview:

i)   Your travel document;
ii)  Your Student's Pass Card;
iii) Your Visit Pass and Disembarkation/Embarkation card;
iv)  The printout of the Student's Pass application status from the SOLAR+ System.

You are not permitted to hold on to the Student's Pass issued to you for studying at the current/previous school. You are required to surrender the Student's Pass card for cancellation at ICA, within seven (7) days from the date of rejection. Please submit the following documents to the Visitor Services Centre, ICA:

i)   Your travel document;
ii)  Your Student's Pass Card;
iii) Your Visit Pass and Disembarkation/Embarkation card;
iv)  A duly completed cancellation form; and
v)   A duly completed Disembarkation/Embarkation card (IMM Form 27A), where applicable (will be provided at ICA counters).

You are to ensure that your own stay in Singapore is valid at all times. To avoid such a situation from happening, you are advised to submit your application for a Student's Pass via the SOLAR+ system early.

If your application status is "IPA":

You should obtain a copy of the In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter from your school as your school can print the IPA letter online via SOLAR+. Thereafter, you can proceed to collect your Student's Pass in person at the Visitor Services Centre, ICA, with the required documents as stated in the IPA letter. Your Student's Pass will be issued if the conditions (if any) as stipulated in the IPA letter are fulfilled. Please note that the Student's Pass will be issued no earlier than one month from the course commencement date. The completion of formalities is strictly by appointment only. You may use our e-Appointment facility to choose a preferred date and time to visit this Office. Applicants who come on time for their appointment can expect to be served in a shorter time. When visiting this Office, you are required to bring along the documents at Part I of Annex A stated in the lPA letter and proceed to the Self Service Ticketing Kiosk 3 to scan the left-hand barcode of the IPA letter for a queue ticket. Do be punctual for the appointment and do take note that completion of formalities on Saturdays is strictly by appointment only.

If your application status is "Approved (LOC)":

You should obtain a copy of the Letter of Consent (LOC) from your school as your school can print the LOC online via SOLAR+. You are not required to turn up at ICA for the issuance of a Student's Pass.

A processing fee of $30 is required for every application submitted to ICA. The fee is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the application or if application is withdrawn after submission. For submission via Solar+, please make payment by credit/debit card or internet banking.

A $60 issuance fee for every student's pass issued and a further $30 multiple-entry visa fee for visa required nationals, where applicable. The fee is payable when the successful applicant completes the formality to collect the Student's Pass.

Please refer to the SingPass FAQs Q12 and the System Requirements for help.

A school can de-register a student in SOLAR+ if the school/student does not wish to proceed with the submission of the application for Student's Pass to ICA and the application status is "Pending Student Submission" or "Pending Attendance Declaration".

For other Frequently Asked Questions on Student's Pass, please click http://www.ica.gov.sg/index.aspx to visit ICA's website for FAQs at www.ica.gov.sg