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You will be able to apply for passports and NRICs on the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) mobile app 'MyICA' by this year.

More documents to be available digitally

Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo said in Parliament on Thursday (Mar. 3) that members of the public will also be able to extend their visit passes on the same app.

Additionally, documents such as birth and death certificates, long-term visit passes, and student's passes, will soon be digitally available too.

Teo explained:

"This makes these processes completely digital end-to-end, and we will no longer need to worry about losing such important documents. This also saves time spent on travelling and collecting physical documents at ICA."

However, Teo stated that ICs and passports will remain as physical documents as current legislation still requires the presentation of physical ICs in certain settings, and Singapore will need to adhere to international passport standards set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Teo explained in her speech that since the Government accelerated the digitalisation of its services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, majority of ICA's transactional e-services see a high take-up rate of over 80 per cent.

"Satisfaction rates among users are over 80 per cent," she added.

More automated lanes

Besides the digitalisation of documents, Teo announced that ICA will introduce the automated clearance initiative this year to allow more eligible visitors to use automated clearance facilities without the need for prior application.

Over the next three years, ICA will double the number of automated lanes at Changi Airport.

All lanes can be flexibly allocated to serve specific traveller groups according to operational needs, Teo explained.

She said that in the long term, most residents, long-term householders, and visitors will be cleared through automated lanes in the passenger halls, which will be "faster, more efficient, and more secure".

"I would like to assure Members that Singaporeans will not experience longer clearance times. We can clear a traveller on the automated lane in less than half the time compared to the manual counter," she added.

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Top image by Syahindah Ishak.