Passport-free travel is underway in Singapore.
Supachai Panyaviwat | Moment | Getty Images
- From Tuesday, people traveling by car between Singapore and Malaysia will be able to present a self-generated QR code instead of submitting their passport at two checkpoints.
- Officials estimate that the new procedure will reduce immigration processing time by more than 30%.
Singapore made global headlines last year when the government announced it would replace travel document verification at Changi Airport with biometric processing in the first half of 2024.
But the city-state is making its land border with Malaysia “passport-free” in another area.
From Tuesday, people traveling by car between Singapore and Malaysia will be able to present a self-generated QR code instead of submitting their passport at two checkpoints.
new rulesThe measure will apply to travelers passing through the country’s Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, and will speed up immigration clearance “without compromising security,” the Singapore Immigration Department said.
Singapore residents and foreign travelers can generate a QR code through a government service. MyICA Mobile app. Group codes can be generated for up to 10 passengers, even for passengers traveling in the same vehicle.
As before, travelers will undergo an in-person inspection by an immigration officer.
However, QR code clearance is not available to two groups of travelers: those entering Singapore for the first time and those using a different passport from their previous visit.
Officials say the new procedure is expected to reduce immigration processing time by more than 30%, cutting it by about 20 seconds for a four-seater vehicle and up to one minute for a 10-seater vehicle.
The checkpoint connecting Malaysia’s Johor Bahru city to Singapore’s Woodlands is one of the busiest border crossings in the world.
More than 1.8 million travelers passed through the two checkpoints connecting Singapore and Malaysia from March 7 to 10, according to the Immigration Department.
Drivers from Malaysia wait to pass through immigration to enter Singapore on March 31, 2023.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
A record 495,000 people passed through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints on 8 March, the Friday before Singapore’s public schools closed for a week, the highest number recorded in August 2019. It was announced that the number of tourists exceeded 485,000.
Singapore plans to roll out QR code authentication to more travelers passing through checkpoints by other modes of transport at a later date.
The QR clearance program is part of a larger effort to modernize the city-state’s border controls and security procedures to manage increasing numbers of travelers as its aging workforce tightens.
A Changi Airport Group representative told CNBC Travel that Changi Airport’s biometric-based “passport-free” immigration is being tested.
A start date for this program has not been announced.
