Travellers arriving and departing Singapore by car via Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints can use QR codes to clear immigration from Mar. 19, 2024.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced on Mar. 12 that QR codes will be used instead of passports for faster and more convenient immigration clearance.

Instead of handing ICA officers their passports at the car counter, travellers would only need to scan a single QR code for all travellers in the car.

The QR code is generated before arriving at the checkpoint.

How to use the QR code

Filling in passport details on MyICA app

To use the QR code for immigration clearance, travellers need to download the MyICA mobile application on their devices and enter their passport details to generate a unique QR code.

Singapore residents can either have their details automatically filled in via SingPass or use the app's built-in camera function to scan the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) of their passport biodata page.

Foreign visitors who have visited Singapore before can use the MyICA app's built-in camera function to scan the MRZ of their passport biodata page to auto-fill their passport information.

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.

They will be able to use the QR code for immigration clearance on their subsequent trips.

Generating QR code

Once travellers have filled in their passport details through the app, they can generate an individual or group QR code.

Travellers can also create multiple QR codes for travels with different groups of people, and each group QR code can be stored and named in the application.

Only up to 10 travellers' passport details can be included in the group QR code.

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

Clearing immigration with QR code

At the car counters, travellers can scan their QR code stored in the MyICA app at the arrival and departure car counters at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.

Once the QR code is scanned, ICA officers will conduct face-to-face checks of the travellers using the data retrieved through the QR code.

Those travelling in a group must use the group QR code, which contains all the passport details of those travelling in the same vehicle.

If the details and number of travellers do not match the QR code, the vehicle will be rejected.

Save time

ICA stated that the QR code initiative will allow travellers to enjoy a faster and more convenient experience.

The estimated time saved using this initiative would be around 20 seconds for a car with four travellers and approximately a minute for a car with 10.

ICA added that if most car travellers use the QR code for clearance, the overall waiting time could be reduced by more than 30 per cent.

After the initiative is rolled out, travellers can still present their physical passports to the ICA officer at the counter.

In addition, ICA said it plans to progressively extend the QR code clearance to other clearance zones at the land checkpoints, and more details will be announced in due course.

Top photos via ICA website & Facebook