Automated immigration lanes coming to Marina South, West Coast Piers by 2027, says Singapore’s ICA

SINGAPORE, May 13 — Sea travellers entering Singapore via Marina South Pier and West Coast Pier can expect faster immigration clearance from 2027, with the introduction of automated lanes and self-clearance kiosks.

Improvement works will begin in December 2025 and are slated for completion in the first half of 2027, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told The Straits Times (ST). Immigration clearance will continue throughout the upgrading period.

Currently, travellers must clear immigration at manned counters. These will be replaced with automated lanes requiring passport scans and biometric checks, including facial and iris recognition.

“Once these works are done, all sea travellers at both piers will be able to use automated clearance services,” said ICA.

Officers will also be redeployed from manual counters to profiling roles, identifying suspicious travellers for further checks.

“Instead of manning the manual counters at the piers, they will be tasked with profiling travellers... and pulling out those who are suspicious,” ICA added.

As of April 1, nearly 14 million travellers have cleared immigration at Singapore’s air and sea checkpoints without presenting passports.

ST reported that tender documents published on GeBiz on April 8 show ICA and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) are hiring a consultancy team to plan the upgrades.

The S$4 million (RM13.3 million) project covers Marina South Pier, West Coast Pier and Changi Point Ferry Terminal.

Although Changi Point is included, automated clearance there is not confirmed. MPA said on May 8 that it was added to the scope “to allow MPA to assess the scope of future improvements, should the operational need arise.”

Marina South Pier serves tourists heading to the Southern Islands, while West Coast Pier handles passengers to Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom. Changi Point Ferry Terminal is a launch point for trips to Pulau Ubin.

ICA said the automated system will ease crowding during peak hours and allow pre-arrival screening using traveller data.

“Automated immigration clearance allows the authority to tap advance traveller information and data analytics to identify high-risk travellers before they arrive.”

The system also includes counter-forgery tech and multi-modal biometrics to detect fraudulent passports and repeat offenders entering under new identities.

Passport-less clearance is already available at Changi Airport, Marina Bay Cruise Centre and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, with Changi offering an average clearance time of 10 seconds.

ICA said it plans to extend this to all air and sea checkpoints.