Commissioner Marvin,
Home Team Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Before I begin my speech this morning, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of the late SCDF officer Captain Kenneth Tay, who had passed on yesterday morning during a firefighting operation. Our thoughts are with his family members during this difficult time.
Introduction
2. The theme of this year’s ICA Workplan Seminar is “Redefining Border Clearance and Service Delivery”.
(a) It reflects ICA’s transformative spirit and your work towards achieving the vision where passports are no longer needed at our checkpoints, and ICA’s services centres have zero visits.
(b) It might have been seen as rather farfetched when we first envisioned this in 2018.
(c) But remarkably, ICA has made it happen, in a very short span of time.
3. Many of the associated initiatives have been implemented, or will be implemented in the coming months, building on years of hard work by generations of ICA officers. I will share in some detail two of the key initiatives – the New Clearance Concept and the Services Centre Next Generation.
Redefining Border Clearance
4. The New Clearance Concept redefines border clearance, making automation the norm at all our checkpoints. It is a tangible expression of how we can harness technology to serve the public more efficiently and effectively. Many people see it, use it and benefit from it.
5. Today, all residents but only some foreigners visiting Singapore can use automated lanes for immigration clearance.
(a) From this month, this convenience will be extended to all arriving foreigners.
(b) In addition, by the end of the year, all residents at arrival and departure, and all foreigners at departure, need not present their passport for immigration clearance at the checkpoints.
(c) We will be among the first in the world to introduce such immigration clearance, which provides a very smooth and seamless experience for travellers.
6. ICA has also worked with HTX to make clearance faster and more convenient for vehicle travellers.
(a) The Automated Passenger Clearance System will be rolled out at Tuas checkpoint from 2026, and the redeveloped Woodlands checkpoint from 2028.
7. In the meantime, ICA has introduced QR code scanning that replaces passport scanning for car passengers since March this year.
(a) The feedback from travellers has been very positive.
(b) Over 60 per cent of car travellers have used QR code scanning since March this year.
(c) ICA will progressively introduce QR code scanning for other modes of transport at the land checkpoints.
8. ICA has also transformed the processes for cargo clearance.
(a) Cargo truck drivers used to present hardcopy cargo clearance permits to ICA.
(b) Now, clearance has gone paperless, and drivers can submit the permits to ICA online even before they arrive at the checkpoint.
(c) This has reduced clearance time by about 30 per cent, from about seven minutes per vehicle previously to five minutes now.
9. Technology has been a key enabler for ICA’s transformation efforts, and allowed us to clear travellers and cargo more efficiently without compromising on security.
(a) ICA uses data analytics to identify high-risk travellers, vehicles, and cargo ahead of their arrival.
(b) In the future, ICA can also prevent undesirable individuals from travelling here by issuing a non-boarding directive to stop them from boarding a conveyance bound for Singapore, such as an aircraft or a ferry.
(c) ICA is also enhancing cargo scanning capabilities by using Artificial Intelligence to analyse radiographic images of cargoes.
(i) This helps officers better detect anomalies, especially those not easily seen by the human eye.
(ii) It will go on trial soon at Tuas Port, and the goal is to roll this out progressively across all the cargo checkpoints.
Redefining Service Delivery
10. The second area of ICA’s transformation is redefining service delivery through the Services Centre Next Generation vision.
(a) ICA’s aim is to provide a fuss-free experience for those who need ICA’s services and save them a trip to the ICA Building as far as possible.
11. The Services Centre Next Generation embodies how we can be “Digital First but not Digital Only”.
(a) Close to 95 per cent of the applications that ICA receives today, either for passes, permits or passports, are already done online.
(b) This has saved time and made the process much more convenient than in-person transactions at ICA Building.
12. ICA has also been digitising its documents, which will reduce the need for people to visit ICA, to collect the documents.
(a) All Long-Term Passes are already in digital form and can be retrieved online via ICA’s website or FileSG.
(b) More documents, including Entry Permits issued to new Permanent Residents, will be digitised progressively.
13. There will still be some people who need to make a visit, such as to register their biometrics. We also recognise there are some people who may not know how to use the online services.
(a) ICA will continue to offer some counter services to meet this need.
(b) Last year, there were still some 600,000 visits to the Service Centre. Some visitors only need to use the self-service kiosks and/or seek clarifications about online applications.
