Clearing immigration in under 1 minute: Using QR code initiative as a first-time driver between Singapore and JB

[The_King]

SINGAPORE: For someone who has never driven across the Causeway, you’d think I would have made my maiden car trip to Johor Bahru as stress free as possible.

Instead, I chose to drive to JB on Tuesday (Mar 19) – the first day that the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) rolled out QR code immigration clearance – during the evening peak period. It was also raining.

With the QR code initiative, travellers heading in and out of Singapore by car at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints no longer need to present their physical passports to clear immigration. Physical passports are still required to cross Malaysia’s checkpoints.

These travellers can now save their passport details in the MyICA mobile app to generate a QR code. They can then scan this QR code once they reach the immigration counter.

 

 

I’d already tinkered with the MyICA app prior to Tuesday’s drive and was surprised by how quickly I was able to get my QR code.

But the true test of the initiative, in my opinion, was how it held up during peak hours – such as, in the evening from Singapore to JB or in the morning from JB to Singapore on weekdays. 

And so, at 5.20pm on Tuesday, I joined the line at the Woodlands checkpoint with thousands of other drivers returning to JB after a day’s work in Singapore, growing more anxious by the minute that something would go wrong once I drove up to the immigration counter.

Maybe my QR code would get rejected. Maybe the ICA officer would decide I wasn’t the person on my passport. Maybe I would drive into oncoming traffic.

Thankfully, the only things that went wrong were my doomsday predictions.

Traffic around 5pm near Woodlands checkpoint in Singapore on Mar 19, 2024, the first day of ICA's QR code immigration clearance initiative. (Photo: CNA/ Raydza Rahman)

CLEARING SINGAPORE'S CHECKPOINT

To make my drive slightly less nerve-wracking, I went with my colleague Raydza Rahman, who regularly drives to JB. He would be able to tell the difference in time taken for immigration clearance using the QR code.

As passengers in the same vehicle can share one QR code by saving their passport details on one person’s MyICA app, both of us had logged our details in Raydza's app before we began our journey. 

When we arrived at the immigration counter, it took Raydza a while to position his phone at the QR scanner from the passenger seat. Even then, it took us – a vehicle of two travellers – 55 seconds to clear immigration. This included the time taken for the ICA officer to verify our identities.

This also appeared to be about the average time it took other cars ahead of us to clear immigration.

It took us less time, however, to clear immigration at Malaysia’s counters with our physical passports.

But we were a car of two after all. I’d imagine a vehicle with more travellers might appreciate the substantial time saved from having to hand over their physical passports – and wait for everyone to be verified – at both country’s checkpoints.

Our journey across the Causeway, including immigration clearance, was done in under 20 minutes. Time check: 5.39pm.

According to Raydza, this was rare. 

An ICA officer verifying the details of car travellers using the QR code generated via the MyICA mobile app for immigration clearance on Mar 19, 2024. (Photo: ICA)

"IT'S VERY FAST"

Solo and group travellers we spoke to in JB, who had used their QR code to clear immigration on Tuesday, echoed similar sentiments.

Mr Akmal Ghazali, a Malaysian who visits Singapore about once a month for work, entered Singapore on Tuesday at around 8am and returned to JB at around 6pm.

It took him “less than 30 (seconds)” with the QR code at Singapore’s checkpoints, compared with his previous experience of handing over his passport. While he didn’t encounter any hiccups, he was also mindful that it was only the first day of the initiative.

“It’s very fast, it’s very good,” the 32-year-old medical representative enthused.

“I think (the QR code) is much easier. We’re (going) to have the RTS Link soon, so more Malaysians will be (going) to Singapore.”

Asked whether he hoped Malaysia would implement a similar system for their checkpoints, Mr Akmal cut us off excitedly: “Yes, correct, I do hope very fast (that Malaysia adopts the QR code too).”

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Henry Loh, whose family drives to JB once every few months, told us it would usually take them about five minutes to clear Singapore’s checkpoints.

“Today was shorter because you just need to scan the QR code. It was a breeze. (It was a) significantly different (experience) because you don’t see this often abroad,” said the full-time national serviceman (NSF) who visited JB for dinner with his parents on Tuesday.  

“In the short term, maybe people ... might take time to get used to the new system. But once people know how to use the system, the travelling time between the two cities will be much more smooth.”

An ICA officer handing out pamphlets and explaining the QR code immigration clearance initiative to a car traveller on Mar 19, 2024. (Photo: ICA)

Singaporean Mohamad Yusir said he would appreciate a more efficient experience in the future. If not for the officer at the immigration counter who “kept repeating” information about the QR code initiative, his car of five may have cleared immigration faster, he said tongue-in-cheek.

The 58-year-old, who makes a weekly visit to JB from his home in Woodlands, said he “already knew these things” a week ago when he downloaded the MyICA app to log his family members’ passport details for their trip on Tuesday.

“When they introduced the QR code, they must have a reason – make it a quick and fast exit (and entrance) for everybody. It was easy, convenient for us.”

Mr Mohamad Yusir added that he hopes Malaysia will implement its own QR code immigration clearance too, if only so his family “can save money on the passport”.

Their passport pages have almost been used up way ahead of the expiry date, because of passport stamps the family receives every time they cross immigration checkpoints. 

When Raydza and I finally made our way back to Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint at around 8.30pm, we were pros at QR code scanning.

This time, with me in the passenger seat holding out Raydza’s phone, it took us 12 seconds less at the immigration counter.

But perhaps the greatest satisfaction from my first attempt at crossing the Causeway in a car came from meeting a Singaporean family who had no idea the QR code initiative existed, despite frequently driving into Malaysia. They still used their physical passports to clear the Woodlands Checkpoint on Tuesday.

I promptly rattled off the convenience of the QR code as though I was the seasoned driver – and, seemingly sold by my pitch, they downloaded the MyICA app on the spot.

Source: CNA/gy(mi)