SG Arrival Card errors, and what each field accepts

Checked 6 November 2026 by Darius Cheung. Independent guide, not a government website.

Short answer

Most SG Arrival Card errors come from checks in the page. The usual cause is a list where text was typed but no row was clicked, which shows "Please fill in the field above". Names allow letters and a few marks, passport numbers letters and digits, and phone boxes digits only. Next stays blocked with "There are missing or erroneous field(s)." until each one is fixed.

The form's messages

Copied from the site's own English text.

MessageWhyFix
"There are missing or erroneous field(s)."Next found at least one problem on this step.Scroll up: each problem has its own message under the box.
"Please fill in the field above"The box is empty, or a list box has typed text without a picked row.For lists, type a few letters and click the row.
"Please enter a valid name. ..."The name has a character it doesn't allow, or doesn't start with a letter.Use the name as printed in your passport. Accents can be dropped.
"Please enter a valid passport number"Only letters and digits, with single spaces between groups, up to 20.Copy it from the photo page, without dashes.
"Please enter a valid email address"The address failed the format check.Look for a missing dot or an extra space.
"Please enter a valid country/region code"The code box takes up to 3 digits, no plus sign.Type 65, 60, 44 and so on.
"Please enter a valid mobile number"Digits only, up to 12.Leave out spaces, dashes and the country code.
"Date cannot be after today"A birth date in the future, often day and month swapped.Dates go day, month, year.
"One or more travelers have used up the maximum allowable SGAC declaration count for the declared date of arrival."A server message: too many cards filed for that person and date.Use Update SG Arrival Card instead of filing again.

The name box

The full message lists what's allowed: letters, spaces, apostrophes, slashes, brackets, hyphens, commas, the @ sign and full stops. The box holds 66 characters and asks for the given name followed by the surname. Unlike some neighbours' forms, hyphens and apostrophes are fine here.

Passport warnings

These don't block you, but read them. If the passport has run out: "Your passport is expired. Please renew/extend your passport as a minimum of 6-month passport validity is required when entering Singapore." There's a near-identical one for a passport close to expiry, and a check for an expiry date more than ten years away, which is usually a typo.

Dates

Each date is three small boxes for day, month and year. The arrival date is different: it's a choice of three days, so a trip further out simply isn't there yet. The departure date can't come before arrival.

Staying in a home rather than a hotel

Choose Residential and type the 6-digit postal code. The site looks up the block, street and building and locks them, leaving floor and unit, each with a "Not Applicable" tick for houses.

Questions people ask

Why does my nationality disappear when I click away?

The list only keeps a row you click. Typed text with no picked row is cleared when you leave the box.

Can I use a hyphen or apostrophe in my name?

Yes. The name box allows hyphens, apostrophes, slashes, brackets, commas, @ and full stops.

Why can't I pick next week as my arrival date?

The form only offers the three days starting today. Come back when your arrival is within that window.

Got it right once? ArrivalFiller keeps what was accepted and picks the same rows on your next card, so the list boxes stop eating your answers.

Add ArrivalFiller to Chrome, free

Where this comes from

Rules change, so check the official site before you travel. Where we quote a form's message, we copied it from the form's own public code. Some messages may rarely appear, and we don't run test submissions on government forms.