I have a US Passport (male age 65) and want to bring my Thai friend (male age 20) to Singapore for short holiday.  He will travel with me, arrive at SIN on the same flight, and has a brand new Thai Passport. He has never been out of the country and dreams of seeing Singapore. I will pay for the hotel, and he will have a return ticket to BKK, while I will be flying on to HKG after our holiday.

 

I've heard that Singapore immigration can be very suspicious and strict with young, single Thai people (especially female) entering the country. I've read of a number of cases where they were held in detention at the airport and summarily sent home with no due process while friends, and even spouses wait outside to no avail.

 

What can I do to ensure that we have a smooth entry?

 

Or am I trying to do something that will ultimately fail.

If he will travel with you to Singapore, I see not a problem.

I took my young (20s) Thai b/f to Singa 4 years ago. No probs. The pause when we checked in at the hotel - Um, will that be 2 single beds, Sir? - was only 1.5 seconds, about the same everywhere.

 

Singa & Thailand are both members of ASEAN ...

Singapore Immigration can be unpredctable, I've read numeous reports about Thai people being refused entry, even when travelling with a partner.

 

My wife, when she was my girlfriend, was sent for secondry examination and told to sit down, she stood their with her arms folded, and they stamped her in. On another occasion, as my wife, I'd filled in her landing card, missing the section where it asked if she'd entered under another name, which she had under her maiden name, that was my fault and it was quickly cleared up.

 

Her younger sister was refused and detained awaiting a flight home, she had to pay the detention costs, she was doing no more than visiting her Singaporean boyfriend, but they wouldn't let her in.

 

I suspect the vast majority enter without problem, but people can be refused,