ICA centre to halt Saturday services from September
On Thursday (25 July), the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced that its Services Centre will only operate on weekdays from 2 Sep this year.
Located in the ICA Building near Lavender MRT station, the centre is presently open on Saturdays from 8am to 12.30pm.
Operating hours on weekdays will remain unchanged from 8am to 4.30pm.
Source: Google Maps
However, due to its leap into the digital realm, the agency has decided to reduce the need for customers to visit the building in person.
“They [customers] can transact with ICA anytime and from anywhere, given that most of our services are now conveniently available online,” the statement read.
Drop in the number of in-person visits on Saturdays
According to ICA, the volume of visits to the agency’s Services Centre on Saturdays has dropped by an estimated 50% between 2019 and 2023.
Presently, around 95% of customers utilise ICA’s online services to submit their applications.
The agency has also modified the form of documents — such as birth and death certificates and long-term passes — from physical to digital since May 2022 and February 2023 respectively.
These digital documents can be retrieved through various platforms such as:
- MyICA mobile app
- MyICA e-Service on ICA’s website
- My Legacy portal
- FileSG
Hence, members of the public no longer need to travel to the ICA Building to retrieve these documents.
Streamlining passport and IC collection
The passport and identity card (IC) are currently the only ICA-issued documents that require physical collection.
To help aid customers in the process, the agency noted its partnership with Singapore Post Limited (SingPost).
The collaboration allows for passport and IC collection at designated SingPost outlets across Singapore.
Customers need not fret as all designated SingPost outlets are open on Saturdays, with some open on Sundays as well.
ICA also added that nearly 70% of passports and ICs are now collected at the relevant SingPost outlets.
Also read: New passports & ICs can be collected without appointment when ICA Services Centre opens in 2025
New passports & ICs can be collected without appointment when ICA Services Centre opens in 2025
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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