ICA at Lavender to stop services on Saturdays from Sep. 2, 2024

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Services Centre at the ICA Building in Lavender will cease Saturday operations starting Sep. 2, 2024.

After which, the centre will operate Mondays through Fridays, excluding public holidays, with hours unchanged from 8am to 4:30pm.

Currently, the centre is open on Saturdays from 8am to 12:30pm before this change takes effect.

Digital transformation of services

In a press release, ICA said it has made significant strides in the digital transformation of its services, reducing the need for in-person visits to the ICA building.

ICA said: "Instead, they can transact with ICA anytime and from anywhere, given that most of our services are now conveniently available online."

Between 2019 and 2023, Saturday visits to the ICA Services Centre decreased by approximately 50 per cent, with nearly 95 per cent of ICA’s customers submitting their applications online.

Furthermore, ICA has transitioned their documents, such as birth and death certificates and long-term passes (Long-Term Visit Pass and Student’s Pass), from physical to digital formats since May 2022 and February 2023, respectively.

These digital documents are accessible via multiple platforms:

• MyICA mobile app
• MyICA e-Service on the ICA website
• My Legacy portal
• FileSG

Physical collection

Currently, only passports and identity cards require physical collection.

ICA has partnered with Singapore Post (SingPost) to facilitate passport and identity card collection at designated SingPost outlets across the island.

These outlets are open on Saturdays, and many are also open on Sundays.

Nearly 70 per cent of passports and identity cards are now collected at these SingPost locations, ICA stated.

ICA said it will continue to innovate and leverage technology to further streamline processes and enhance the service experience for its customers.

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