Heavy Traffic Expected At S’pore-JB Checkpoints Till 31 Dec, Immigration Clearance May Take Longer

Immigration Clearance At Singapore-JB Checkpoints Could Take Up To 3 Hours Due To Heavy Year-End Traffic

The year-end break in December is a popular time for folks in Singapore to cross the Causeway, leading to heavy traffic at our land checkpoints.

Anticipating the congestion over the next week or so, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) issued yet another advisory today (19 Dec).

This time, they’re advising travellers by car to expect a waiting time of up to three hours to clear immigration.

Travellers by car may have to wait up to 3 hours to clear immigration

In a media release on Tuesday (19 Dec), the ICA shared their forecast for heavy traffic over the two upcoming long weekends leading to the New Year.

With over 1.3 million travellers or 435,000 crossing both land checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas daily over the past weekend, they expect the volume to only increase in the coming week.

Therefore, ICA advises travellers to factor in additional waiting time to clear immigration over the upcoming weekends.

Specifically, travellers by car may have to wait up to three hours.

Heavy traffic & extra security measures at land checkpoints

Besides traffic, ICA has also stepped up security measures at the checkpoints, which may add to the delay.

Hence, they’ve advised travellers to take certain steps for a smoother journey:

• Check traffic situation at land checkpoints before travelling, via the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring website or via the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS)
• Avoid cutting queues (motorists caught doing this will be asked to rejoin the queue)
• Ensure passport has remaining validity of at least six months

In addition, the authority reminds travellers to comply with rules such as not bringing in prohibited items and declaring dutiable or controlled items.

Those driving cars with Singapore licence plates should also observe the “three-quarter tank rule”. Offenders who fail to do so may face legal repercussions and will not be allowed to proceed with their journey.

That being said, if you’re journeying through the congestion anytime soon, do take care and travel safely.

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Featured image adapted from Google Maps, for illustration purposes only.