External Degrees
Qualifications for admission
Individuals who wish to be admitted to the Singapore Bar must:
(i) Meet all the requirements of being a "qualified person" as defined in the Legal Profession Act read together with the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules (see 'Am I a Qualified Person?'); and
(ii) Fulfil the other admission requirements set out in Section 12(1) of the Legal Profession Act (see 'What Admission Requirements Must I Fulfil?').
"Full-time internal candidate" requirement
External degrees are generally not recognised for the purposes of admission to the Singapore Bar.
Under the Legal Profession (Qualified Person) Rules, the “qualified person” requirements generally include having read a law degree as a “full-time internal candidate” for at least 3 years at an approved university.
Under the Rules, the term “full-time internal candidate” specifically excludes, among other things, external candidates, self-study candidates and candidates under any correspondence course. Please note that external degrees conferred by the University of London are also excluded.
Does this requirement apply to me?
There are however some exceptions to the general rule. Please use the guide 'Am I a Qualified Person?' to check if the “full-time internal candidate” requirement applies to individuals in your circumstances.
- If the “full-time internal candidate” requirement is not specified in the guide as one of the “qualified person” requirements for individuals in your circumstances, then the restriction on external degrees does not apply to you. Please note that you will still need to meet all the other applicable “qualified person” requirements to be eligible for admission to the Singapore Bar.
- If the “full-time internal candidate” requirement is specified in the guide as one of the “qualified person” requirements for individuals in your circumstances, then your external degree is not recognised and you are therefore not eligible for admission to the Singapore Bar. Qualifying to practise overseas or obtaining legal experience will not make you eligible for admission. You may wish to consider obtaining an approved law degree at an approved university, or consider other alternatives for practising law in Singapore (e.g. as a foreign lawyer or as in-house counsel).