Arrival cards for Singaporeans: TDAC, All Indonesia, MDAC, TWAC, Korea, Australia and more (2026)

Arrival cards at a glance

For a Singapore passport, checked on 22 October 2026. Times are our estimate for one person with passport, flight and hotel details to hand.

None of these is a visa. They sit on top of the visa-free stay, which for Singapore passports is 30 days in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and mainland China, 90 days in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, and up to three months in Australia and New Zealand once you have the ETA or NZeTA. Every traveller in your group needs their own card or authority.

Do Singaporeans need TDAC for Thailand?

Yes. Since 1 May 2025 every non-Thai national entering Thailand has to submit the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online within three days before arriving, whatever their visa. It replaced the paper arrival card.

• Where: only tdac.immigration.go.th, Thailand’s Immigration Bureau.
• When: no earlier than three days before you land. For a long weekend, the evening before you fly is the easy time.
• Cost: free. The Thai government says don’t pay anyone who asks you to.
• What you need: your passport, flight details and where you’re staying.
• At the airport: you get an acknowledgement email. Have it on your phone for the immigration officer.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days (cut from 60 on 15 Sep 2026).

Every trip needs a new TDAC, including a second trip a month later. Read up on Bangkok and Phuket for when to go.

Do Singaporeans need the All Indonesia arrival card for Batam, Bintan and Bali?

Yes, at every airport and ferry terminal. All Indonesia became compulsory at Batam’s international ports and at Bali’s airport on 1 September 2025, and at every international airport and seaport in Indonesia on 1 October 2025. One form covers immigration, customs, health and quarantine, so it also replaced the old electronic customs declaration.

• Where: allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id, or the All Indonesia app from the App Store or Google Play.
• When: from three days before you arrive, or after you land. Doing it before you board means you don’t fill it in on your phone in the ferry queue.
• Cost: free, says Indonesia’s immigration office.
• If you skip it: you’re checked by hand at the counter, which is slower.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days (visa exemption; it can’t be extended).

This applies to the HarbourFront and Tanah Merah ferries to Batam and Bintan just as it does to a flight to Bali. Choosing between the islands? See Batam or Bintan and our long weekends without flying.

How do you pay the Bali tourist levy?

IDR 150,000 per person, once per visit (around S$12). It’s a charge by Bali’s provincial government on international tourists, separate from All Indonesia, and only for Bali: Batam and Bintan don’t have it.

• Where: lovebali.baliprov.go.id.
• When: the province strongly encourages paying online before you fly. You can also pay at counters at Bali’s airport and ports, or through registered hotels, travel agents and attractions.
• How: cashless only: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, UnionPay, bank transfer, virtual account or QRIS.
• Proof: a levy voucher with a QR code, emailed to the address you enter. Keep it until you leave Bali.
• Who’s exempt: mainly holders of diplomatic, official, KITAS and KITAP visas and transport crew. Love Bali’s FAQ lists no exemption for children.

Do Singaporeans need MDAC for Malaysia?

Not on a Singapore passport. Malaysia’s Immigration Department lists “citizens of Singapore” first among the groups exempt from the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card, and MFA confirms the exemption applies at every entry point: the Causeway, the Second Link, the airports and the ferries.

• The one exception: MFA says Singaporeans who want to enrol their fingerprints for Malaysia’s automated e-gates should submit the MDAC three days before arriving.
• Other passports: Singapore PRs, Employment Pass and other pass holders on a foreign passport must file it, within three days before arriving, at imigresen-online.imi.gov.my. Living in Singapore doesn’t exempt you: the exemption is for Singapore citizens.
• Cost: free on the official site.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days.

That covers Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi. Going to JB by train from 2027? Our RTS Link guide has the rest.

Do Singaporeans need TWAC for Taiwan?

Yes. Taiwan’s paper arrival cards ended on 1 October 2025, and the online Taiwan Arrival Card is now compulsory before immigration for anyone visiting on a visa or visa-free.

