SINGAPORE: Starting Aug 5, 2024, travellers at Singapore’s Changi Airport will experience a “hassle-free and faster clearance” without presenting their passports.
This initiative, part of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) efforts to strengthen border security while enhancing traveller convenience, will initially be implemented at Changi Airport and later at Marina Bay Cruise Centre by December 2024.
The New Clearance Concept (NCC) will allow travellers to use automated systems for immigration clearance. Singapore residents, including citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders, will clear immigration using facial and iris biometrics.
However, children under six years old will not be able to use the automated lanes for immigration clearance.
This system will be available for residents at both arrival and departure points, while foreign travellers will only use it for departures. Token-less clearance relies on information from airlines and ship operators.
A QR code system will replace the traditional passport check for land checkpoints, where traveller information isn’t available in advance. Instead of presenting a passport, travellers will use a QR code for clearance.
Group QR codes can be reused for future trips if the group remains the same. The QR code system was introduced for car travellers in March 2024 and extended to bus drivers in April 2024.
With more than 70% of car travellers and bus drivers already using QR codes, the system will soon include motorcyclists, pillion riders, cargo vehicle drivers, and accompanying assistants by August 2024.
By December 2024, QR code clearance will also be available for bus passengers. This will reduce processing times at land checkpoints by around 30%.
At Changi Airport, the token-less clearance will begin on Aug 5, 2024, in selected automated lanes in Terminal 3, with a gradual rollout to all terminals by September 2024.
This system is expected to cut immigration processing times by 40%. Marina Bay Cruise Centre will implement the system by December 2024.
Foreign visitors arriving in Singapore for the first time and those returning with a different passport from their previous visit will need to show their passport for immigration clearance. On future visits, they can use a QR code for clearance.
Despite these advancements, ICA stated:
“Even as we implement passport-less immigration clearance at Singapore’s checkpoints, travellers will still need their passport for immigration clearance overseas. ICA may also occasionally require travellers to produce their passports for verification.
ICA officers will continue to be around to help travellers who require assistance with automated and passport-less immigration clearance.”
Assistant Commissioner Phua Chiew Hua, deputy director at ICA’s operations division, said, “Singapore is first in the world to implement token-less clearance on a large scale,” The Straits Times quoted him as saying. /TISG
Read also: Changi Airport passenger traffic hits 99.3% of pre-pandemic levels in H1 2024
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