NSFs and regulars no longer need to surrender NRICs when enlisting

Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and regulars will no longer need to surrender their NRICs when enlisting from May 15.  

Instead, they will be allowed to keep their NRICs and hold their military identity cards at the same time, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a press release on Monday (May 9).

This will also apply to Home Team NSFs, starting from the batch enlisting in May 2022. 

NRICs of NSFs and regulars in the Singapore Armed Forces will be returned by November 2022. Home Team NSFs and regulars will also get their NRICs back in phases. 

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will continue to issue the NS Identity Card to their NSFs, as it remains the primary document for identifying SPF and SCDF national servicemen. 

Previously, NSFs and regulars were required to carry only military identity cards to remind them of their responsibility to defend Singapore. They would surrender their NRICs to MINDEF for safekeeping. 

However, MINDEF has ceased the requirement as it believes that Singapore has succeeded in building and sustaining a strong military ethos.

“Singaporeans have accepted NS as a necessary commitment by enlistees to build a strong national defence through the Singapore Armed Forces,” said MINDEF.