Changi Airport Will Be Passport-Free Starting 2024

You read that right: Soon, you won’t need to bring your passport out when departing from Changi Airport in Singapore. The city-state has recently passed a new law that will allow “passport-free travel” by the first half of 2024, according to Channel News Asia. In lieu of passports and other travel documents, passengers will have to go through automated immigration clearance using biometric data. 

Read on for everything you need to know. 

Passport-free travel at Changi Airport

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“Singapore will be one of the first few countries in the world to introduce [this process],” said Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information & Second Minister for Home Affairs, in a speech to parliament on 18 Sep 2023. “This will reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at these touchpoints, allowing for more seamless and convenient processing.”

For those not yet familiar — biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals by means of unique physical characteristics. It authenticates and verifies your identity through data like fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, facial patterns, voice patterns, and hand measurements. 

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The upcoming Changi Airport passport-free measure will mean end-to-end biometric clearance. This will create a “single token of authentication” that travellers can use at various automated lanes in immigration checkpoints. Hence, those travelling from this airport will no longer have to bring out their passport, ticket, and boarding pass multiple times during the pre-departure process. And yes — that includes bag drop, immigration clearance, and boarding. 

However, keep in mind that you’ll still need to bring your passport for countries outside Singapore. 

Also read: Which Singapore Tourist Attractions Are Actually Worth the Hype?

It’s no secret that Changi Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. In August 2023 alone, it handled over 5.15 million passengers, according to its website. This traveller volume is expected to keep rising, especially since a new terminal is currently in the works.

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