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SINGAPORE: From the first half of 2024, passengers departing Changi Airport will go through automated immigration clearance using biometric data, with no passports needed, reported Channel News Asia (CNA) recently.

This comes after Singapore's parliament on Sep 18 passed a series of amendments to the Immigration Act.

One key provision is for the Minister for Home Affairs to authorise the disclosure of passenger and crew information to the airport operator, for specific uses such as bag drops and passenger tracing within the airport.

This allows for end-to-end biometric clearance, meaning the passenger does not need to produce their passport, ticket and boarding pass multiple times during the boarding process.

Instead, biometrics will create a "single token of authentication" that passengers can use at various automated touchpoints, said Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo.

The Bill also contains changes to better deal with exigencies such as pandemics, strengthen border controls and streamline the administration of passes and permits for foreigners and permanent residents (PRs).

It provides for powers to collect advance passenger and crew information across all modes of entry, and to issue no-boarding directives to airlines and other transport operators to deny "undesirable persons" from boarding at the point of departure for Singapore.