Singapore - Singapore's immigration officers

I flew down to Singapore for the Air Show over the weekend (which was sub-par and the security company hired to manage the event was utterly hopeless).

Several flights must have arrived within minutes of each other and the immigration hall in Terminal 1 started to fill up very quickly. I couldn't help to notice the roaming immigration officer's indifference towards the elderly, women with young children in their arms standing in a massive queue to clear immigration - no assistance offered, no communication made, and allowing them to pass through the empty APEC queue? forgettaboutit.. I cleared immigration in just under 25 minutes.

Do you not find this unacceptable? or am I being too sensitive?

Sounds pretty standard for SIN. There have been days that I've cleared in 60 seconds. There have also been days I've had to wait 30-45 minutes if many flights have come in. (This is on a US passport)

I've rarely seen immigration officials (anywhere) give preference to the elderly or folks with kids. If you have a wheelchair assist from the airline -- different story. All in all this sounds completely normal.

-W

It's still better than US immigration where they treat you as .......... I go on and out of Changi every week never saw this problem. Oh I am not a Singaporean.

SIN immigration is usually not so slow. Yes, on a bad day, it might take up to 30 minutes, especially if you picked that very queue, but as a matter of fact, you can already see the queues from "up", and if they're extremely long, I'm usually jumping on the Skytrain and moving to another terminal, where most probably the queues will be much shorter.. that is, if you're not travelling with luggage, of course..

Wow, 30 min really?

I was coming into Changi 4 times this year already (usually between 5 and 6pm) but never experienced a queue longer than 5 persons. Iam coming into Changi quite regulary but cant remember that i ever had to wait so long to clear immigration.

SIN immigration is usually not so slow. Yes, on a bad day, it might take up to 30 minutes, especially if you picked that very queue, but as a matter of fact, you can already see the queues from "up", and if they're extremely long, I'm usually jumping on the Skytrain and moving to another terminal, where most probably the queues will be much shorter.. that is, if you're not travelling with luggage, of course..
I've done that quite a few times, take a peek downstairs to gauge the waiting time, if I see a bunch of people, jump on the train and head to another terminal, where there were no people waiting at all.

I've done that quite a few times, take a peek downstairs to gauge the waiting time, if I see a bunch of people, jump on the train and head to another terminal, where there were no people waiting at all.

Wow, 30 min really?

I was coming into Changi 4 times this year already (usually between 5 and 6pm) but never experienced a queue longer than 5 persons. Iam coming into Changi quite regulary but cant remember that i ever had to wait so long to clear immigration.

I think it very much depends which time of the day, and which terminal you arrive. 30min are rare, but possible. Imagine some flights from countries where immigration isn't just a peek into passport + stamp, but rather a very deep check, and not just one of them, but several dozens all over the counters, and it will take quite some time. Yes, SIN in average is very good at immigration, but I did had times where immigration takes long times. Sometimes they do open additional counters, but not always, and if you've had the "luck" of queuing 15min just to miss the opportunity to go to a recently opened counter, it's possible (but rare) that the clock hits half before you're into the baggage carroussel fun.

If I do have baggage, it means queuing up no matter the length (otherwise, as I wrote myself before and TrueBlueFlyer does as well, it's a terminal jump, especially if I arrive@T1 and want to take the MRT anyway)

Really? 30 min? Compared to LHR's T5, that's a blessing :D

Really? 30 min? Compared to LHR's T5, that's a blessing :D

Or compared to SFO or ORD during a busy time!

Admittedly -- the 30-45 minute times for me have been somewhat rare, but they have happened...and all-in-all, I don't consider that to be terrible. Just mildly annoying... There is chili crab & tian tian chicken rice waiting for you beyond that immigration officer :)...for that, I can wait!

Really? 30 min? Compared to LHR's T5, that's a blessing :D

I was thinking exactly the same.:D Last time I arrived at T5 I had to wait for 90min which was longer than the flight I had taken to get to LHR.:eek::eek: Even during peak times SIN seemed like a reasonable airport to me.

Try LAX....Nightmare. Stuck almost for 3 hrs.
Swear never ever again.

SIN has the best immigration clearance. Period. IMHO.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think that the OP isn't asking about the wait times but rather the indifference to the elderly and families with small children. In some other airports they try to be considerate by directing families with small children or elderly to the front of the line or empty VIP lines. I witnessed this recently in LHR. As for SIN I don't find it surprising. This is not just at the airport but a reflection of society in general. It isn't a society where government really focuses much on the weaker segments of society.

