30 years ago, an immigration form was the only way to track and monitor the movement of people into and out of a country. There were fewer people travelling in those days. The traveler does not mind filling up the card - as it was the only inconvenience that they have to go through.
Travelling is different today. The traveler has to complete another form - for customer declaration. There is also security check several times before boarding the plane and after arrival. Laptops and metals have to be removed from the bags and put back. The passport and board pass have to be shown a few times during the journey.
While new requirements and hassles are added, the officials forget to remove the old requirements, that are not needed any more. The passports are now scanned electronically, and make the immigration card unnecessary. I believe that millions of cards are collected each year, but are not being used. But nobody cares.
Recently, I collected the immigration card that is being given to non-residents arriving into Singapore. The card is the same as many cards that I have to fill in when I visit other countries. Although Singapore is a more advanced country in the use of technology, and has spent tens of millions on technology, we are still implementing the backward and wasteful requirements on other people.
Travelling is different today. The traveler has to complete another form - for customer declaration. There is also security check several times before boarding the plane and after arrival. Laptops and metals have to be removed from the bags and put back. The passport and board pass have to be shown a few times during the journey.
While new requirements and hassles are added, the officials forget to remove the old requirements, that are not needed any more. The passports are now scanned electronically, and make the immigration card unnecessary. I believe that millions of cards are collected each year, but are not being used. But nobody cares.
Recently, I collected the immigration card that is being given to non-residents arriving into Singapore. The card is the same as many cards that I have to fill in when I visit other countries. Although Singapore is a more advanced country in the use of technology, and has spent tens of millions on technology, we are still implementing the backward and wasteful requirements on other people.
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