Singapore COC experience

[Brizzy31]

5 sep. Status had been changed and it's approved..then finally I got my coc on 24th sep.overall 40 to 45 days process.

 

[gabernalt]

Hey @waiter123, I know how stressful it is as I went thru it a couple of months ago... Sharing my timeline for your reference:
June 10th, 2022- Fingerprints delivered
July 4th, 2022- Status updated to Approved on the SG Police website

Then I had someone in Singapore (which I had previously registered as an authorized person) pick up my COC.

Hope it helps and be patient.

 

[gauravmaheshwari88]

I thought I'd share my experience getting a Singaporean Certificate of Clearance as a non-citizen that's outside Singapore right now. I'm not finished yet but will be posting an update about the timeline and final decision. If you had spent 6 consecutive months or more in Singapore in the last 10 years (study abroad, work abroad etc), you will need to submit a COC/Police certificate as part of your PR (Express Entry) application. To obtain this Certificate though you MUST received an ITA first before you can start the process. You will first need to submit an appeal in order to show that you need a COC. Once that is reviewed, they will invite you to apply for COC at which point you will complete a form and pay the fee. You will then need to send in fingerprints after which the application will be reviewed. If approved they will finally mail you your COC.

Summary of process:
1) Receive ITA. Complete the ITA profile to obtain your customized document checklist for your PR application
2) Save the ITA letter and personal checklist as a pdf file. Note that ideally the checklist would show that you require a Singapore Police Certificate
3) Go to https://eservices.police.gov.sg/content/policehubhome/homepage/certificate-of-clearance-hub.html
4) Since I am not in Singapore and I am not a Singaporean citizen, I selected the "Appeal by Non-Citizen to apply for COC" and "Login with FIN" options
5) Make sure you have your old NRIC number. It's the identification number they assigned to you on your Work/Student Pass. Thank God I kept my card from 8 years ago. Bullet dodged!
6) Complete the appeal form, upload a photo, submit any supporting documentation they ask for (Front and back of your card as jpg, ITA letter as pdf, etc. etc.). Submit
7) Wait for an e-mail to tell you your appeal has been approved (3-5 business days). The e-mail will have the Appeal number on it and a Fingerprinting Form. You will need this (it looks like APP/00000000/0000
8) Go back to the website/click on the link in the e-mail and select the "Apply for Certificate of Clearance" and "Login via FIN" options
9) Complete the form again and pay the fee with any major credit card. Mine ended up costing 60 SGD (because it include 5SGD mailing fee).
9*) just in case, save/print the final acknowledgment page at the end for your records
10) Wait for an e-mail to tell you your application was accepted. They will give you your application reference number (#00000000) and tell you where to submit your physical fingerprints along with a Payment Receipt. You will need to mail in both fingerprints and the receipt to the provided address.
11) Go and get your fingerprinting done at a legitimate place - using the form provided in the appeal approval e-mail from step 7.
12) Mail in all required documents to the provided address ( i recommend courier or other mailing service with tracking numbers)
13) Wait for the decision and final COC in your mail (heard it can take a while since they use snail mail and not courier services)

My timeline so far (will update as new info comes in):
- 9/17: obtain ITA
- 9/17: submit an appeal for Singapore COC as a non-citizen outside the US
- 9/22: receive appeal approval
- 9/22: applied for COC and made payment
- 9/23: obtained e-mail confirmation and payment receipt
-9/23: obtained fingerprints and mailed to Singapore (via Fedex with ETA delivery 9/28)
- TBD: confirmation of completeness of documentation from Singapore
- TBD: confirmation of mailing of COC
- TBD: receipt of COC

Some additional notes:
- when you apply for COC you get two options of how to obtain your final COC. First one is via mail which I chose. It costs extra 5 SGD and will take time. Second option is to use a Proxy. It means that if you have a friend or family member in Singapore, they will be able to pick it up themselves from a Singaporean office. You will have to complete a release form etc. but it will be quicker. Since they can pick it up and just scan it for you. Obviously I didn't have anybody to ask so chose the mail option.
- the website is pretty crappy and might take multiple reloads. I had best success using Internet Explorer or Mozilla browsers
- i only know this info from my experience. If you have questions it's very possible i won't know the answer. Just thought I'd share this since i haven't seen a recent COC post.
- if it helps for context: I'm a south east national residing in US currently for work. I was in Singapore a few years ago for Study Abroad and Internship Abroad program. I retained my Work Pass Card and other documentation from that time. I won't be able to help if you don't have your NRIC card.

