Latest news with #Immigration&CheckpointsAuthority
Time Out
8 hours ago
- Time Out
Heavy traffic expected at Singapore-JB land checkpoints over National Day long weekend
The National Day long weekend is right around the corner, and for some of us, that means only one thing: time to go to Johor Bahru. But as seasoned border-crossers would know, practically half of Singapore will have the same idea, spelling jams at the land crossings and long queues at immigration checkpoints. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) certainly expects heavy traffic at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints in the lead up to and during the National Day weekend (August 8 to 10). The trend indeed suggests so: the June holidays this year saw more than 525,000 travellers crossing both land checkpoints, an almost 10% increase from the same period last year; a record number of crossings in a single day was also made on June 20. Besides heavy traffic, ICA has also advised travellers to expect longer waiting times for immigration clearance. If all this doesn't deter you from going to JB anyway, here's what you need to know to make your journey as smooth as possible. What are the peak periods to avoid? ICA has not released exact peak period timings, but taking previous years as a guide, here's when you might want to avoid: Departing Singapore between 3pm and 11.59pm on Friday (August 8) Departing Singapore between 6am and 10am, and 4pm and 9pm on Saturday (August 9) Entering Singapore between 5pm and 7pm on Sunday (August 10), and 1pm and 11.59pm on Monday (August 11) ICA also advised travellers to opt for cross-border bus services instead of driving to Malaysia to avoid getting caught in the traffic jams. Where can I check the traffic situation? Of course, the situation on the ground is always dynamic. Your best bet is to check the traffic situation at the Land Transport Authority's One Motoring website or the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System on the Bukit Timah and Ayer Rajah expressways before departing. What else can I do for a smoother journey? Check that your passport is valid for at least six months before departing for Malaysia. Singapore permanent residents who recently renewed their passports will also have to transfer their re-entry permit (REP) to the new passport. Long-term pass holders, on the other hand, should notify ICA or the Manpower Ministry if there are any changes in their passport particulars before re-entering Singapore. If you're travelling by car or motorcycle, do use QR codes instead of your passport for faster immigration clearance. You can get more information from the ICA website. Similarly, those going by bus can generate QR codes from the MyICA website in lieu of passports at immigration.
Rakyat Post
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Rakyat Post
Singapore-Registered Mini Cooper Driver Busted Doing Petrol 'Takeaway' With Malaysia's Subsidised Fuel
Subscribe to our FREE The driver of a Singapore-registered vehicle got caught red-handed at a Johor Bahru Caltex station, not just filling up his Mini Cooper with Malaysia's subsidised RON95 petrol, but pumping the cheap fuel into containers for takeaway. The vehicle was recently photographed at Nusa Sentral in Johor Bahru, making what amounts to a bulk petrol shopping run, treating subsidised Malaysian fuel like it's some kind of cross-border grocery haul. The internet had a field day with the double contradiction: here's someone with a Singapore-registered Mini Cooper – not exactly a budget car, and definitely not cheap to own in Singapore – but apparently can't stomach paying Singapore petrol prices. Road vigilante group SGRV FRONT MAN's Facebook post exploded with typical internet justice: 'Got gas for his enduro motorbike now! All set for a day of riding' – suggesting creative uses for the extra fuel 'Immigration & Checkpoints Authority helu polis, tangkap ini olang' – someone demanding authorities arrest the guy. 'Tapao some more.. steady mini' – mocking the takeaway mentality Why This Container Thing Matters Malaysia's RON95 costs about 60 Singapore cents per litre – four to five times cheaper than The government subsidises this fuel specifically for Malaysian citizens, and foreign-registered vehicles have been But a Singapore-registered car pumping it into containers? That's next-level subsidy abuse, essentially turning a quick fuel stop into a smuggling operation. Some sharp-eyed commenters noted that even However, enforcement of these rules has always been inconsistent, allowing foreign-registered vehicles, such as this Mini Cooper, to exploit the system for years. The guy's probably hoping this viral moment blows over, but the internet never forgets – especially when the irony runs this deep across international borders. Meanwhile, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) is READ MORE : READ MORE : READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
The Star
31-07-2025
- The Star
No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding Singapore-bound ships, flights
