Travelling through Singapore’s land checkpoints has been made even more convenient now that a new QR code immigration clearance system has been implemented. Travellers arriving and departing Singapore by car via Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints can use QR codes in lieu of passports – provided that they have entered the country with a passport before.
This new method of immigration appears to be much faster and convenient, as instead of handing over passports to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at the car counter, you will only need to have scanned a single QR code which is generated on a mobile app prior to arriving at the checkpoint, for all the travellers in the car.
Get through SG checkpoints in 1 minute
According to Channel News Asia, getting through the Singapore immigration checkpoint by car now takes under one minute.
In order to make use of this QR code immigration clearance, travellers will need to download the MyICA mobile app onto one of their mobile devices and key in their passport details to generate a unique QR code.
Who is able to use the MyICA QR code depends on their residential status, as set out in a statement by the ICA:
- Singapore residents can either auto-populate their passport details via SingPass when they access the MyICA mobile application, or use the built-in camera function in the mobile application to scan the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) of their passport biodata page.
- Foreign visitors who have visited Singapore before can use the built-in camera function within the MyICA mobile application to scan the MRZ of their passport biodata page to auto-populate their passport information.
- First-time visitors and those re-entering Singapore using a different passport from their last visit to Singapore will need to present their physical passport for immigration clearance. They will be able to use QR code for immigration clearance on their subsequent trips.
Multiple QR codes available for travel groups
Travellers can also create multiple QR codes for travels with different groups of people. Up to 10 travellers’ passport details can be included in one group QR code and each group QR code can be stored and named in the application. For those with security concerns, the ICA ensures that the QR codes generated are encrypted, and can only be retrieved and decrypted by ICA.
Do note that this works on a “per vehicle basis”. If you have a group of friends in a different vehicle, they must present their own group QR code with passport details of everyone in their own vehicle.
While the QR code allows for an automated entry procedure, an immigration officer will still conduct a quick face-to-face check to confirm the data retrieved by the QR code.
It was also noted that travellers can still use the traditional physical passport method of clearance if they so choose. ICA plans to progressively extend QR code clearance to the other clearance zones at the land checkpoints.