As for whether it is acceptable. I tend to accept different cultures at face value without trying to take my sensitivities into account. As such, it doesn't bother me. This is the way it is.

yosithezet, are you sure there are many airports which do have special lanes for elderly/children? I'm trying to avoid LHR as much I can, but my recent visits to BHX showed no special lanes at all. So it's not even an UK thing. Maybe LHR do have some lanes, but I really have never witnessed any other airport which do have them. And seriously, why should SIN require them, if the waiting time is usually very low compared to the rest of the world? Just because someone is old/young shouldn't grant him the ability to cut the line. I'm sure most 80year old pax after a 12 hour flight in F are in much better conditions than a 25year old after 12 hour in the middle seat of an LH 747 :D So are we going to get special lanes for poor Y pax, 'cause they suffered so much? More the contrary, if you're F pax, you're quicker to deboard, most probably quicker out of the airport, have a smoother transfer. Oh, and if you want some special service in SIN, you can actually buy it. Either directly from the airport, or many hotels do offer this service. It ain't cheap, but it's available. So if you're weak and you want support/cutting the lane, there you go, this service is available. Just need to buy it.

I didn't say anything about "many" airports. In LHR I saw a lane but also just the courtesy of staff seeing a family with young children waiting for the airside transit bus and asking them to com to he front of the line. In Singapore there is a lane for families to go to the front o the airport taxi queue I think. And don't you think that if your 80 year old mother can off a flight in Y it would be nice for someone to show some consideration?

And seriously, why should SIN require them, if the waiting time is usually very low compared to the rest of the world?

Agreed. The airports that have "special lines" probably just need them to cover up their incompetence in getting people trough immigration quickly. :)

As for SIN I don't find it surprising. This is not just at the airport but a reflection of society in general. It isn't a society where government really focuses much on the weaker segments of society.

Isnt this statement true for a lot of countries in the western world? I wouldnt point on SIN society and their government, this is too simple (and doesnt really reflect what Iam seeing daily).

Iam travelling a lot but I dont know many airports providing priority to elderlies/families at the immigration (I recall only one thats CAN in China).
Yes sometimes this may happen at security checks (often only as a courtesy), but this happend to my familiy also in SIN.

Isnt this statement true for a lot of countries in the western world? I wouldnt point on SIN society and their government, this is too simple (and doesnt really reflect what Iam seeing daily).

The OP specifically asked about SIN and I'm basing my statement on what I see and also what the Straits Times reports. Last year around election time there were lots of articles about the impact on the elderly of raising the minimum wage and the addition of tens or hundreds of thousands of lower income citizens to the ranks of those eligible for free public healthcare. Society assumes that kids will take care of their parents and therefore there isn't much of a safety net. How many stories are there of people refusing to get up from the MRT seat marked reserved for elderly? As such I'm not surprised that there isn't much awareness that would cause the immigration officers to escort elderly passengers or those with small children to the front of the line. The OP asked whether this is acceptable. I said it isn't an issue for me of being acceptable or not. It is just the way it is here.

^:)^yosithezet, are you sure there are many airports which do have special lanes for elderly/children? I'm trying to avoid LHR as much I can, but my recent visits to BHX showed no special lanes at all. So it's not even an UK thing. Maybe LHR do have some lanes, but I really have never witnessed any other airport which do have them. And seriously, why should SIN require them, if the waiting time is usually very low compared to the rest of the world? Just because someone is old/young shouldn't grant him the ability to cut the line. I'm sure most 80year old pax after a 12 hour flight in F are in much better conditions than a 25year old after 12 hour in the middle seat of an LH 747 :D So are we going to get special lanes for poor Y pax, 'cause they suffered so much? More the contrary, if you're F pax, you're quicker to deboard, most probably quicker out of the airport, have a smoother transfer. Oh, and if you want some special service in SIN, you can actually buy it. Either directly from the airport, or many hotels do offer this service. It ain't cheap, but it's available. So if you're weak and you want support/cutting the lane, there you go, this service is available. Just need to buy it.

^^^

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think that the OP isn't asking about the wait times but rather the indifference to the elderly and families with small children. In some other airports they try to be considerate by directing families with small children or elderly to the front of the line or empty VIP lines. I witnessed this recently in LHR. As for SIN I don't find it surprising. This is not just at the airport but a reflection of society in general. It isn't a society where government really focuses much on the weaker segments of society.

As for whether it is acceptable. I tend to accept different cultures at face value without trying to take my sensitivities into account. As such, it doesn't bother me. This is the way it is.

:td::td::td:

I did travel to SIN two years ago with my elderly mom and we were actually directed to go to a shorter line not that the other lines were ultra long. And this was even at the budget terminal! And the custom officers were nice as well. ^