Jaytraveller

Thank you TWA884, for another excellent advice! I will download the Grab app on my iPhone, first thing upon arrival at the Changi. As you iterated, this app will be useful in Thailand and Cambodia as well. That will be an additional advantage! Thank you again for your time and help.

Jaytraveller

Thank you TWA884! Glad to know that one can take a rideshare van as we do in US! Will certainly avail this on our return from JW to Changi on Wednesday afternoon, mid-February! The fare is very reasonable.

Jaytraveller

Thank you Cynicor, for this comforting information! Wow! What an efficient country! Chances are high that if flight arrives on time (19:50 arrival from BOM), we can be in taxi latest by 21:00! Great! Thank you again for your time to help me.

TWA884

It's not a shared van; it's your own private ride just like Lyft or Uber.

Jaytraveller

Oh, I see! I get it now. Unlike shared van with other passengers, this will be a private ride for us. Great deal for $15! Thank you for detailed information.

Jaytraveller

Now there is another formality I need to address about travelling to Singapore. Browsing google, I just learned that although as US citizens we don't need visa for short stay as tourists in Singapore, we still have to obtain what they call SG Arrival Card. I don't mind getting it right now. However, they stipulate that we can't get it at least 3 days before arrival.
We are busy touring some parts of India prior to arrival at the Singapore and hence I would have preferred to be done with SGAC formality before leaving US for our 4 nation trip. I downloaded the MyICA Mobile app and hopefully, it will be reasonably easier to fill the form and get it through this app. It is also ironic that we can't get this 'Arrival Card' at the airport upon arrival, since they abandoned the practice of filling paper forms. Am I right about all these things that I gleaned on internet or there is other simpler way to get this SGAC. Anyone with any thoughts? Sorry to sound so naive but was just curious about it. Thank you.

80proofGalleyCart

You will find the link you need in Post # 3 of the Singapore arrival card question thread.

dkerr

Yes it's a pain. I think this was introduced during COVID, and it was important to Singapore authorities that you filled it up close to arrival time because there are health questions which were relevant at the time. In my experience the arrival card is issued very quickly, and you can do it on a mobile device, though that is not my favorite way to enter the requested information... passport number, etc, etc. phone typing is prone to typos!

To your other questions, Changi airport is a delight to use. There is no fast track for business/first class but lines for immigration are usually short. They have e-gates for Singapore residents, but US passport holders cannot use (at least not before entering the country at least once and requesting to be added to the e-gate system). I think my worst experience was ~15 minutes.

For taxi/etc. I agree that you want the Grab app or its competitor the Zig app. Zig is tied to one of the taxi companies, so Grab usually has more choice. Most hotels no longer have a line of taxi's waiting outside for the next guest and instead you (or the hotel doorman) will call you a Grab / Taxi using the app. If the hotel doorman calls it using his own phone then you'll be expected to pay the driver cash. If you use your own phone then, like Uber/Lyft, everything is charged to card.

Grab/Zig is good to get TO the airport. I would not use them to get FROM the airport... just walk out the doors to the awaiting taxi's.

TWA884

I'm a US passport holder. I was expected to use the E-gates upon arrival in SIN and used them when I arrived in Singapore in mid-November.

hdogan

I think you're overthinking it. You can add your particulars in the app at any time, and then it takes just about a minute to answer the questions necessary for the Arrival Card. You can literally do it while walking on the travelators from your plane to the immigration counter.

dkerr

You must enter Singapore once using manual immigration processing. Once that is done you can use the automatic e-gates for subsequent visits. https://www.ica.gov.sg/enter-depart/for-visitors/ACI. It looks like you have to repeat the manual entry when you get a new passport, so once every ten years.

TWA884

Your information is out of date.

That was our first time in Singapore. Both my daughter and I used the e-gates to clear passport controls. We didn't have to to see an immigration officer to enter the country or have our passports inspected manually.

Edited to add:

From the email acknowledgement of the SG Arrival Card & Health Declaration submission:

CXYYZ

You can register at the e-gate according to that page (text and video). The text says “Enrolment is done automatically when you seek clearance at our manual immigration counters or designated automated lanesavailable at all Changi Airport Arrival terminals, Woodlands Checkpoint and Tuas Checkpoint. No separate registration is required.”

Not super clear choice of word order on the website but it’s the preferred result!

dkerr

Indeed, thank you for pointing this out. Excellent news as that further speeds up the process. I have never ever seen a line at the e-Gates.

DAK.

Jaytraveller

Ditto here as US citizen and passport holder. Hope nothing will be changed in mid-February when we arrive there. Your information about the gates is extremely helpful and accordingly we will use those gates barring any change. Thank you for the guidance.