Singapore joins US programme on fast-tracking travelers' immigration process
Singapore became the sixth country to join a programme that will allow pre-screened travellers to the US to skip immigration lines when they arrive.
Singapore became the sixth country to join a programme that will allow pre-screened travellers to the US to skip immigration lines when they arrive.
The Southeast Asian nation followed the Netherlands, South Korea, Germany, Mexico and Canada in joining the Global Entry program, which allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travellers to the US. The agreement took more than two years to be concluded, according to Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection Gil Kerlikowske.
"You can reduce wait times, you can concentrate your finite resources on incidents and people that should be more concerting when it comes to travel," Kerlikowske said in an interview in Singapore yesterday.
Visitors to the US from Singapore rose 24 per cent from 2006 to 153,000 last year, when travel receipts totaled about US$667 million, according to the US Department of Commerce. While all arrivals at US airports increased 4 per cent to 7 per cent in the last fiscal year, wait times have fallen as much 30 per cent in some locations, according to Kerlikowske.
The two countries yesterday also signed an agreement to exchange information to help enforce laws against crimes including trafficking, money laundering and terrorism-related activities, according to the US embassy in Singapore.
The nations also agreed to make cargo trade easier.