(c) However, some had more complex needs and required more help. They can continue to rely on our service ambassadors, who are better able to focus their attention because the overall volume of visitors has been significantly reduced.
14. Come 2025, the new ICA Services Centre, or ISC in short, will make it more convenient for those who have to visit ICA.
(a) Today, you have to go to different counters at different floors for different services.
(b) The new ISC will take a more customer-centric approach. The aim is for the same counter to attend to all of the person’s needs, whether it is about his NRIC, passport, or immigration passes.
(c) Individuals will also be able to collect ICA-issued documents like passports at self-service kiosks without the need for prior appointment, made possible by ICA’s Integrated Smart Document Management System.
Workforce Development
15. ICA’s transformation efforts mean that the work of ICA officers will change significantly.
(a) For example, there will be a shift away from static counter roles such as scanning and clearing of passports, and manual processing of applications, to higher value tasks such as risk profiling of travellers and dealing with more complex cases.
(b) There will also be opportunities to take on more exciting job roles such as Intelligence Analysts, Radiographic Image Analysts, First Response Team Officers, and many more.
(c) These in turn translate to more career progression opportunities for officers.
16. Change is not easy. Take the upcoming Integrated Services Centre.
(a) Today, there are different services centres for each product. This means officers typically specialise in only one product – be it processing passports, NRICs, or a certain immigration facility.
(b) With the ISC, officers must expand their knowledge and be able to handle multiple products, so that they can attend to any request from the public.
17. I am proud that ICA officers have taken this in your stride. Thank you for all your efforts.
(a) Today, almost all 500 officers at the services centres have been trained for their new roles under the ISC. This includes officers, and our committed service staff in the various departments.
(i) This includes Devi, Ishak, Hairy, Asiyah and Dharan who were deployed to Citizen Services Centre, Permanent Resident Services Centre, and Visitor Services Centre previously and dealt only with issues pertaining to citizens, PRs and foreign visitors, respectively.
(ii) They underwent training last year as Service Advisors under the ISC.
(iii) As Service Advisors, they will attend to all customers across a range of immigration facilities, from citizenship to long-term visit passes.
(b) Likewise, over 4,000 officers have been trained for new roles under the New Clearance Concept.
(i) Some, like An Sheng, have already taken up new roles. An Sheng has been with ICA for 10 years. He was deployed to Woodlands Checkpoint previously, and later to Airport Command where he performed passport clearance.
(ii) To prepare for the New Clearance Concept, An Sheng undertook training in profiling and investigative techniques. With these new skills, he has been deployed as an Assessment and Investigation officer at the airport since August last year. In his new role, An Sheng monitors the operations at the automated lanes and identifies dubious individuals for further checks.
18. I encourage all ICA officers to take a similarly positive attitude towards upskilling and reskilling, and embrace the opportunities to take on the new job roles.
(a) MHA and ICA are committed to investing in your training and growth, every step of the way.
Conclusion
19. ICA has made significant strides towards the vision we had in 2018 in a very short span of time.
(a) This was possible because it has a forward-looking leadership, and officers like yourselves who are willing to embrace change.
(b) This is not to be taken for granted, and speaks well of the workplace culture ICA has put in place.
20. It shows in the various surveys of ICA’s performance, and are a testament to ICA’s commitment to stay ahead in an ever-changing environment.
(a) Singaporeans have strong faith in ICA. ICA’s Customer Perception Survey 2023 found that 99 per cent of respondents feel that ICA is effective in securing our borders and enforcing laws and regulations relating to immigration and registration.
(b) A similar proportion agreed that ICA is efficient in the clearance of people, goods and conveyances.
(c) Also, Changi Airport was the best in the world for immigration services in the World Airport Survey 2024 by Skytrax.
21. You will have even more responsibilities in the coming years, such as operating the checkpoint at the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link. I am confident that you will continue to be able to rise to these new challenges, and to perform your role well – providing world-class service to our people, connecting Singapore to the world, while standing firm as our first line of defence.
22. You should feel proud of these upcoming changes. It is not easy but I see it as an opportunity to continue to contribute to the lives of Singaporeans, keeping them safe and secure. I hope you will continue to innovate, making a difference to how Singapore operates. On that note, I wish you a fruitful seminar.
