How Singapore permanent residents report a new home address, locally or overseas
Singapore PRs with an identity card must report a move within 28 days. Understand group consent, postal PIN verification and updating the address on the card.
The 28-day period runs from moving; the 5-day consent period runs from the SMS. These are not consecutive allowances. Replacement or re-registration applicants receive a new IC showing the address.
Singapore permanent residents who hold an identity card must report a change of home address within 28 days of moving. The duty applies whether the new home is in Singapore or overseas.[1]
The online address-change service is free. Submitting the address is only part of the process: verification uses a PIN mailed to the new home, followed by an address sticker for the back of the identity card after a successful application.[2]
Report where you have actually moved
ICA instructs applicants to update their address after moving into the new residence. Signing a lease or planning a relocation several months ahead is not a reason to register an address before living there. Permanent residents already living overseas remain subject to the update requirement.[2]
The service concerns IC holders. Citizen or PR children who have not been issued an IC do not need to update their address through this procedure.[2]
A group application still needs individual consent
Using Singpass, an applicant can apply alone or together with up to 4 sub-applicants. Each sub-applicant must consent through the e-Service within 5 days of receiving the SMS from “gov.sg”.[2]
Families moving together can agree who will submit the request and make sure the other members can respond promptly. Inclusion in the group is not, by itself, confirmation that the address has been updated.
Complete verification and update the card
The main applicant verifies the request with the PIN delivered to the new address. Successful applicants then affix the mailed address sticker to the back of their IC.[2]
If the new address was supplied during an IC replacement or re-registration application, the 6-digit PIN still needs to be verified before ICA processes that application. In that case, the new address appears on the replacement card rather than on a separate sticker.[2]
The reporting deadline and postal delivery time serve different purposes. After submission, follow the application status and check the mailbox. Contact ICA through its current guidance if the letter does not arrive or the online procedure cannot be completed; silence is not evidence of success.[2]
A move may also require updates to banks, insurers and schools. ICA’s one-stop address reporting covers participating agencies, so it should not be assumed to update every private account. Keep the completed application record and deal separately with the other organisations that need the new contact details.[2]
Official sources
General policy information; individual circumstances and the competent authority’s requirements govern each application.