KUALA LUMPUR - Singapore will introduce a no-boarding directive from January 2026 to prevent high-risk and ineligible foreigners from boarding flights to the Republic, following a sharp rise in travellers refused entry.

About 41,800 foreigners were turned away at Singapore’s checkpoints in the first 11 months of 2025, The Straits Times reported.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said the figure was nearly 26 per cent higher than the total for the whole of 2024 and 46 per cent more than in 2023.

Under the initiative, selected airlines will be instructed not to allow certain travellers to board flights bound for Singapore.

From January 2026, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Emirates, Turkish Airlines and AirAsia will implement the directive.

ICA said more airlines will be added to the programme from March 2026.

The authority said the move is part of efforts to shift border controls upstream and stop undesirable travellers before they reach Singapore.

ICA attributed many recent refusals to improvements in its new clearance concept, which applies multiple layers of security screening.

These include automated immigration lanes with counter-forgery detection and a multi-modal biometrics system.

The systems allow officers to detect impersonation attempts, multiple identities and individuals banned from returning to Singapore.

ICA’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joe Tan said advanced passenger information and data analytics are also used to identify travellers of concern before arrival.

He said those flagged are subjected to stricter checks upon reaching Singapore.

“We do not deny travellers entry simply because they are identified to be high-risk upstream.

“These travellers are stopped at our automated lanes upon arrival for further checks,” he said.

Tan said officers then conduct interviews and investigations to assess the travellers’ intentions and eligibility.

Several countries, including the United States (US) and Australia, already operate similar arrangements with airlines.

In the US, the Secure Flight programme screens passengers against a watch list managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Australia uses the Movement Alert List administered by the Department of Home Affairs.

ICA said Singapore’s approach mirrors these systems by preventing known high-risk travellers from starting their journey.

The no-boarding directive will be rolled out progressively from January 2026.

Tan said the scheme followed engagement sessions with airline operators that began in 2022.

“Currently, airlines conduct checks manually, relying on visual inspection of the passport biodata page and any supporting documents.

“This process is prone to human error, and airlines do not have the systems to verify whether a traveller holds a valid Singapore visa or has actually submitted their (arrival card details),” he said.

With the new system, airlines will receive boarding instructions after passenger data is screened by ICA.

“When such travellers check in for a flight to Singapore, the airline which has been issued the NBD notice will (stop) these travellers from boarding the flight,” he added.

He stressed that directives will only be issued when ICA is fully certain a traveller is prohibited.

Those issued with a directive but seeking entry must first contact ICA for approval before booking another flight.

Despite the new system, ICA said officers on the ground remain a critical layer of defence.

Sergeant 3 Muhammad Yusri Karim, an assessment and investigation officer at the Airport Command, said manual screening was previously highly stressful.

“Previously at the manual counters, we had to perform both immigration clearance and profiling work.

“It can get very stressful when you start to see long queues forming and feel fatigue,” he said.

The introduction of passport-less clearance at automated lanes by September 2024 eased the workload.

“With passport-less clearance, which uses iris and facial biometrics for scanning, the time needed to clear one traveller has reduced significantly.

“We are able to clear a large volume of passengers more securely and efficiently,” he said.

Tan said land checkpoints will remain secure despite the focus on air and sea travel.

“Foreigners will still have to submit their arrival cards at land checkpoints so we will still have their advance information.

“The whole purpose of NBDs is to deny undesirable travellers from boarding (flights) into Singapore,” said Tan.