QR codes clearance starts 19 March 2024.
On 12 March 2024, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced that from 19 March 2024, those travelling by car can make use of QR code in lieu of their passport at the car counters for immigration clearance at Singapore’s land checkpoints.
The idea behind this new initiative is that only a single code would need to be scanned at the counter for all travellers in each car, thereby speeding up the process of clearance.
However, the identity of every traveller in each car still needs to be physically inspected and verified by immigration officers.
Here’s how it works.
First off, head over to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) to download the myICA app.
Once installed, launch the app, and click on QR Code under Favourites. Follow the instructions to create a personal profile for yourself and those whom you regularly travel with, such as family members.
Each individual’s passport details can be entered in one of three ways for Singapore residents – via Myinfo with Singpass, by scanning the passport’s machine readable zone (MRZ) or by manually filling in the details.
Foreign visitors who have visited Singapore before can simply scan the MRZ of their passport biodata page to auto-populate their passport information.
Once a profile is created, you can proceed to create the next profile or edit or delete an existing profile.
Once everyone’s profiles have been created, you can set up group QR codes for various permutations of co-travellers for future use, and edit someone’s expiring passport details to update the information. Up to 10 travellers can be included in a single group QR code.
Once everything is done, either generate a QR Code for yourself if you’re driving solo, or for your group, and scan it at the car counter.
Remember, the immigration officer still needs to physically verify the identity or identities of those in the vehicle to ensure they match those shown via the QR code.
However, first-time visitors or travellers re-entering Singapore using a passport different from their last visit to Singapore still need to present their physical passport for immigration clearance.
So Do I Still Need My Passport?
Physical passports also need to be presented at the Malaysian immigration counter, since this QR Code is only for Singapore-side clearance. Of course, you can still kick it old-school and present your passport for clearance like before if you prefer this method.
ICA says that “the QR code initiative allows travellers to enjoy a faster and more convenient experience, with estimated time savings of around 20 seconds for cars with four travellers, to approximately one minute for cars with 10 travellers.”
Time will tell if this is the case.
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