ICA to stop accepting Malaysian collective travel document
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will stop accepting the Malaysian collective travel document (MCTD) for visitors entering Singapore, starting on Jan 1, 2021.
The MCTD is issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia to groups of five to 20 Malaysian nationals entering Singapore, in place of passports.
The ICA said in a statement yesterday that the MCTD poses security concerns as the document can be shared by unrelated travellers.
As ICA moves towards automation and biometrics for clearance, the MCTD poses operational concerns as it requires manual data entry of all travellers' details, resulting in longer clearance times.
Visitors with MCTDs are also unable to use automated lanes.
Malaysia is the only country whose collective travel documents the ICA accepts today.
Malaysian travellers currently issued with an MCTD should apply for passports if they plan to travel to Singapore from January 2021.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now