Singapore Plans To Scan Your Face Instead Of Your Passport

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Last week the internet was abuzz with talk that Singapore's commercial Changi airport was no longer going to require passports for clearance at immigration. Although it is true the paper documentation will be replaced by biometric measures, it's not quite time to pack the document away.

The news came through as Singapore passed its Immigration Amendment Bill which, among other things, enables the use of end-to-end biometric clearance at airports and checkpoints, beginning in the first half of 2024.

"Singapore will be one of the first few countries in the world to introduce automated, passport-free immigration clearance," said minister for communications and information Josephine Teo in a wrap-up speech for the bill. Teo did concede that Dubai had such clearance for select enrolled travelers, but there was no assurance of other countries planning similar actions.

And therein lies one of the most important reasons passports will not yet go away.

[...] What travelers will see is an expansion of a program already taking form. Changi airport currently uses facial recognition software and automated clearance for some parts of immigration.

The plan is to expand to universal coverage, which Teo called one of the keys to the successful implementation of the New Clearance Concept (NCC).

"This requires a willingness to phase out traditional methods of identifying and authenticating travelers. The alternative of running two systems in parallel is not only costly but also cumbersome," said Teo.

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.