Hi everyone,
I am a Singaporean currently living and studying in the US. I turned 16 about two months ago, and am becoming increasingly worried about by NS situation. I have no intention of skipping it; in fact I really want to do it for the experience. Unfortunately, I am currently completing my undergraduate study at the University of Washington, and will not graduate before I turn 18. I do not want to drop out of university for two years as that would be extremely inconvenient and disruptive, so I intend to appeal for a postponement. However, I'm not too sure how that will go as my case seems a bit unusual. Therefore, I was wondering if anyone here has heard of a similar case. Thank you very much!
Source: www.ns.sg
Under the Enlistment Act, NS-liable persons are enlisted at
the earliest opportunity upon turning 18 years old. For those who
are studying, MINDEF does allow some flexibility for them to
complete their full-time studies up to the GCE 'A' Levels or
Polytechnic Diploma (or their equivalent), both locally and
overseas, before enlisting for NS. Those who have already embarked
on their full-time studies but who do not meet the deferment
conditions,
will have to disrupt their studies and be enlisted for NS at the
earliest opportunity scheduled by the Central Manpower Base (CMPB),
including those who take up Singapore Permanent Residency in the
midst of their studies.
Local Studies in
Government Schools
GCE 'A' Level Studies and International Baccalaureate (IB)
Studies
NS-liable persons will be granted deferment for GCE 'A' Level and
IB studies (and their equivalent) at Junior Colleges/ Millennia
Institute/ Integrated Programme (IP) schools if they are able to
commence the course* before 19 years old (for Secondary 4 students)
or 20 years old (for Secondary 5 students), as at 1st January of
the course commencement year.
* For NS-liable persons who are pursuing their GCE 'A' Levels or IB
in the IP schools, the deferment cut-off age will apply to the 5th
year of study.
Exceptions may be considered for students who do not meet these
deferment cut-off ages, but are able to gain admission into Junior
Colleges/ Millennia Institute/ IP schools.
NS-liable persons who are returning from overseas and who wish to
pursue studies in Junior Colleges/ Millennia Institute/ IP schools
must seek prior approval from CMPB. They must do so before applying
through the Ministry of Education (MOE)'s School Placement Exercise
for Returning Singaporeans - Junior Colleges and Millennia
Institute (SPERS-JC/MI), or before applying directly to the Junior
Colleges/ Millennia Institute/ IP Schools. Persons who are deemed
to have already attained a first education bar qualification
(defined as GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent
qualifications), be it locally or overseas, will not be granted
deferment to pursue another first education bar qualification or
another qualification below first education bar.
Persons who have failed their General Paper (GP)/ Knowledge &
Inquiry (KI) or obtained less than 3 H2 passes (excluding KI) in
one sitting of the GCE 'A' Level examination will be considered for
further deferment to repeat their GCE 'A' Level studies on a
full-time basis, subject to one repeat only. Persons who have
failed to attain the IB qualification will also be considered for
further deferment to repeat their IB studies on a full-time basis,
subject to one repeat only.
Polytechnic Diploma Studies
NS-liable persons will be granted deferment for Polytechnic Diploma
studies and its equivalent qualifications (e.g. courses at the
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) or the LaSalle College of the
Arts) if they are able to commence the course before 19 years old
(for Secondary 4 students) or 20 years old (for Secondary 5
students), as at 1st January of the course commencement year.
NS-liable persons who graduated with NITEC/Higher NITEC
qualification from ITE Colleges will be granted deferment for
Polytechnic Diploma studies and its equivalent qualifications if
they are able to commence the course before 21 years old as at 1st
January of the course commencement year. Applications for deferment
from ITE graduates who are above 21 years old as at 1st January of
their course commencement year will be considered on a case-by-case
basis.
NS-liable persons who are returning from overseas and who wish to
pursue Polytechnic Diploma studies and its equivalent
qualifications must seek prior approval from CMPB before applying
for their intended course of study. Persons who are deemed to have
already attained a first education bar qualification (defined as
GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent qualifications),
be it locally or overseas, will not be granted deferment to pursue
another first education bar qualification or another qualification
below first education bar.
Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Diploma
Studies
NS-liable persons who completed NITEC or Higher NITEC studies at
ITE Colleges, will be granted deferment to pursue the Technical
Engineer Diploma (TED) or Technical Diploma (TD) programmes at ITE
Colleges if they are able to commence the course before 21 years
old, as at 1st January of the course commencement year. They will
be granted deferment to complete the academic phase only, and will
be enlisted for full-time NS at the earliest opportunity upon
completion of the academic phase. Deferment will not be granted for
work attachments and internships. Applications for deferment from
ITE graduates who are above 21 years old as at 1st January of their
course commencement year will be considered on a case-by-case
basis.
