If you live in a place that’s different from the address on your NRIC, there’s actually a penalty of a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, if you’ve moved into the new place for more than 28 days.
But now, there’s one more penalty: you can’t dine out with your household members in groups of five even if all of you live together and are vaccinated, because the authorities have spoken: NRIC or Singpass is used to check whether it’s a household group.
NRIC or Singpass App to be Used for People to Dine In Groups of 5
From today (10 Nov) onwards, household members can dine in group of five if they’re all vaccinated. This is valid for all eateries except hawker centres and coffee shops,
Coffee shops refer generally to F&B establishments with SFA coffee shop/ eating house/ canteen license that are not substantially enclosed by a permanent barrier.
Which of course begs the question: how do we walk in the streets without being stopped by safe distancing ambassadors since the social gathering size is still capped at two?
That is not answered.
Instead, in a joint advisory issued by five Government agencies (Enterprise Singapore, Housing & Development Board, Singapore Food Agency, Singapore Tourism Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority), they answered another pressing question: How do you know if people are from the same household?
The answer: NRIC or the Singpass app that shows your residential address.
The authorities said that F&B establishments should conduct checks for proof of residence for groups of more than two. However, for children without any forms of identification, they “can be allowed entry based on a declaration of their place of residence.”
They added that “strict enforcement actions will be taken against anyone who pretends to be from the same household as well as F&B establishments that do not implement the necessary checks. Errant individuals will be fined, and F&B establishments will be subject to immediate closures. These penalties will apply even for first-time offenders.”
How to Update Your Address Online
If you’ve somehow not updated your address, fret not: while you’ve officially broken the law, you no longer need to head to a police station to change your NRIC address.
Since 1 October 2020, all changes in your address would be done online, whereby you’d receive the iconic green “sticker” to stick to your NRIC via your mailbox. If you do everything correctly, you should be able to receive the sticker within a week or so.
You can head to this website for more details.
I guess the penalty of $5,000 fine or five years’ imprisonment is not as painful as not having the opportunity to dine in with your household members in your favourite restaurant, eh?
To know more about your NRIC, watch this video to the end:
