Travellers Driving To & From Singapore Can Soon Use QR Codes To Clear Immigration
This comes into effect on 19 March
By Celine Low — 13 Mar 2024, 10:25 AM
Beginning 19 March, motorists entering and leaving Singapore by car via the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints can use QR codes instead of their passports
Passing through Singapore's land immigration will be much easier, with drivers no longer required to present their passports to immigration officers.
According to Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the QR codes can be used to clear individual travellers or groups of up to 10 people travelling in the same vehicle.
Here's how to generate the QR code:
Firstly, you'll need to download the MyICA mobile application and fill in your passport details.
Foreign travellers who have previously visited Singapore can use the built-in camera function within the MyICA app to scan the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) of their passport's biodata page to auto-populate their passport information.
The MRZ consists of two or three rows of characters at the bottom of the passport biodata page.
If you're visiting Singapore for the first time or using a different passport from your previous visit, you must present your physical passport for immigration clearance.
After that, you can utilise the QR codes for immigration clearance on subsequent trips.
You can choose to either generate an individual QR code or a group QR code
Generating an individual code will only require the details of one person, while a group QR code can be generated by submitting the details of each traveller in the group through one person's mobile device.
In the app, you can submit passport details for up to 10 people, which can then be saved and labelled as "Family" or "Friends".
Those using a group code must travel in the same vehicle. Once group travellers have scanned the QR code at the checkpoints, ICA officers will conduct face-to-face checks to verify the information received on their end.
If the submitted details do not match the number of travellers in the vehicle, entry into the island country will be denied.
The ICA stated that the QR codes generated are encrypted and can only be retrieved and decrypted by the authorities
However, travellers still have the option to present their physical passport to ICA officers at the checkpoint counter, even after this initiative is introduced.
Download the MyICA Mobile application for free from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).
