Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has stayed on top of the rapidly changing border control policies, and expanded our role to ensure not just the security but the public health of our nation. The pandemic has also presented an opportunity for ICA to accelerate our transformation plans. 

2.          With more of our population fully vaccinated, Singapore has reopened our borders in a cautious and calibrated manner, with the launch of more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs). By 9 Nov 2021, there will be 12 countries/regions on the VTL.

3.          In preparation for the further reopening of our borders, ICA has rolled out a series of initiatives to provide a more secure, safer and more seamless immigration process for travellers. 


Digital Authentication of Vaccination Certificates 

4.          Proof of vaccination is key to a foreign visitor’s eligibility to travel under the VTL or other Safe Travel Lanes into Singapore. Travellers may be required to produce a vaccination certificate to prove that they are fully vaccinated with a World Health Organisation Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) COVID-19 vaccine as part of entry application and immigration checks. 

5.          ICA has been progressively integrating verification of digital vaccination certificates issued by other countries/regions into our online entry application and immigration processes, and is looking to include more countries/regions in the near future^[1]. With this integration, travellers will be able to upload their digital vaccination certificate when they apply for approval to enter Singapore or when they submit their electronic SG Arrival Card. This will speed up clearance at the arrival immigration counters, as ICA officers would not have to manually check the vaccination certificate of these travellers. 

6.          Singapore residents and Long-Term Pass (LTP) holders who are vaccinated overseas (i.e. issued with foreign digital vaccination certificate) are also encouraged to upload their vaccination certificate in the electronic health declaration card via the electronic SG Arrival Card, prior to returning to Singapore. Doing so will enable their vaccination record to be automatically transmitted to and reflected in MOH’s HealthHub or TraceTogether apps. It will also allow them to use the automated lanes upon arrival for faster immigration clearance. Singapore residents and LTP holders who do not upload their foreign digital vaccination certificate before their arrival will have to clear immigration at the manual counters. 

7.          Singapore residents and LTP holders who are vaccinated in Singapore are not required to upload their vaccination certificate in the electronic health declaration card, as their vaccination records would have been automatically transmitted to our immigration system. They can use the automated lanes for immigration clearance upon arrival. 


No More Inked Endorsement Stamp in Passport 

8.          To realise our New Clearance Concept (NCC) vision of automated clearance as the norm by 2023, ICA is progressively launching the electronic Visit Pass (e-Pass). 

9.          Instead of inked endorsement stamps in passports, the e-Pass is issued via an email notification to the email address declared by the foreign visitor via the electronic SG Arrival Card. It contains details of the visit pass granted, including the maximum number of day(s) of stay and the last day of stay allowed in Singapore. 

10.         The e-Pass has been implemented at Changi Airport since 10 October 2021 and will be fully operationalised at all checkpoints in Singapore by December 2021. An online Enquiry Portal that will allow foreign visitors to retrieve information on their e-Pass digitally will be launched in December 2021.  The Enquiry Portal will be accessible via the SG Arrival Card e-Service.

11.         In the meantime, foreign visitors with queries about their e-Pass can contact the dedicated ICA hotline at 6214-8427, while those with general questions about travel can refer to information provided on the ICA and SafeTravel websites at www.ica.gov.sg and https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg respectively.


Safer Manual Immigration Counters 

12.         Manual clearance may still be required for some travellers. To mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, ICA has been working on reducing the need for ICA officers to handle travellers’ passports during immigration clearance. This includes re-designing the manual immigration counters at the checkpoints.

13.         Manual counters have been retrofitted at Terminal 4 to enable the self-scanning of passports, in view of flights arriving from high-risk countries/regions. Instead of handing their passport over to the ICA officers, visitors will self-help by scanning their passport biodata page on the passport scanning machine at these counters. Upon successful scanning and biometrics authentication, the ICA officers at the counters will assess the eligibility of the visitors for entry into Singapore before issuing them the e-Pass^[2]. The ICA officers will provide guidance to visitors who need help with scanning their passport. 

14.         This mode of self-service passport scanning at manual counters complements the automated clearance lanes that are available to known travellers and residents. This allows visitors to self-clear the entire immigration process without physical contact with ICA frontline officers. This re-design and retrofitting of counters will be progressively introduced at all terminals in Changi Airport and Seletar Airport, as well as at the sea and land checkpoints, from November 2021.


Touch-Free Biometric Immigration Clearance 

15.         Since Jul 2020, all automated lanes and manual immigration counters at the passenger halls of Singapore’s air, land and sea checkpoints have been equipped with iris and facial scanners. Iris patterns and facial features have replaced fingerprints as the primary biometric identifiers for immigration clearance. Besides being more reliable than fingerprints for identity authentication, the use of iris and facial scanners has enabled a touch-free immigration clearance that is more hygienic, convenient and efficient. 


Immigration Clearance Experience for Travellers as We Transit to a COVID-19 Resilient Nation 

16.         The immigration requirements for travellers have changed significantly because of COVID-19. ICA will continue to streamline our immigration processes as best as we can, to provide a secure, safe and seamless experience for travellers. Travellers of different profiles arriving at or returning to Singapore via Changi Airport this year will have immigration clearance experiences as summarised at the table in the Annex, from mid-November 2021 onwards. ICA will continue to innovate and leverage technology to further improve the immigration clearance experience, even as we continue to have COVID-19 border control policies and measures to keep the country safe.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
7 NOVEMBER 2021