Singapore Visa Run
A Malaysian friend of mine is visiting Singapore. I am told that citizens of most ASEAN countries are issued a visa upon arrival, valid for a month if arrival by air (2 weeks for arrival by land/sea). However, even though he arrived here by air, his visa was valid for 2 weeks only. So, yesterday I accompanied him do the Singapore Visa Run.
Cheapest option: day trip to Johor Bahru (JB) in Malaysia and back.
Simplest option: SBS Transit Bus #170, which plies between Queen Street (near Bugis MRT) and Larkin Bus Terminal (in JB). It costs just S$1.80
We boarded a SBS Transit Bus #170, a block away from Sim Lim Square. Taking the bus was a big mistake! The trip took us nearly 2hours to get to the Woodlands Checkpoint.
Passing though Singapore immigration on the way out barely took us more than 10 minutes. Crossing ‘the ditch‘ over to Malaysia another 20 minutes. The EZ link card readers on the bus shows “Ride Suspended” during this stretch.
Entering Malaysia.
Getting the Malaysia Arrival form, 10 minutes.
Passing through Malaysia immigration’s ‘Foriegn Passport‘ lane) 50 minutes. My friend went through the ‘Malaysian Passport‘ lane and it took him barely 30 seconds to go through the automatic gates that you can see in MRT stations all over Singapore.
Killing time in JB
Bus ride to Kotaraya II Bus Terminal, 15 minutes. A very late lunch in a nearby shopping centre, 20 minutes. ‘Sightseeing’ along the street, 20 minutes. (Actually, nothing much to see. However it was intersting to notice a Chinese temple, a Gurudwara, a Hindu temple and a mosque in an area, the size of an average city block!). Ride back to ‘JB Kastam‘ (Malaysia immigration building), 10 minutes. Passing though Malaysia immigration on the way out, 10 minutes.
Re-entering Singapore
Crossing the ditch back into Singapore, 50 minutes (thanks to bumper to bumper traffic jam, thanks to Singaporeans returning back from their weekend grocery shopping in JB). Re-entering Singapore (via Singapore immigration’s ‘Foriegn Passport‘ lane), 35 minutes. Waiting for my friend who went to through the ‘Malaysian Passport‘ lane, 25 minutes. Waiting for the bus, 10 minutes. Bus ride to Kranji MRT, 10 minutes.
Total time taken (inclusive of stops not mentioned): 9 hours.
Moral of the story
[1] Should have taken the MRT to Kranji MRT instead and then taken any bus (#170) plying to the checkpoint.
[2] Or, should have taken the Singapore-Johor Express Coach from the Queen Street Bus Station. It too goes to the Larkin Bus Terminal, but has fewer stops in between, unlike the #170, which seems to give travellers a ‘final sightseeing tour of Singapore’. 
Ok, not really, but if you’ll see its route map, you’ll get what I mean
nirmalya Said,
February 26, 2006 @ 5:41 am
I recently accompanied another friend to renew his Singapore visa. Even though the queues moved much faster in JB, I noticed that they were much stricter. My friend was refused entry because he left his return ticket (out of Singapore), back at Singapore.
Another point to keep in mind is: Carry sufficient funds with you. About S$500 (or RM1000) should be sufficient to demonstrate that you have enough money to the Malaysian immigration officials.