SINGAPORE: High-risk or undesirable travellers who pose a health, security, or immigration threat to Singapore will soon be denied the chance to board air or sea transport to travel here. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be able to issue no-boarding directives (NBDs) to transport operators to prevent such travellers from boarding ships and flights bound for Singapore. ICA plans to roll out the NBDs to prevent arrivals at air checkpoints from 2026 and at sea checkpoints from 2028. Transport operators who fail to comply with an NBD can be fined up to S$10,000. The move comes in the wake of the Immigration (Amendment) Act that came into force on Dec 31, 2024. An initial plan, first reported in 2023, to weed out such passengers travelling into Singapore through land checkpoints faced roadblocks, as the proposal would have required bus operators to collect and submit passenger information in advance. Bus operators with routes across the Causeway had told The Straits Times in 2023 that the plan to submit in advance passenger information to ICA could be difficult to implement and might affect business. On July 31, ICA said that while collecting passenger and crew information in advance has been the norm for airline and ship operators, such information is generally not readily available at land checkpoints. ST understands the authorities are still looking into ways to implement similar measures at land checkpoints. Meanwhile, enhancements to Singapore's border security, including through new profiling and detection capabilities, have allowed ICA to identify more high-risk travellers before their arrival to Singapore. This has translated into a 43 per cent increase in the number of foreigners refused entry into the Republic in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024. People who can be denied entry include those who had been previously barred from entering Singapore after being convicted of certain crimes. On July 31, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam attended the official opening of the ICA services centre (ISC) in Crawford Street. The centre, which came into service in April, is adjacent to the previous ICA building. Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said ICA's transformation comes at a time of increasing traveller volumes across the nation's borders. He pointed out that traveller volumes through Singapore's checkpoints increased to 230 million passengers in 2024, compared with the 197 million who passed through the Republic's borders in 2015. Shanmugam said traveller volume is expected to increase further with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System that is expected to be operational in December 2026; the Changi Airport Terminal 5 slated to open by the mid-2030s; and the expansion of Woodlands Checkpoint over the next 10 to 15 years. He said: 'But the limitation is that ICA's manpower cannot grow indefinitely, so we have been drawing more on technology to cope with this demand and to really navigate the more complex security environment.' To that end, ICA said it has achieved its vision to transform checkpoint clearance operations by becoming among the first border agencies in the world to implement passport-less immigration clearance. This was part of ICA's New Clearance Concept that was first announced in 2019, to provide faster and more secure immigration clearance. All travellers to and from Singapore can now clear immigration in an automated, passport-less process. This involves a facial or iris biometric scan at air and sea checkpoints, or clearance using a QR-code for those travelling through land checkpoints. As of June 30, ICA said some 93 million travellers have cleared immigration without needing to present their passports. Shanmugam said the implementation of QR-code clearance has been a game-changer for those travelling through Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, with clearance time being reduced by up to 30 per cent from before. ICA is also planning to roll out its automated passenger clearance system (APCS) at the Tuas Checkpoint for those travelling in cars, motorcycles and cargo vehicles by end-2026, without the need to use counters manned by officers. ICA said the automated process will allow them to operate more efficiently. The APCS will be implemented at Woodlands Checkpoint at a later time. The authority said around 95 per cent of its services have gone digital, and more than 95 per cent of the public are submitting their applications online. Superintendent Kalaivanan Pannerchilvam, deputy director of customer operations at ICA, said: 'A key feature of the ISC is the self-collection kiosks, where eligible customers can collect their passports and identity cards via these kiosks, anytime within the date of appointment.' Those using the kiosks will need to input their personal identification information, and complete iris verification before collecting their documents. Customers can collect both their passports and identity cards on the same day in one transaction at the kiosk. The self-collection kiosks are part of the ISC's Integrated Smart Document Management system, which was launched in July. The retrieval and delivery of documents, which was previously managed by ICA officers, are now done by robots. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding Singapore-bound ships, flights
