Singapore-Johor Crossing: Use Auto-Clearance Gates at Malaysia Immigrations

19 July 2025

Singapore citizens, and other nationals, with valid electronic passports are able to use the auto-clearance system (a.k.a. “ACS”, “auto-gates” or “electronic gates”) for immigration clearance at Malaysia checkpoints under the Malaysia Automated Clearance System 2.0 (MACS 2.0) programme since February 2023.

The equipments used at Malaysia’s auto-clearance gates are similar to those used in Singapore customs, except that Malaysia uses facial recognition whereas Singapore uses both facial and iris scanners. The fallback when visual scanning failed is the fingerprint scanner. It is really a breeze to use the auto-gates and took less than 1 minute to clear immigration, especially during non-peak hours.

Singapore passport holders can use the auto-gates at the following checkpoints:

Sultan Iskandar CIQ (Johor Bahru) – via Woodlands Checkpoint
Sultan Abu Bakar ICQS (Johor) – via Tuas Checkpoint
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 & 2

For SINGAPORE PASSPORT holders, note these:

Effective from January 2024: It is not necessary to submit the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) form when entering Malaysia.

Effective from June 2024: There is no need to enrol at the manual counters of Malaysia immigration to use the auto-gates. Just use your Singapore passport, including newly-issued ones, at the auto-gates like you will do at Singapore customs.

So, just take your Singapore passport and go!

For NON-SINGAPORE passport holders, read these:

To use the ACS, a one-time enrolment is required. Follow these steps to enrol:

Within 3 days before the planned date of arrival in Malaysia, fill up and submit the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) registration form online.
On arriving at Malaysia Immigrations at any of the above checkpoints, proceed to the manual counters for clearance and enrolling for MACS 2.0 at the same time. The officer-on-duty will be able to retrieve your MDAC from their computer system and automatically enrol you.
After your trip, you will be able to use the auto-gates to exit Malaysia.

On every subsequent trip to Malaysia, fill up and submit the MDAC within 3 days of arriving in Malaysia to use the auto-gates. Otherwise, you will need to queue at the manual counters. Few minutes of filling and submitting the MDAC will save you hours of queuing, especially during peak hours.

A few more things to note:

Validity period for Singapore passports to enter Malaysia will be at least 3 months at land checkpoints only when using the auto-clearance system — instead of 6 months. When arriving at any of the seaports or airports in Malaysia, passport validity requirement must be at least 6 months.
When using the auto-clearance gates to enter Malaysia, do use the auto-gates again to exit — unless the auto-clearance system is down when exiting or other reasons. When the auto-gates are operating normally, customs officers at the manual counters will usually turn away those who entered Malaysia using the ACS.
Minimum height to use the auto-gates is 120cm. For families with children below the height requirement, do use the manual counters.
If scanning of your passport failed at an auto-gate, which is quite common, try scanning at other gantries a couple of times more before going to a manual counter.
While the auto-gates speed up immigration clearance at the land checkpoints, there are possibilities of system breakdowns — I had encountered it once before and also a recent glitch on 18 Jul 2025 (Autogate glitch at Malaysia’s major checkpoints causes chaos for S’porean and foreign travellers). Therefore, it is still advisable to cross the border during off-peak hours and with ample time allowance if catching scheduled bus / train / flight in Johor Bahru.