@Brizzy31 Can you please post timeline of when your status changed and when you got your COC? I am non-Singaporean and applying from overseas. My fingerprints were delivered on 2022-10-31 and after 7 days, status still shows as "Accepted, Pending Fingerprint". Very stressed so will be helpful to know what your timeline was. Thank you.

My fingerprint got delivered on 26 oct and its still says Accepted, pending fingerprint. The helpline says 10 days for non citizens/residents. Not sure when exactly its going to be approved.

 

[soniclife]

@star_juu Im extremely thankful for this post. As I am anticipating ITA in this month I have to go through this.

Quick questions:

1. Have you guys submitted the PR application with Singapore COC or submitted PR and SG COC through webform later
2. where did you guys get the fingerprint

 

[svirman]

Hey @waiter123, I know how stressful it is as I went thru it a couple of months ago... Sharing my timeline for your reference:
June 10th, 2022- Fingerprints delivered
July 4th, 2022- Status updated to Approved on the SG Police website

Then I had someone in Singapore (which I had previously registered as an authorized person) pick up my COC.

Hope it helps and be patient.

Hey, what's the address where the proxy picks it up from? Is it the Police Cantonment Complex?

 

[newuser004]

My fingerprint got delivered on 26 oct and its still says Accepted, pending fingerprint. The helpline says 10 days for non citizens/residents. Not sure when exactly its going to be approved.

@gauravmaheshwari88 did your status got changed? I have same scenario as well, fingerprints delivered on 28/10, but status still showing Pending finger print...

 

[soniclife]

I just got my COC appeal approved.. Where did u guys go for fingerprint.. is it just police stations or can we go to authorized notary offices as well

 

[ivicts]

I just got my COC appeal approved.. Where did u guys go for fingerprint.. is it just police stations or can we go to authorized notary offices as well

Hi all, how's the consensus now on when to get Singapore COC?
Is it post-ITA and appealing using an ITA letter or is it post-AOR (submitting documents without Singapore COC first) and waiting for the request letter from IRCC?

 

[soniclife]

Hi all, how's the consensus now on when to get Singapore COC?
Is it post-ITA and appealing using an ITA letter or is it post-AOR (submitting documents without Singapore COC first) and waiting for the request letter from IRCC?

I appealed post ITA and appeal got approved.. need to apply now.
But im curious if singapore coc can wait post PR submission or if its required for submission

 

[svirman]

@gauravmaheshwari88 did your status got changed? I have same scenario as well, fingerprints delivered on 28/10, but status still showing Pending finger print...

Did your status change? My prints were delivered on Nov 17th, still shows pending though

 

[waiter123]

Got my COC today. Total time: 35 days. Dates -

• 2022-10-19: Submit appeal to apply for Singapore COC
• 2022-10-26: Appeal approved
• 2022-10-31: Fingerprints/receipt delivered to COC via courier
• 2022-11-17: COC status updated to 'In Progress' (sent email to verify delivery on 2022-11-11)
• 2022-11-22: COC status updated to 'Approved'

Got fingerprints from FIPS for around $50.

 

[ivicts]

I appealed post ITA and appeal got approved.. need to apply now.
But im curious if singapore coc can wait post PR submission or if its required for submission

If I read the threads about Singapore COC, some people that appealed using ITA letter sometimes got rejected. Some need to wait for IRCC ADR letter request for Singapore PCC to appeal.

However, it seems that in this thread most people appeal using ITA letter only recently.

 

[soniclife]

for those who come searching..
fingerprints can be taken in notary- who are authorized to take fingerprints.. some notaries dont do fingerprints.

 

[svirman]

Finger prints delivered on Nov 17th but still shows as "Accepted, pending finger prints" when I check the status

 

[cef09]

Finger prints delivered on Nov 17th but still shows as "Accepted, pending finger prints" when I check the status

Yeah, they do take their sweet time. I think mine took well over a week before they opened the mail.

It took about 40-ish days, from an appeal (using an ITA) to delivery.