You May Soon Be Able To Enter Singapore With Facial Recognition Instead Of Passports

Singapore's Immigration And Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is conducting a six-month trial for a new contactless immigration clearance system at the checkpoint's bus hall's automated arrival lanes.

The trial, which commenced on 8 April, is part of ICA's vision for an efficient and hassle-free immigration clearance experience, Mothership reported.

Since 2017, travellers have been cleared using a dual facial and thumbprint recognition system.

According to an ICA news release published on 15 April, the new system will capture the facial and iris images of travellers in the automated lane, verify their identity, and confirm that they have a valid passport.

Here's how the system works:

The process reportedly takes under 60 seconds.

No prior sign-up is required, and participants need to ensure that they do not wear sunglasses, caps, or other headgear that will obstruct their full facial image when using the contactless immigration clearance lane.

"Singaporeans who wish to participate in this trial should not wear any coloured, patterned contact lenses or have any wearables that will block their facial and iris images, as these will affect the trial results," Soong says.

The ICA will study the results of the trial and assess the feasibility to extend this initiative to more automated clearance lanes and other checkpoints.

In November, ICA announced that biometric data taken at checkpoints could also be used to identify people of interest in the event of a "security accident".

"A robust biometrics database of travellers, comprising facial images, fingerprint, and iris, will be useful for post-incident investigation and data analytics purposes in the event of a security incident," the statement read, according to Coconuts Singapore.