Singapore says welcomes Vietnamese visitors amid entry denial complaints A tourist poses for a photo in front of the Merlion, a mascot of Singapore, and the financial district skyline in Singapore July 27, 2010. Reuters A Singaporean immigration agency has officially addressed complaints that some Vietnamese visitors, especially women, have been denied entry to the city-state, saying the country welcomes visitors from all around the world, including those from Vietnam. The Singaporean Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said it does not enact any discriminatory measures against Vietnamese nationals, according to the minister-counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, Nguyen Minh Hang. Hang told the Vietnam News Agency that the embassy and the ICA worked together on the issue last Friday. The embassy demanded an explanation for complaints that Vietnamese passengers, mostly women, have been denied entry to Singapore and forced to return to their home country after their flights landed at Singapore Changi Airport for unknown reasons recently. The Vietnamese side also requested that its citizens be assisted by interpreters, and respected by immigration officers, when coming to Singapore. The ICA responded by asserting that Vietnamese visitors are always welcome to visit Singapore, and pledged to assist and respect those visitors on their arrival at Changi Airport, the Vietnam News Agencyquoted Hang as saying. The Singaporean immigration authority added it will increase information exchanges and coordination with the embassy and airlines offering Singapore-Vietnam services to facilitate Vietnamese nationals’ entry to the city-state, Hang said. The ICA affirmed that ties between the two countries have been tightened in recent times, with the number of Vietnamese visitors to Singapore doubling over the past five years. Ninety-eight percent of these visitors have passed entry without any problems, according to the ICA. Many Vietnamese women said they were held by immigration officers at Changi Airport, questioned in private rooms and had their photos and fingerprints taken before they were allowed to enter, or told to return to Vietnam. These people also had to present relevant papers, their purposes of traveling to Singapore, and the amount of cash they carried to immigration officers. The ICA said these measures do not mean it suspected those people, or that they would not be permitted to enter, according to the Vietnamese minister-counselor. Similar procedures, also done in many other countries, are applied to foreign citizens to help with exit and entry management, she said, citing the ICA. The ICA also stated clearly that it will deny entry to certain types of visitors, including those who use passports with different personal information to enter Singapore repeatedly, or those who have violated local laws. Individuals who repeatedly come to Singapore but do not have a clear purpose for their entry, and those visiting the country to seek a job, will also be rejected, according to the ICA. With the responses from the ICA, Hang concluded that Vietnamese people can now be at ease when visiting Singapore. “Vietnamese visitors must prepare all required papers and appropriately complete the immigration declaration, with sufficient information regarding their travel purpose and duration of stay,” she advised. TUOI TRE NEWS