I receive the Singapore Citizenship in-principle-approval (IPA) letter, then what?

Finally, after two years of waiting, I received an important letter from ICA. The envelope outside says very visibly that the letter comes from ICA, with a bold message “ON GOVERNMENT SERVICE”; that got to be the one that I was so anxiously waiting for. On the first paragraph, in bold and marked in a grey-shadowed box, it says:

“Your application for Singapore Citizenship has been approved-in-principle. You are at the second stage of your Singapore Citizenship application process.”

That was exciting and chilling, finally after two years. I did not wait any longer. I went to www.ica.gov.sg to re-check my status, and yes, my whole family is now showing as approved.

This letter came at quite a good time since we were supposed to renew our Permanent Residency re-entry by August 2021. For those who believe in coincidences, we applied for Singapore Citizenship on 28 January 2019 (as the document submission day, back then physically, not online). This letter was submitted on 29 January 2021, exactly two years!

The letter has some clear explanations of what the next process is. Including:

Completing the Singapore Experiential Tour
Community Sharing Sessions
Complete e-journey

These are essential processes since the application may be canceled if they are not done on time. We knew that to obtain Singapore Citizenship, you are expected to renounce your foreign citizenship or surrender your foreign passport, but this step should not be done at this stage yet; this will need to be done later.

So what is next?

Go to the Singapore Journey Portal (www.sgjourney.coms.g)
Secure a slot for the Singapore Experiential Tour
Complete the e-journey on the site within two months

Stay tuned!

Hi, my name is Miguel Mateo, co-founder and partner at The Immigration People. My family and I have been in Singapore for a bit over six years, and yes, our Citizenship application was approved in-principle after two years of anxiously waiting.

Join me in the journey of the intricacies after receiving the in-principal-approval (IPA) letter. At a high level of detail, I will try to cover the process, documents, formal activities required, etc., to become a Singapore Citizen.