Incheon to get easier for foreigners

The government will begin to expand an electronic scanning system at Incheon International Airport’s immigration checkpoints to handle a growing number of overseas visitors, government officials here said yesterday.

The Justice Ministry said that starting in July, it will allow about 30,000 big-time foreign investors and permanent residents to bypass the immigration window upon arrival at the airport to simplify the screening process.

To use the system, foreigners should preregister their photos and fingerprints with Incheon Airport Immigration Office and go through the passport examination process, the ministry said.

The automated screening service was adopted in June 2008 to deal with growing passenger traffic at the airport, but identification procedures have excluded foreigners from using it. The ministry plans to gradually expand the system to cover about 900,000 foreigners registered in Korea, officials noted.

“By simplifying the immigration screening procedure at the airport, we hope to see an increasing number of foreigners ahead of international events, including the G-20 Summit, and give them an impression of advanced technology in South Korea,” a ministry official said.

Yonhap