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Travellers departing and arriving in Singapore by car can use a QR code to clear immigration at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from Mar 19. CNA gave the new initiative a test drive.
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.
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.
