Trial of ICA’s new electronic arrival card begins tomorrow

By Massita Ahmad

SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s  Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be launching an electronic arrival card for foreign visitors to the city-state with a trial to  be conducted for three months from Oct 4, 2018.

It will eventually replace the paper-based disembarkation/embarkation card that foreign visitors are currently required to submit on arrival.

Currently, foreign travellers to Singapore fill up a paper-based disembarkation/embarkation card upon arrival which contains information pertinent to the travellers, such as their flight to Singapore, and where they are staying in Singapore.

“We have reviewed and these details remain useful for border control and as part of our suite of safety and security measures,” ICA said in a statement here.

With the electronic arrival card, travellers can submit their personal information and trip details through the ICA website or via a mobile application before arriving in Singapore.

Travellers will then only need to produce their passports for immigration clearance upon arrival.

Available in various foreign languages, the electronic arrival card which they have filled up in advance, will then be called up by ICA’s immigration system.

Foreign visitors travelling with their families or in small groups will have the option of making a one-time group submission.

Trip information such as flight details, last port of embarkation, expected date of arrival and departure, as well as address in Singapore will be automatically replicated for all persons in the group.

The mobile application will also allow travellers to save the information submitted from previous trips for use for their next trip to Singapore.

These traveller-friendly features will make the process of providing the required information much easier and more convenient.

This trial will not affect Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders – students and workers -- who are returning to Singapore, as they do not need to submit any disembarkation/embarkation card.

The trial will be conducted at most of the air, land and sea checkpoints, namely Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, Changi Airport, and the four cruise/ferry terminals – Singapore Cruise Centre, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, Changi Point Ferry Terminal and Changi Ferry Terminal --.

The electronic arrival card will enhance operational efficiency and is a significant step towards ICA’s vision of paperless immigration clearance, and save up to 48 million paper-based disembarkation/embarkation cards a year, the statement added.

More details of the implementation of the electronic arrival card will be announced at a later date, after completion of the trial, said ICA.

-- BERNAMA