Singapore issues e-pass to foreign visitors

Singapore – Singapore has stopped stamping on passports on foreign visitors and, in replace, issued electronic visit passes (e-Passes) for them via email, according to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Electronic passes have been issued at Changi Airport since October 2021, and has been issued at all checkpoints from March 11.

The passes will be sent to the email addresses provided by travellers in their arrival cards after they clear immigration. They will contain the details of the visit pass granted, including the maximum number of days of stay and the last day of stay allowed in Singapore.

With the full implementation of the e-Pass, all foreign visitors on short-term visit pass will no longer have to worry about the lack of pages in their passports to accommodate immigration stamps, ICA said.

ICA said that the implementation of the e-Pass initiative is a key part of its shift towards automated immigration clearance.

Singapore has also worked to simplify its on-arrival tests for Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) arrivals, in preparation for a new Vaccinated Travel concept in the coming weeks, the multi-ministry taskforce on COVID-19 said at a press conference on Mar 11.

From Mar 15, arriving VTL and Category I travellers, including Vietnam, will only need to take an unsupervised self-swab Antigen Rapid Test (ART) within 24 hours of entry.

They will have to report this unsupervised self-swab ART test result via www.sync.gov.sg, an online portal for sharing COVID-19 records, before going about their activities in the country.

Singapore has so far set up VTL with more than 30 countries and territories. The VTL with Vietnam will take effect from March 16.