Swift travels ahead: Car travellers can use QR code in lieu of passports at Singapore Land Checkpoints from 19 March 2024

Your guide to ensuring a smooth immigration clearance as you arrive into or depart from Singapore via Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.

Thinking of travelling soon? You're in luck. 

With the school holidays upon us and public holiday ahead, travellers arriving into and departing from Singapore by car via Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints can expect to see a smoother and faster immigration clearance. 

Effective from 19 March 2024, car travellers can use QR codes in lieu of passports for faster and more convenient immigration clearance, meaning that instead of handing over your passports to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at the car counter, you will only need to scan a single QR code, for all travellers in the automobile. 

According to a press release by ICA, ICA has been leveraging technology to make immigration clearance more hassle-free and efficient, whilst ensuring that security is not compromised. 

Here is a detailed breakdown of the process, from start to finish: 

Populating your passport details 

First, download the MyICA mobile application — which can be downloaded for free on the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).

For Singapore residents, you can choose between 2 options: 

• Auto-populating your passport details via SingPass when accessing the MyICA mobile application,
• Or using the built-in camera function in the mobile application to scan the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) of your passport biodata page. 

Foreign visitors who have visited Singapore before can use the built-in camera function within the MyICA mobile application to scan the MRZ of their passport biodata page to auto-populate their passport information.

For first-time visitors and those re-entering Singapore using a different passport from their last visit to Singapore, you will have to present your physical passport for immigration clearance. You may use the QR code for clearance upon subsequent trips. 

How to generate your unique QR code 

Once the passport details have been populated, travellers can generate an individual QR code or a group QR code.

Travellers in the same car can populate their passport details and generate one group QR code for immigration clearance.

For example, a family of four can have their passport details stored in the MyICA mobile application on one family member’s phone, and generate a family group QR code for immigration clearance.

Alternatively, travellers can also create multiple QR codes for travels with different groups of people.

One group QR code can store up to 10 travellers' passport details and each group QR code can be stored and named in the application (e.g., ‘Family’ or ‘Friends’).

The QR codes generated are encrypted, and can only be retrieved and decrypted by ICA.

Clearing Immigration using your QR code

At the arrival & departure car counters at either Woodlands or Tuas checkpoints, travellers are to scan their QR code that is stored in the MyICA mobile app, by the QR code scanners. 

Once the QR code is scanned, ICA officers will conduct face-to-face checks of the traveller(s) using the data retrieved backend through the QR code.

Those travelling in a group must use a group QR code containing the passport details of those travelling in the same vehicle.

QR codes that do not tally with the details and number of travellers in the vehicle will be rejected.

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The QR code initiative, according to ICA, will allow 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. 

Overall waiting time can be reduced by more than 30% if most car travellers use QR code for clearance." 

Further, this initiative will also offer travellers contactless and a more hygienic immigration clearance. 

However, even after this initiative takes effect, travellers can still opt to present their physical passport to the ICA officer at the counter, as per current practice, should one feel it is too much of a hassle. 

ICA plans to progressively extend QR code clearance to other clearance zones at the land checkpoints, allowing travellers in other means of conveyance to enjoy a faster, smoother and more convenient immigration clearance. 

More details will be announced in due time, per the release. 

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READ MORE: New operating hours for Malaysia's passport issuing offices from March 2024 

Lead image / ICA