ICA Services Centre to close on Saturdays from Sept 2
From Sept 2, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Services Centre will close on Saturday as the number of visits to the centre on that day declines.
ICA said on July 25 that the centre, where people typically collect their passports and identity cards, will continue to operate from Monday to Friday, except public holidays, from 8am to 4.30pm.
The authority said it has done away with opening on Saturday until midday as the digitalisation of ICA’s services has “significantly reduced the need for customers to visit the ICA Building in person”.
Between 2019 and 2023, the volume of visits to the centre on Saturday dropped by about 50 per cent.
Instead, most people have chosen to transact online, with nearly 95 per cent of ICA’s customers submitting their applications online.
This comes as ICA has allowed people to retrieve personal documentation on digital platforms like the MyICA mobile app and the FileSG website, making physical trips to the ICA Building unnecessary.
Since May 2022, members of the public have been able to retrieve birth and death certificates online. They can obtain long-term passes digitally since February 2023.
While passports and identity cards still require physical collection, ICA’s customers can do so at designated Singapore Post (SingPost) outlets.
Nearly 70 per cent of passports and identity cards are now collected at these outlets, said ICA.
The authority said: “All of these outlets are open on Saturdays and some are also open on Sundays.”
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