This certificate of admission belonged to Mr. Yap Soon Eng, a seaman who was issued the document by the Immigration and Passport Department on 10 January 1950.Such certificates were introduced after the Aliens Ordinance 1932 took effect in Singapore on 1 January 1933. The legislation was passed by the British colonial authorities to regulate the admission of resident aliens, defined as people who were not British subjects or British-protected persons, back into Singapore following a period abroad. Such control was deemed necessary by the authorities, who felt that some of these returning aliens (mainly Chinese) were responsible for bringing back subversive ideas that challenged colonial rule.