• Where: twac.immigration.gov.tw, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency.
• When: within three days before you arrive. If you forget, QR codes at the airport’s check-in counters take you to the form.
• Cost: free.
• Families: one person can submit for a family or group of up to 16.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days.

More on Taipei, including the best months to go.

Do Singaporeans need an arrival card for China?

Yes, but you can do it at the border. Singaporeans don’t need a visa for up to 30 days, but visa-free visitors still fill in China’s arrival card. Since 20 November 2025 the National Immigration Administration lets you file it online before you travel; if you don’t, you fill in a paper card or use a kiosk at immigration.

• Where: s.nia.gov.cn, the NIA 12367 app, or the NIA’s WeChat and Alipay mini-programs.
• When: before you fly. Filing online skips the paper card in the arrivals hall.
• Cost: free.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days (mutual visa exemption since 9 Feb 2024).

That covers Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xiamen. Hong Kong has its own rules, below.

Do Singaporeans need an arrival card for South Korea?

Yes, the e-Arrival card. Korea made its online arrival card compulsory on 1 January 2026, when the paper cards ended. Singapore passports don’t need a K-ETA.

• Where: e-arrivalcard.go.kr.
• When: within three days before you arrive.
• Cost: free.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 90 days, and no K-ETA for Singapore passports.

Read up on Seoul for when to go.

Do Singaporeans need anything for Japan?

No. There’s no arrival card to file in advance. Visit Japan Web is optional: fill it in before you fly and you get QR codes for immigration and customs, or use the paper forms on the plane. Japan’s own online travel authorisation, JESTA, is law but isn’t running yet; it’s due by March 2029 at the latest.

• Where: Visit Japan Web, Japan’s Digital Agency.
• Cost: free.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 90 days.

That covers Tokyo and Osaka.

Do Singaporeans need an ETA for Australia?

Yes. Singaporeans need an Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) before they fly, applied for in the Australian ETA app; there’s no website form.

• Where: the Australian ETA app, from the App Store or Google Play. Details at Home Affairs.
• When: before you book. Most are approved straight away, but some take longer.
• Cost: A$20, the app’s service charge. There’s no other fee.
• Arrival card: SQ and Scoot still hand out the paper incoming passenger card on board. A digital Australia Travel Declaration is being rolled out, starting with some Qantas flights.
• Visa: An ETA (subclass 601) is needed: stays of up to 3 months each, for 12 months.

That covers Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

Do Singaporeans need an NZeTA for New Zealand?

Yes, plus a visitor levy. You don’t need a visa, but you need a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, and with it the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.

• Where: the NZeTA app, or immigration.govt.nz, which costs more.
• When: at least 72 hours before you fly.
• Cost: NZ$17 in the app plus the NZ$100 levy, paid together. The NZeTA lasts two years.
• Arrival card: the NZ Traveller Declaration, free, from 24 hours before you fly. It replaced the paper card, though paper is still available on request.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 3 months, but an NZeTA is.

More on Auckland.

Do Singaporeans need an arrival card for Vietnam?

Do the pre-arrival declaration, even though the official word is mixed. In April 2026 Singapore’s Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City said Vietnam had made it mandatory for foreigners arriving at Tan Son Nhat. Later notices, from Singapore’s embassy in Hanoi in June and Vietnam’s embassy in Singapore, extend it to Noi Bai, Da Nang, Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc but only strongly encourage it.

• Where: prearrival.immigration.gov.vn.
• When: within three days before you land, or on arrival.
• Cost: none of the official notices mentions a fee.
• What you get: a QR code. Save it or print it and show it at immigration; it’s quicker than declaring at the counter.
• Transit: transit passengers are exempt.
• Visa: No visa needed for up to 30 days.

That applies to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang & Hoi An alike.

Do you need an arrival card for Hong Kong?

No. Hong Kong’s Immigration Department stopped asking visitors for arrival and departure cards on 16 October 2024. Bring your passport; Singaporeans can stay up to 90 days without a visa. Plan your days with our Hong Kong page.

Do you need the SG Arrival Card coming home?

Yes, if you fly or take the ferry back. ICA asks every traveller arriving in Singapore, citizens included, to submit the SG Arrival Card with its health declaration within three days before arriving. Residents (citizens, PRs and long-term pass holders) coming back by land through Woodlands or Tuas don’t need to.

• Where: ICA’s SGAC e-service or the MyICA app. The app saves your profile for next time.
• Cost: free. ICA says paid services offering to submit it for you aren’t connected to it.
• Groups: one person can submit for everyone travelling together on the same trip.

How to avoid fake arrival card sites

Search results and ads are full of lookalike sites that charge a fee for a form that’s free, and they collect your passport details. Thailand’s government and ICA both warn about them.

• Check the address. The real ones end in go.th (Thailand), go.id (Indonesia, including Love Bali), gov.my (Malaysia), gov.tw (Taiwan), gov.cn (China), go.kr (Korea), go.jp (Japan), gov.au (Australia), govt.nz (New Zealand), gov.vn (Vietnam) and gov.sg (ICA).
• Only the Bali levy, Australia’s ETA and the NZeTA cost money, and the ETA is sold only in the official app. If any other form asks for card details, close the tab.
• Type the address or use the links on this page rather than tapping a search ad.
• Use the official apps. All Indonesia, MyICA, the Australian ETA app and the NZeTA app come from the App Store and Google Play.

Before you go

• Passport: more than six months left. Malaysia requires it, and it’s the safe rule everywhere else.
• Screenshot the confirmations. Arrival halls can have patchy signal, and the immigration officer won’t wait for your email to load.
• Data from landing: install an eSIM such as Saily before you go, so you can pull up a QR code or pay the Bali levy as soon as you land.
• Check again before you fly. These rules have changed several times in two years. Our destination pages show the current steps for each place.

If you live in Singapore on another passport

Arrival cards mostly follow your passport, not where you live:

• Malaysia: you need the MDAC; the exemption is for Singapore citizens only.
• Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam: the same cards as above.
• Australia and New Zealand: whether you need an ETA, an NZeTA or a full visa depends on your passport.
• Visas: your visa-free stay, and whether you need a visa at all, depends on your nationality, not on your Singapore pass. Check the country’s immigration site or embassy for your passport before you book.
• Coming home: you still file the SG Arrival Card if you fly or sail back, but not through Woodlands or Tuas.

Questions

Sources

Checked on 22 October 2026; China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand on 26 October 2026.

• Thailand: MFA Singapore, Thailand travel page; Royal Thai Embassy, Abuja, on the TDAC; the form: Immigration Bureau.
• Indonesia: Directorate General of Immigration, 2 October 2025; Batam Immigration Office, September 2025; MFA Singapore, Indonesia travel page.
• Bali levy: Love Bali FAQ, Bali Provincial Government.
• Malaysia: Immigration Department of Malaysia, MDAC portal and its exemptions infographic; MFA Singapore, Malaysia travel page.
• Taiwan: National Immigration Agency, on the TWAC; MFA Singapore, Taiwan travel page.
• China: Embassy of China in the US, on the online arrival card; Consulate-General of Singapore in Chengdu, travel notice; ICA on the mutual 30-day visa exemption; the form: National Immigration Administration.
• Vietnam: Consulate-General of Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City, April 2026; Embassy of Singapore in Hanoi, June 2026; Embassy of Vietnam in Singapore; MFA Singapore, Vietnam travel page.
• South Korea: Korea e-Arrival card; K-ETA notice.
• Japan: Digital Agency, Visit Japan Web; MOFA, visa exemptions.
• Australia: Home Affairs, ETA (subclass 601).
• New Zealand: Immigration New Zealand, NZeTA; MBIE, visitor levy; NZ Traveller Declaration.
• Hong Kong: Immigration Department; MFA Singapore, Hong Kong travel page.
• Coming home: ICA, SG Arrival Card.