Singapore's traveller volume hits 244 million in 2025, more foreigners denied entry: ICA

More than 244 million travellers passed through Singapore's checkpoints in 2025, up from around 230 million in 2024.

The number constituted a 6.3 per cent increase, said the ICA in a statement on Monday (Feb 23).

The rise was largely due to an increase in land checkpoint crossings, which accounted for about 76 per cent of the total traveller volume.

On Dec 19 last year, nearly 589,000 travellers passed through the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints, setting a new single-day record.

QR code clearance, which was fully implemented at both land checkpoints in January 2025, was used by 134 million travellers since its roll-out in March 2024, according to ICA.

The take-up rate for QR code clearance across all types of travellers also increased in 2025.

As of December 2025, it was used by 60 per cent of bus passengers — a 32 per cent increase from January.

Motorcyclists who used QR code clearance rose from 32 per cent to 57 per cent, while usage by car travellers remained largely stable, increasing slightly by 1 per cent to 69 per cent.

"For car travellers, immigration clearance time can be reduced by more than 30 per cent using QR code clearance, with greater time savings for cars with a larger number of passengers," said ICA.

In total, about 127 million travellers cleared immigration last year without having the need to present their passports.

Furthermore, from the second half of 2026, Singapore residents and foreigners leaving Singapore will be able to clear immigration at the new Singapore Cruise Centre using facial and iris biometrics.

Motorcyclists and their pillion riders at Woodlands Checkpoint can also clear immigration faster using facial recognition technology, as part of an ongoing trial which started on Jan 26 this year.

Spike in foreigners denied entry, contraband smuggling attempts foiled

ICA's statistics also showed that the number of foreigners who were denied entry into Singapore in 2025 spiked by 38.3 per cent from the previous year.

45,700 visitors were turned away after they were assessed to pose immigration or security risks to Singapore. This was 12,600 more than in 2024.

On Oct 14, 2025, a 30-year-old Thai national, who claimed he would be in Singapore for a day trip, was refused entry. Authorities had discovered that he had previously entered under a different name and was convicted for provided sexual services for monetary gain. He was subsequently barred from entering Singapore. 

Meanwhile, the number of contraband smuggling attempts foiled by ICA also saw a sharp increase of 30.6 per cent from 43,900 to 57,400.

On June 25, 2025, the authorities found four packages of "cat food" in the boot of a car driven by a 31-year-old Malaysian man arriving at Woodlands Checkpoint, which contained over 3.3kg of heroin, 3.2kg of cannabis and 530g of methamphetamine, or Ice.

A total of 667 vape smuggling cases were also detected by ICA in 2025, with more than 350,000 vapes and accessories seized.

Dip in marriage-of-convenience offences

The number of individuals arrested for marriage-of-convenience-related offences fell to 15 in 2025.

The 63.4 per cent dip reversed the spike in 2024, when arrests increased to 41, from eight the year before.

The number of illegal immigrants arrested also decreased, from 61 to 54.

However, the number of illegal overstayers nabbed increased slightly by nine to 484.

There was also a 28.8 per cent decrease in the number of harbourers and employers of immigration offenders arrested.

ICA said that most of the harbourers either had existing relationships with the immigration offenders — such as family members and friends — or had allowed them to stay in their premises for financial gain.

"Members of the public must not provide immigration offenders shelter and means of subsistence, so that we do not have illegal immigrant problems in Singapore," said ICA.

"Homeowners who wish to rent out their property must exercise due diligence by checking the immigration status of their prospective foreign tenants, to ensure that their stay in Singapore is legal."

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