ICA Workplan Seminar 2026 – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs

Commissioner Ghim Hua,

Home Team colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,


Introduction

1. Very good morning to all of you.


ICA’s Achievements and Challenges

2. If you look at what ICA has done in the context of travelling volumes - last year, 245 million travellers – including citizens – crossed our borders in a single year. Despite that, ICA has managed extremely well. A key part and enabler have been technology and innovation. Many of the things that ICA has been doing, with the support of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is innovative, first in class and time, and not done anywhere else in the world.

3. The travel by and large has been seamless. We try and make sure it’s secure and automated as far as possible. It achieves convenience and efficiency without increasing manpower and frontline officers; in fact, reducing the headcount. The New Clearance Concept that we have spoken about quite a lot was fully rolled out in May of last year, exactly a year ago. At the land checkpoints, a simple QR code scan, and the gate opens. At the air and sea checkpoints, residents and foreign travellers who are eligible can go through passport-less clearance – clearance without passport. Efficiency – the number of travellers cleared within a certain time frame – has more than doubled. The average clearance time has gone down from 25 seconds to 10 seconds. There are also fewer instances of travellers needing assistance to scan their passports. We are, in fact, the first country in the world to have automated lanes at passenger checkpoints that allow for clearance by groups. That serves, families, it serves parents with young children, and it also serves travellers with mobility needs.

4. More than 95% of applications for passes, permits, or passports are submitted online today. There are also self-collection kiosks that are fully automated for passports and ICs at the ICA Services Centre.

5. Third, even as ICA world-class service is being delivered to travellers by ICA, at the heart of it is security. ICA uses very advanced biometrics systems to try and detect identity fraud, and data analytics to do assessments before the travellers come. As a result, when the travellers are actually at the checkpoints, they get a smooth, convenient experience. High-risk cases are diverted for further checks. That is driven by data – the risk assessments, and that has meant that there has been an increase in about 40% of persons classified as high-risk and could be denied entry, and also a 30% increase in the detection of contraband - that’s in 2025 compared to 2024.And 95% of the public in the Home Team Public Perception Survey last year said they trust ICA. One of the key facets of Singapore is high trust between the public and the Government - in the leadership, in the civil service, and every time they trust an institution, whether it is ICA or the Police or the Prisons or the judiciary or the Attorney’s General Chambers – that is a building block towards building up trust for the Government.

6. And ICA was recognised by Skytrax World as having the Best Airport Immigration in 2026. This really shows the work that our officers are putting in to rethink the processes, the immigration processes, and their own commitment to very high standards.


The Next Chapter – Embracing Innovation, Empowered by Technology

7. Now, the theme for this year’s Workplan Seminar is: “Our Next Chapter – Embracing Innovation, Empowered by Technology”. It really captures the essence that has driven ICA’s transformation, and ICA is going to continue to put in place plans for the future of better immigration and better border security. Let’s look at some of the key initiatives.

8. First, is an Integrated Targeting Centre, or ITC, that is set to become smarter and more comprehensive in the targeting of risks. ICA’s ITC today uses a blend of algorithms and machine learning models. It fuses data across different systems and sources, you can say in nearly real time, and that has enabled ITC to really focus on detecting complex patterns and also better t risk profiling for every person who is seeking to come into Singapore. These targeting measures are going to be expanded. High-risk vehicles will be covered from July of this year, and high-risk cargo will be covered from June of next year.

9. The upstream risk targeting measures by ITC will work together with the No-Boarding Directives. No-Boarding Directives have been implemented since January of this year. In that way, we seek to prohibit undesirable immigrants from even boarding their planes, and it prevents them from reaching our shores. Later this year ICA will widen the scope to include a variety of other individuals whom we consider not eligible to come into Singapore, including those without valid visas and proper travel documents. They will be turned away at the boarding gate instead of being turned away after they have come here.

10. Second, ICA will expand automated clearance on arrival at the land checkpoints to vehicles and cargo. Automated clearance for vehicles, is powered by what we call the Automated Passenger Clearance System, or APCS @ Car, and this is the centrepiece of this year’s Seminar. I was shown the features earlier. It features 24/7 automated clearance lanes for drivers and passengers. What do drivers need to do –they need to drive into the lane, they need to scan the QR code and present their facial biometrics. In fact, no contact at all – no need to step out and present passports, no need for immigration officer to be at the counter. This will be rolled out by early this year at Tuas.

11. Cargo clearance will then become smoother. And, from July of this year, Automated Cargo Permit Clearance, or ACPC, will also be progressively deployed across cargo checkpoints. The automated system will combine data from pre-arrival permits, X-ray scans which are conducted when the cargo has come, and a number of other identification data points. And, once it meets ICA’s criteria, the cargo will be cleared. It’s going to cut down on waiting times. So, this is the second major innovation. We look forward to rolling it out.

12. Third, service delivery for immigration products. ICA hopes to keep pushing the envelope to make it smoother, faster, and a more pleasant experience for the person coming in to collect. The Integrated Processing System, or IPS, was launched 2 years ago, in June 2024. It has given applicants a one-stop portal online, for Singapore citizenship, Permanent Residence, and Long-Term Visit Pass. Families no longer have to fill in separate forms. A mother, father, and child can submit a single application for the same immigration facility – saves time and reduces paperwork. Looking ahead, ICA will expand IPS to cover other key immigration products. They are the IC, Re-Entry Permit, APEC Business Travel Card, passport, and Short-Term Visit Passes. Some applications will take some time to process because further document verification will need to be done.

13. ICA intends to deal with this challenge using Multimodal AI for Text Recognition and Information eXtraction or MATRIX for short. The system uses AI to automatically classify and extract key data from passports and other documents. That removes the need for labour-intensive manual checks. Outcome – verification is faster, errors go down, and better experience for everyone.

14. You look at another example of how ICA will use technology to improve customer experience. ICA intends to provide a self-service option for enrolment of biometrics. That is being developed at the ICA Services Centre for people who are applying to be new Singapore citizens, Permanent Residents, and long-term immigration pass holders. The self-service trials will start the second half of this year – a project which we call Project iEnrol. The system uses again, an AI-driven checker for fingerprints, and that keeps the process faster. But, the technology needs to be trialled to make sure that it works, or works well. And, if it does work well, then the public may no longer need to wait to be served by an ICA officer to enrol their biometrics.


ICA Officers at the Heart of Transformation

15. At the heart of all of this is of course the people; not possible e without the commitment of the officers. Transformation at this scale, at this speed, requires dedication, resilience, and adaptability at every level, and willingness to embrace new technology and drive improvements in the process. We have been doing this every year, from every Home Team Department, constantly pushing.

16. ICA will work on an environment to encourage ideas and experimentation, and improvements are driven not just top down, but from frontline officers. The aim is for officers to focus on more meaningful tasks that require critical judgment, conducting risk assessments, handling complex casework, and managing automated systems. And hopefully, they get freed more and more from manual and repetitive tasks – requires a strong culture of teamwork, trust and care for officers.

17. There will be continuous upskilling programmes to equip staff with digital and AI competencies for the future. Now, there will be people that are affected in their roles, and they will receive support to adapt, to change roles and new roles.


Conclusion

18. We are confident that ICA, like the other Home Team Departments, will continue to remain agile and innovative, and we look forward to ICA continuing to provide world-class services, while keeping Singapore safe and secure.

19. I wish you all a fruitful Workplan Seminar. Thank you.