By the first half of 2024, travellers departing from Singapore will no longer need to show their passport at Changi Airport. This is part of the Automated Clearance Initiative (ACI) which will facilitate contactless and speedier clearance for foreign visitors arriving in the country at various checkpoints through the use of biometrics.
The Immigration (Amendment) Bill was passed on September 18 and will let biometrics become the ‘single token of authentication’ for passengers. This means that travellers will no longer need to show multiple documents (passport, tickets etc). Thus, travellers leaving from Changi Airport will simply go through automated immigration clearance using biometric data.
All you need to know about passport-free travel in Singapore
According to a report in Money Control, one of the key provisions in this Bill is for the Minister for Home Affairs to authorise disclosure of passenger and crew information to the airport operator. This will be for specific uses such as bag drops and passenger tracing within the airport, the report states. Explaining further, Josephine Teo, Second Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore said, “This will reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at these touchpoints, allowing for more seamless and convenient processing. Our immigration systems must be able to manage this high and growing volume of travellers efficiently and provide a positive clearance experience, while ensuring our security,” the report adds.
During its work plan seminar at the Singapore Expo on May 5, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had stated that manual counters across all passenger halls at checkpoints would be replaced by some 800 automated lanes. These are part of the ICA’s new clearance concept (NCC), which is aimed at providing faster and more secure immigration as well as customs clearance, a report in Straits Times says. This will allow people to go passport-free when entering Singapore.
The concept was first announced in 2019, and a trial run for the same was conducted at Changi Airport Terminal 4 in the same year, the report adds.
The ICA will also automate the immigration clearance process for those travelling by car. In 2022, they conducted live trials of the Automated Passenger In-Car Clearance System (APICS). Under this system, car passengers can perform self-clearance without or with minimum assistance from officers.
As per the ICA, the APICS will be rolled out in three phases at all the land checkpoints over the next five years. In the first phase in 2024, passports will be replaced by QR codes for scanning at manual car counters. Travellers will be able to create a profile and generate their QR code via the MyICA mobile app. Then, they can scan the code at the counters, where ICA officers will match the facial images of the travellers with the data extracted from the QR code.
In 2026, the APICS lanes will be introduced at Tuas Checkpoint as part of the second phase. Here, travellers will be able to scan their generated QR codes and present their biometric details for identity verification, effectively removing the need for officers to be present at every lane. By 2028, these lanes will be introduced at the redeveloped Woodlands Checkpoint.
For now, the ICA will work with the Home Team Science and Technology Agency to improve APICS before rolling it out in phases across land checkpoints.
Hero and Featured Image credit: Darren Nunis/Unsplash
Related: Singapore Travel Guide: Places To Visit And Things To Do In The Lion City
Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.
Most popular
Most popular
