Changi Airport has plenty of things to do both landside and airside, so itโs perfectly understandable why visitors might want to terminal-hop, either before or after clearing immigration.
Iโve already clarified with Changi Airport that once airside, passengers are free to visit whatever terminal they wish, and even hop between the T1/2/3 cluster and T4 (or vice versa, though to board the inter-terminal bus to the โwrongโ terminal, they must have at least three hours left before departure).
But what about clearing immigration? Are you obligated to clear it at the terminal youโre departing from?
Which terminal can you clear immigration at?
There are many reasons why you might want to clear immigration at a different terminal from the one youโre departing from.
- To dine at a landside restaurant in a different terminal before flying (especially if you have a Priority Pass or DragonPass!)
- To visit Jewel, then clear immigration from T1
- To spend some time with a friend who is departing earlier than you from a different terminal
Regardless of the reason, Changi Airportโs FAQs previously stated passengers must clear immigration according to their departure terminal.
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Q: Am I allowed to clear immigration from other terminals after I have obtained the boarding pass from the check-in counter in a particular Terminal? A: Passengers will need to clear through the immigration according to their departure terminal. If you would like to travel to other terminals, they are connected in the public areas and you may find out more here. |
This is strange, because a strict reading would suggest that even a passenger who did early check-in at Jewel (connected to T1) would then need to proceed to their relevant terminal to clear immigration.
Besides, I know from real-world experience that isnโt accurate, because Iโve done early check-in with Cathay Pacific (housed at T4) at Jewel, and was able to clear immigration at T1 immediately after that.
So I dropped Changi an email to clarify this point, and they confirmed that passengers can indeed clear immigration at any terminal they wish. This FAQ has now been updated as follows:
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Q: Am I allowed to clear immigration from other terminals after I have obtained the boarding pass from the check-in counter in a particular Terminal? A: Passengers departing from Terminals 1, 2, and 3 can clear immigration at any of these three terminals, while passengers departing from Terminal 4 can clear immigration at any of the four terminals. This also applies to passengers who make use of Jewelโs Early Check-In facility. |
The only restriction is that a passenger departing from T1-3 cannot clear immigration at T4, but really, I canโt imagine why anyone would want to do this. Even if you wanted to visit the Cathay Pacific lounge at T4, youโd be better off clearing immigration at T1, then taking the T1 to T4 airside bus over.
Passengers flying from T4, on the other hand, can clear immigration at any terminal they wish.
You can visit any terminal you want
Once youโve cleared immigration, you are free to visit any terminal you wish.
At the risk of stating the obvious (but perhaps for the benefit of our overseas friends), thereโs no issue transferring between T1/2/3, whether airside or landside. All you need to do is board the Skytrain; thereโs no document check involved.
However, getting to T4 airside is a little different. A shuttle bus runs from T1 > T3 > T4 on a loop, but you will need to go through a document check to board it (there is also a landside bus, which does not require any document checks to board).
Changi Airport has previously clarified through a spokesperson that passengers are free to visit whichever terminal they wish. However:
- A T4 passenger who wants to visit T1/2/3 can only board the airside bus if they have at least three hours to departure
- A T1/2/3 passenger who wants to visit T4 can only board the airside bus if they have at least three hours to departure
For example, if your flight departs from T1/2/3 at 1500 hours, the latest time you can board the airside shuttle to T4 is 1200 hours. This restriction is to ensure that passengers have enough time to return to the correct terminal.
As a reminder, hereโs how the T4 shuttle bus service works.
T4 shuttle bus (landside)
| Time | Frequency |
| 0600 to 0000 hours (T1 >T4) |
9 to 26 mins |
| 0600 to 0000 hours (T2 > T4) |
6 to 26 mins |
| 0000 to 0600 hours (loop service from T2 > T1 > T4) |
31 mins |
| T1: Departure Central Kerbside T2: Arrival Pick-up Door 1 T4: Arrival Bus Lounge (boarding) Departure Door 4 (drop-off) |
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T4 shuttle bus (airside)
| Time | Frequency |
| All day (loop service from T1 > T3 > T4) |
13 mins |
| T1: Gate C21 T3: Arrival Immigration Hall A T4: Transfer Lounge |
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Estimated travel times are as follows:
- T4 > T1: 18 mins
- T1 > T3: 6 mins
- T3 > T4: 12 mins
Conclusion
Changi Airport has confirmed that passengers are free to clear immigration at any terminal they wishโ with the exception of passengers flying from T1/2/3, who cannot clear immigration at T4.
Once through immigration, they can also visit any terminal they want, though they will need to have at least three hours to spare if they wish to visit T1/2/3 (when departing from T4) or T4 (when departing from T1/2/3).
Hopefully this should put to bed any lingering questions about the matter!
What is the rationale for preventing pax flying from T1/2/3 clearing immigration at T4?
If you are taking Scoot flights, itโs beneficial to clear immigration in Terminal 1 because thatโs the only terminal that Scoot has service counters, if you run into issues with the check-in kiosk, I.e due to some reasons, the kiosks refuses to print your boarding passes, etc, you can get help from the counters there.
Nothing stopping you from checking in at t1 then going to a restaurant elsewhere and clearing immigration there
Hi Aaron, Yes, agree with you. I guess it depends on the airline you are taking. The only issue is if you are on Scoot flight, then if u planned to go T2/ T3 terminals to clear immigration only to find out the check-in kiosks do not cooperate, then you will be very disappointed and time consuming to have to go T1 Scoot counters. Itโs my personal experience just hope to share with everyone here. Absolutely no such issue if you are on SQ flight where there are service counters in all terminals to handle any issue with the check-inโฆ Read more ยป
but regardless youโd still need to check in at t1 for scoot. itโs not possible to check in at t2/3
Thanks โ I confused with check-in and immigration clearance process.
Things may have changed now with the passport-less immigration system but in the recent past I tried going through at T3 (to use lounge) for a T2 departing flight โ this was using the previous generation where PP needed to be inserted โ and was directed to the staffed counter for clearance. I was told that this was because system not set up for it. I was still able to clear, just done manually.
If Changi has updated FAQ then Iโm guessing this has been resolved.
How about clearing arrival immigration? If my flight arrives at T4, can I take the airside bus and clear immigration at T2? The airside bus frequency is better than landside.
If you have checked in luggage then you have to clear immigration at your arrival terminal to retrieve the luggage. Otherwise, I donโt see why not.
Yes, Iโve just done exactly that (albeit I cleared immigration at T1 instead). Do note it is only possible if you do not have any checked baggage.
But T4 security is centralized? Does the airside bus drop you somewhere where you clear security before accessing T4?
after disembarking from the airside bus, you will clear security at a small checkpoint (not the main one that passengers departing from t4 normally use)
one thing to note it that if you clear immigration in your departing terminal, as SG citizen/resident you can clear immigration without passport, whilst if you leave from another terminal, you need to submit the passport. The source of this is my own personal experience, since I always alight at First Class @ T3, even if I fly from T2. For the T2 flights, I always need to insert my passport, whilst for T3 flights, I do not need to. This has been confirmed by the ICA agent assisting the desk nearby.