Married Filipino women traveling to Singapore must declare marital status correctly

The Philippine Embassy in Singapore on Tuesday advised married Filipino women traveling to the island city-state to be careful in declaring their marital status to avoid arrest.

In an advisory, the embassy said recent arrests were made at Singapore’s immigration checkpoints involving Filipino women who  allegedly misdeclared their marital status in their embarkation/disembarkation cards.

“To avoid this, the embassy would like to remind our married kababayans who previously entered Singapore using their maiden names to tick ‘Yes’ in the embarkation/disembarkation card, the box opposite the question ‘Have you ever used a passport under a different name to enter Singapore?’” the embassy said.

Travelers must then indicate their complete maiden name below the selection.

The embassy also reminded married Filipino women who are now using their husband’s surnames to always bring a copy of their marriage contract and their previous passports when traveling to Singapore.

In case of arrest, the embassy advised women to immediately ask the Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) for consular access. /ee