NS-liable persons who are returning from overseas and who wish to
pursue ITE Diploma studies must seek prior approval from CMPB
before applying for their intended course of study. Persons who are
deemed to have already attained a first education bar qualification
(defined as GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent
qualifications), be it locally or overseas, will not be granted
deferment to pursue another first education bar qualification or
another qualification below first education bar.
NITEC and Higher NITEC Studies
NS-liable persons will be granted deferment for NITEC or Higher
NITEC courses at ITE Colleges if they are able to commence the
course before 19 years old (for Secondary 4 students) or 20 years
old (for Secondary 5 students), as at 1st January of the course
commencement year.
NS-liable persons who graduated with NITEC qualification from ITE
Colleges will also be granted deferment for Higher NITEC courses if
they are able to commence the course at ITE Colleges before 20
years old, as at 1st January of the course commencement year.
NS-liable persons who are returning from overseas and who wish to
pursue NITEC or Higher NITEC studies at ITE Colleges must seek
prior approval from CMPB before applying for their intended course
of study. Persons who are deemed to have already attained a first
education bar qualification (defined as GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic
Diploma or equivalent qualifications), be it locally or overseas,
will not be granted deferment to pursue another first education bar
qualification or another qualification below first education
bar.
GCE 'O' and 'N' Level Courses
NS-liable persons will generally be granted deferment to pursue GCE
'O' and 'N' Level studies at government, government-aided or
independent secondary schools.
An extension of deferment may be granted for those who wish to
repeat their GCE 'N' or 'O' Level studies on a full-time basis,
subject to one repeat only.
Local Private Courses
NS-liable persons who graduated before September 2011 may be
granted deferment to pursue full-time studies (up to the GCE 'A'
Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent qualifications) at
private institutions registered with the Council for Private
Education (CPE), if they are able to commence the course before 18
years old, as at 1st January of the course commencement year.
NS-liable persons graduating from September 2011 onwards may be
granted deferment to pursue full-time studies (up to the GCE 'A'
Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or equivalent qualifications) at
private institutions registered with the CPE, if they are able to
commence their courses before 19 years old (for Secondary 4
students) or 20 years old (for Secondary 5 & ITE students), as
at 1st January of the course commencement year. The higher cut-off
age will apply to courses commencing from 1st January 2012
onwards.
Deferment for private courses will be considered on a
stage-by-stage basis (i.e. a Certificate course and a Diploma
course, if packaged together, will be treated as separate courses
for the purpose of granting deferment). A new application for
deferment must be made before the commencement of a new stage of
studies. Deferment for the new stage of studies will be subject to
the same cut-off age stated in the preceding paragraph.
Overseas Studies
NS-liable persons who graduated before September 2011 may be
granted deferment to pursue full-time overseas studies (up to the
GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or their equivalent
qualifications) if they are able to commence the course before 18
years old, as at 1st January of the course commencement year.
NS-liable persons graduating from September 2011 onwards may be
granted deferment to pursue full-time overseas studies (up to the
GCE 'A' Levels, Polytechnic Diploma or their equivalent
qualifications) if they are able to commence their courses before
19 years old (for Secondary 4 students) or 20 years old (for
Secondary 5 & ITE students), as at 1st January of the course
commencement year. The higher cut-off age will apply to courses
commencing from 1st January 2012 onwards.
NS-liable persons will be required to apply for an exit permit for
overseas trips of 3 months and longer and will be required to
furnish a bond of $75,000 or an amount equivalent to 50% of the
combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding
year, whichever is higher.
Application for Deferment
NS-liable persons may apply for deferment online at the NS portal
(http://www.ns.sg) during NS registration and pre-enlistment
documentation.
Those applying for deferment to pursue local studies may be
required to furnish documentary proof for verification upon CMPB's
request. Upon CMPB's request, they will be required to submit to
CMPB a letter from their school certifying their enrolment, their
course of study, as well as their course commencement and
completion dates.
Those applying for deferment to pursue overseas studies must submit
to CMPB a letter from their school certifying their enrolment,
their course of study as well as their course commencement and
completion dates. In addition, they must submit their parents'
Income Tax Notices of Assessment (both local and overseas) for the
preceding year.
Those who subsequently wish to pursue or switch to a new course
or institution must seek prior approval from CMPB.
Notes: The information provided in this website are general
guidelines. For further details, you may wish to contact the NS
Call Centre at [email protected] or Tel: 1800-3676767
(eNSNSNS).