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox As of June 30, ICA said some 93 million travellers have cleared immigration without needing to present their passports. SINGAPORE – High-risk or undesirable travellers who pose a health, security, or immigration threat to Singapore will soon be denied the chance to board air or sea transport to travel here. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be able to issue no-boarding directives (NBDs) to transport operators to prevent such travellers from boarding ships and flights bound for Singapore. ICA plans to roll out the NBDs to prevent arrivals at air checkpoints from 2026 and at sea checkpoints from 2028. Transport operators who fail to comply with an NBD can be fined up to $10,000. The move comes in the wake of the Immigration (Amendment) Act that came into force on Dec 31, 2024. An initial plan, first reported in 2023 , to weed out such passengers travelling into Singapore through land checkpoints faced roadblocks, as the proposal would have required bus operators to collect and submit passenger information in advance. Bus operators with routes across the Causeway had told The Straits Times in 2023 that the plan to submit in advance passenger information to ICA could be difficult to implement and might affect business. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Meanwhile, enhancements to Singapore's border security, including through new profiling and detection capabilities, have allowed ICA to identify more high-risk travellers before their arrival to Singapore. This has translated into a 43 per cent increase in the number of foreigners refused entry into the Republic in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024 . People who can be denied entry include those who had been previously barred from entering Singapore after being convicted of certain crimes. On July 31, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam attended the official opening of the ICA services centre (ISC) in Crawford Street. The centre, which came into service in April, is adjacent to the previous ICA building. Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said ICA's transformation comes at a time of increasing traveller volumes across the nation's borders. He pointed out that traveller volumes through Singapore's checkpoints increased to 230 million passengers in 2024, compared with the 197 million who passed through the Republic's borders in 2015. Mr Shanmugam said traveller volume is expected to increase further with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System that is expected to be operational in December 2026; the Changi Airport Terminal 5 slated to open by the mid-2030s; and the expansion of Woodlands Checkpoint over the next 10 to 15 years. He said: 'But the limitation is that ICA's manpower cannot grow indefinitely, so we have been drawing more on technology to cope with this demand and to really navigate the more complex security environment.' To that end, ICA said it has achieved its vision to transform checkpoint clearance operations by becoming among the first border agencies in the world to implement passport-less immigration clearance. This was part of ICA's New Clearance Concept that was first announced in 2019, to provide faster and more secure immigration clearance. All travellers to and from Singapore can now clear immigration in an automated, passport-less process. This involves a facial or iris biometric scan at air and sea checkpoints, or clearance using a QR-code for those travelling through land checkpoints. As of June 30, ICA said some 93 million travellers have cleared immigration without needing to present their passports. Mr Shanmugam said the implementation of QR-code clearance has been a game-changer for those travelling through Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, with clearance time being reduced by up to 30 per cent from before. ICA is also planning to roll out its automated passenger clearance system (APCS) at the Tuas Checkpoint for those travelling in cars, motorcycles and cargo vehicles by end-2026, without the need to use counters manned by officers. ICA said the automated process will allow them to operate more efficiently. The APCS will be implemented at Woodlands Checkpoint at a later time. The authority said around 95 per cent of its services have gone digital, and more than 95 per cent of the public are submitting their applications online. Superintendent Kalaivanan Pannerchilvam, deputy director of customer operations at ICA, said: 'A key feature of the ISC is the self-collection kiosks, where eligible customers can collect their passports and identity cards via these kiosks, anytime within the date of appointment.' Those using the kiosks will need to input their personal identification information, and complete iris verification before collecting their documents. Customers can collect both their passports and identity cards on the same day in one transaction at the kiosk. The self-collection kiosks are part of the ISC's Integrated Smart Document Management system, which was launched in July. The retrieval and delivery of documents, which was previously managed by ICA officers, are now done by robots.
AsiaOne
26-07-2025
- AsiaOne
ICA foils attempt to smuggle 500 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in motorcycle at Woodlands Checkpoint, Singapore News
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) thwarted an attempt to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes through Woodlands Checkpoint on Wednesday (June 23). In a Facebook post on Friday (July 25), it said that officers had directed the Malaysia-registered vehicle for enhanced checks and discovered over 500 packets concealed in various components. Photos uploaded by ICA show the duty-unpaid cigarettes wrapped in black hidden within the body of the motorcycle. The case has been referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigation. In May, four Indonesian nationals aged between 28 and 50 were arrested for illegally entering Singapore by sea on a small craft carrying 2,700 packets of assorted duty-unpaid cigarettes. They were charged for unlawful entry into Singapore, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and at least three strokes of the cane. Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years for dealing with duty-unpaid goods. The vehicles used to commit the offences are also subject to forfeiture. [[nid:720634]] drimac@
