Starting next week, Malaysians travelling to and from Singapore through the land border will be able to clear immigration much easier using a QR code. The new
system will be available at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints starting 19 March 2024, making it faster and more efficient to drive in and out of our southern neighbour.
The Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that instead of having to hand over your passport to its officers at the car counter, you will only need to show a QR code that is generate before arriving at the checkpoint via the MyICA app. Those who have previously visited the island can use the built-in camera function in the MyICA app to automatically populate their passport information by scanning the Machine-Readable Zone of their passport biodata page. However, first-time visitors, as well as those using a different passport than from their last visit to Singapore, will still need to present their physical passport to clear immigration, but they can utilise the QR code for subsequent trips.
The ICA claims that the QR code system can save around 20 seconds for cars with four travellers and one minute for cars with 10 travellers, as those travelling together can generate one group QR code to save time. Of course, Malaysian travellers are still given the option to use their physical passport for immigration clearance.