SINGAPORE — Singaporeans now have the added convenience of collecting their passports from an automated machine at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building.

While waiting times for collecting a passport from a manned counter at the ICA typically fall under 10 minutes with an appointment, the iCollect machine omits the need for a staff member to man the counter.

Besides users having to scan their identity cards, the two kiosks will verify a person’s identity through facial and fingerprint recognition.

The iCollect was launched at the ICA’s Workplan Seminar, which coincided with its 10th anniversary yesterday, as it looks to technology to prepare for impending manpower challenges.

Despite the growth from 3,300 staff at the ICA’s inception to 5,400 today, Singapore’s “ageing and shrinking population … will result in a tighter labour market”, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said at yesterday’s conference.

More people, however, are expected to move in and out of the country with new facilities — such as Changi Airport’s Terminal 4, the Rapid Transit System between Johor Baru and Singapore, and the high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore — in the pipeline.

“ICA cannot simply do its work in the same way, and scale up its operations by hiring more and more people in a linear fashion,” Mr Teo added.

The ICA cleared 97.9 million arrivals and 97.8 million departures last year. The numbers are a 7 per cent increase over the year before.

In 2012, about 80 per cent of Singaporean travellers were cleared at immigration passenger halls through automated clearance stations, which have helped the ICA “to cope with a larger throughput, without adding much manpower”, Mr Teo noted.

Meanwhile, over 200,000 transactions, such as passport and visa applications and payments, were made through the ICA’s self-service kiosks.

Moving forward, the ICA is currently testing an Automated Biometric and Behavioural Screening System — an intelligent surveillance and high definition camera system offering real-time facial recognition capabilities — with the intention of using it to detect suspicious travellers.

It is also looking at making some of the ICA’s electronic services available through mobile applications.

An Integrated Operations Centre — which will use “analytics and other advanced technologies to enhance the situational awareness of ICA officers on the ground” — to provide a coordinated Home Team response to incidents at checkpoints, is also in the works, Mr Teo said.

Besides reaping the benefits of technology, the ICA will work on developing the potential of its officers through cross-departmental training within the Home Team, and by giving officers “more learning and career development opportunities”, he added.

The ICA will extend iCollect’s service to the collection of identity cards and long-term pass cards at a later date.