The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority will start issuing no-boarding directives to transport operators, blocking high-risk travellers from getting on ships and flights headed to Singapore. These directives specifically target individuals who create health, security or immigration risks for the country.
ICA made this announcement during its 2025 Workplan Seminar on 31 July 2025, outlining plans to roll out NBDs for air checkpoints starting in 2026 and sea checkpoints beginning in 2028. Transport operators who ignore an NBD will face fines reaching $10,000, following the Immigration (Amendment) Act that kicked in on 31 December 2024.
The authority hit some speed bumps trying to implement similar measures at land checkpoints. ICA explained that collecting passenger and crew information ahead of time has been standard practice for airline and ship operators, but such information typically isn’t available at land checkpoints.
Better border security, including new profiling and detection capabilities, has helped ICA spot more high-risk travellers before they even arrive. This led to a 43 per cent jump in foreigners refused entry during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year. Those turned away include people previously banned from Singapore after getting convicted of certain crimes.
New ICA Services Centre Features Automated Document Collection and Robot Management
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam officially opened the ICA Services Centre on Crawford Street on 31 July 2025, though the centre had already started operations back in April right next to the old ICA building. The ISC comes equipped with self-collection kiosks where eligible customers can pick up passports and identity cards anytime during their appointment date.
Users punch in their personal identification information and complete iris verification before grabbing their documents from these high-tech kiosks. Customers can collect both passports and identity cards on the same day in one go, cutting collection time by 55 per cent compared to manual counters and allowing document pickup within five minutes of showing up.
The kiosks adjust their height to accommodate wheelchair-bound users, and one officer can now handle four self-collection kiosks at once instead of managing just one counter like before. These kiosks are part of ISC’s Integrated Smart Document Management System (iSMART), which launched in July 2025 and includes over 100 robots that sort, store, retrieve and issue passports and identity cards.
Document retrieval and delivery, previously handled by ICA officers, now get managed entirely by robots while the ISC has squeezed information services from five floors in the old building into just one floor. Around 95 per cent of ICA services have gone digital, with more than 95 per cent of the public now submitting applications online.
Singapore Border Checkpoints Set for Major Automation and Infrastructure Upgrades
ICA achieved its vision to transform checkpoint clearance operations by becoming one of the first border agencies worldwide to implement passport-less immigration clearance as part of the New Clearance Concept announced back in 2019. All travellers coming to and leaving Singapore can now clear immigration through an automated, passport-less process that uses facial or iris biometric scans at air and sea checkpoints, while land checkpoints rely on QR code clearance.
As of 30 June 2025, some 93 million travellers have cleared immigration without whipping out their passports, with QR code clearance reducing processing time by up to 30 per cent at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints. ICA plans to implement its Automated Passenger Clearance System at Tuas Checkpoint by end-2026, allowing self-immigration clearance for travellers in cars, motorcycles and cargo vehicles without stepping out of their rides.
Immigration lanes can now operate round the clock with fewer staff members, giving travellers shorter waiting times for clearance before ICA implements APCS at Woodlands Checkpoint at a later date. Shanmugam noted that traveller volumes through Singapore’s checkpoints climbed to 230 million in 2024, up from 197 million in 2015, and he expects further increases with upcoming infrastructure developments.
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link will finally begin operations in December 2026, serving up to 10,000 commuters per hour in both directions compared to the current 640 capacity for KTM train services. During peak hours, RTS Link train waiting times should be less than four minutes, with passengers travelling in either direction clearing only one checkpoint at their departure point.
Changi Airport Terminal 5 is scheduled to open by the mid-2030s, while Woodlands Checkpoint expansion will happen over the next 10 to 15 years. The Woodlands expansion will slash average travel time during peak periods from 60 minutes down to 15 minutes, allowing ICA to conduct security checks away from the core checkpoint structure to reduce security risks and provide holding areas that cut local road congestion.
Shanmugam said ICA’s manpower cannot grow forever, requiring greater reliance on technology to handle demand and deal with the tricky security environment.
