SINGAPORE, April 26 — By the first quarter of 2024, 95 per cent of all Changi Airport arrivals are expected to be cleared by automated immigration lanes as Singapore gears up to welcome 300 million visitors a year by 2025, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said.
This has been made possible after ICA increased the number of these lanes and allowed more foreign visitors to use them, it said in a press release yesterday (April 25).
The authority did not provide a percentage of all arrivals using the lanes now, but said that more than four million foreign visitors had used them so far, and been enrolled in the process while doing so.
Passport holders from 51 jurisdictions can use automated immigration lanes without the need for prior enrolment, up from 16 when the lanes were first rolled out in May last year.
Holders of the Apec Business Travel Card, a card issued to business travellers and senior government officials who meet certain requirements, can now use the automated lanes as well.
ICA added that it has ramped up the number of automated lanes to 130 at Changi Airport and 40 lanes at Singapore’s land checkpoints.
How it works
Under the automated clearance initiative, eligible arriving foreign visitors are directed to the automated lanes for immigration clearance.
Their biometrics — which include their iris, facial and fingerprint images — are automatically enrolled during the arrival clearance process.
This is if they have not already been enrolled during a previous trip to Singapore.
Information on their enrolment is included in the electronic visit pass (e-pass) which is sent to them via email after immigration clearance.
Enrolled foreign visitors will then be able to use any automated lane during departure and on subsequent visits to Singapore.
Mr Phua Chiew Hua, ICA’s deputy director of the operations division, said: “Prior to the automated clearance initiative, most foreign visitors would have to queue at the manual counters upon arrival for immigration clearance.”
Now, those eligible can proceed directly to the automated lanes for immigration clearance even if it is their first time visiting Singapore, he said.
“This will allow us to onboard more travellers for the use of our automated lanes as we move towards having automated clearance as the norm.”
Mr Phua added that ICA has made the enrolment process “as seamless as possible”, so that travellers can perform self-enrolment at the automated lanes while clearing immigration.
If required, officers deployed at the automated lanes will assist them.
Automated lanes will help it to meet the growing traveller volume, which is expected to reach 300 million travellers a year by 2025, ICA said.
This is because automated lanes take up less physical space and require less manpower than manual counters.
The job roles of its officers will be enhanced as it moves away from manual clearance, it added.
They are being upskilled to perform profiling, assessment, and investigative work beyond immigration counter duties. — TODAY
