Exit Permit (EP) and bond for pre-enlistees

Exit Permit

If your son or ward is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident (PR), he must apply for an Exit Permit (EP) if:

• he is 13 years old or older, and
• he will be overseas for 3 months or longer.

He does not need an EP if he is travelling overseas for less than 3 months. If your son or ward has enlisted or completed his full-time National Service (NS), the requirements for EP are different.

Exit Permit with bond

To get an EP, your son or ward will also need to provide a bond if either:

• he will be overseas for 2 years or longer, from 13 to 16.5 years old, or
• he will be overseas for 3 months or longer, after he turns 16.5 years old.

Your son or ward does not need a bond if he will be overseas for work attachments that are part of his academic curriculum, or seafaring internships.

Bond amount

The bond amount will be based on an assessment of both parents’ income. The bond amount is either $75,000 or 50% of the combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding year, whichever is higher. By default, the bond will be by Banker’s Guarantee.

If he is asked to provide a bond but you are not able to do so, the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) will evaluate your situation on a case-by-case basis, based on its merits, and advise you accordingly.

Your son or ward can use his Singpass to apply for an Exit Permit (EP) on the OneNS web portal. If your son is below 15 years old and does not have a Singpass account, he may contact the NS Call Centre at 1800 367 6767 or contact@ns.gov.sg.

He should apply for an EP up to 3 months before his departure date, to cater sufficient time to process an application, especially if a bond is required.

During the application, he will be asked to submit:

For those applying for deferment for overseas studies

• Latest school letter, issued within the last 6 months, certifying the level and course of study, course commencement and completion dates.
• If he does not have the latest school letter, he can provide other supporting documents that indicate the level and course of study, course commencement and completion dates.

For those applying for overseas deferment for other purposes

• Supporting documents relating to the overseas travel or stay purpose.

Information required if your son or ward needs to provide a bond

Parents’ employment status and income tax assessment notices will be needed. Such as:

• Latest Income Tax Assessment Notice or income statements, showing total income earned for the preceding year in Singapore and overseas, for both parents or guardians, if applicable.
• For those without Income Tax Assessment Notice, an employment letter which indicates the gross income of the preceding year.
• Proof of parents’ or guardian’s overseas employment or registration of business.
• Copy of parents’ or guardian’s identity documents.

If your son or ward’s application for an Exit Permit (EP) is successful, he will be notified via email. In most cases, his EP will have a validity of up to 2 years or the duration of your travel, whichever is shorter.

You must make sure that your son or ward has been issued an EP before or within 3 months of leaving Singapore and that he returns to Singapore before it expires.

If he’s staying overseas for longer

Your son or ward should renew his EP. Remind him to do so at least 2 months before its expiry. It is an offence to remain outside of Singapore after the EP expires. He may be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to 3 years, or both.

If your son or ward forgets to renew his EP and it has expired while he is overseas, he should immediately apply for a new EP on the OneNS web portal. He will be contacted to resolve any outstanding issues after he has applied for a new EP. An EP can only be issued to him after all outstanding issues are resolved.

If the details of his overseas studies have changed

Your son or ward should apply for a new EP if there’s a change in the following details:

• Place of study
• Course of study
• Institution he is studying at

Your son or ward should cancel his Exit Permit within 3 months of its start date if he is not leaving Singapore.

Visit the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) website for more information on Exit Permit and bond.