On 6 February 2026, Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced the biggest change in years for Malaysians who drive across the Causeway or the Second Link. The daily Vehicle Entry Permit fee for foreign cars goes up from S$35 to S$50 on 1 January 2027, and the 10 free days every driver gets each year disappear with it. Then on 15 May 2026, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) added a second rule: from 2 November 2026, a car with unpaid Singapore fines cannot even apply for its permit.

Both changes now sit on LTA's OneMotoring pages for Malaysia-registered cars, which we read on 12 October 2026. Here is what a Malaysian driver needs, what a trip costs today, and what it will cost in January. Ringgit figures use Bank Negara's noon middle rate of RM3.20 to S$1 (9 October 2026) and will move with the exchange rate.

What you need before you drive in

LTA's page for Malaysia-registered cars lists the same set of requirements every time:

  • An Autopass card for that specific car. It costs S$10: S$4 of stored value and a S$6 card cost that is not refunded. The card records each entry and exit and pays your fees, and it works as your electronic VEP.
  • An Autopass account and VEP approval. Register at onemotoring.lta.gov.sg/vepds/vep at least two weeks before you travel. You upload your MyKad or passport, the car's registration certificate (front and back), road tax and insurance. Once approved, you pay online by Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay and collect the card at the collection centre in Malaysia you picked. LTA says those centres open 24 hours.
  • Activation. The approval email tells you how to activate the card online. Do it before the first crossing.
  • Valid road tax and insurance that covers Singapore roads for the whole stay. LTA says the policy must meet Singapore's Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960, so ask your insurer whether your policy extends to Singapore.
  • Proper plates front and back, and no outstanding Singapore fines.

The card is tied to the car, not to you. If you change cars, even keeping the same number plate, you need a new Autopass card. At the immigration booth at Woodlands or Tuas you must insert the card into the reader even if the barrier is already up. One VEP lets a car stay up to 14 days per entry for visitors on a Social Visit Pass.

What a crossing costs in 2026

LTA's fee table for foreign-registered cars lists these charges, all deducted from the Autopass card when you leave Singapore:

  • VEP fee: S$35 (about RM112) per chargeable day, but the first 10 chargeable days each calendar year are free.
  • No VEP fee at all on Saturdays, Sundays and Singapore public holidays, or if you enter from 5pm and leave by 2am the next day. During Singapore's June and December school holidays the free window starts at 12 noon. MOE's 2026 calendar puts the year-end school holiday at 21 November to 31 December.
  • Reciprocal Road Charge: S$6.40 (about RM20) per entry.
  • Tolls: Woodlands has no entry toll and charges S$0.80 to exit. Tuas charges S$2.10 each way.
  • ERP: S$5 a day if the car has no in-vehicle unit and you use ERP-priced roads during operating hours.

So a weekday shopping trip in through Woodlands at 9am and back at 7pm, with no free days left and some ERP roads, comes to about S$47.20 (roughly RM151). The same trip on a Saturday, or entering after 5pm, drops the VEP and costs about S$7.20 plus any ERP. Malaysian tolls at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar or Tanjung Kupang are paid separately on the Malaysian side by Touch 'n Go.

What changes on 1 January 2027

LTA's news release sets out three changes:

  1. VEP rises to S$50 a day (about RM160) for cars, and from S$4 to S$7 for motorcycles.
  2. It applies on every weekday except Singapore public holidays. The 10 free days and the free weekday hours (the 5pm to 2am window and the noon window in school holidays) are removed. Weekends and public holidays stay free.
  3. ERP2 starts. Foreign cars are not forced to fit Singapore's new on-board unit (OBU), but cars without one pay a flat S$10 ERP fee for each ERP operating day they travel on Singapore roads. Malaysian drivers can install the OBU in Singapore from 1 April 2026; LTA set its price at S$158.70 including GST until 31 December 2026, with installation charged separately by authorised workshops.

Using today's charges for the toll and the Reciprocal Road Charge (LTA has not announced changes to either), that 9am-to-7pm weekday trip becomes about S$67.20 (roughly RM215) in 2027 without an OBU. The bigger shift is for evening visitors. A dinner run that enters at 6pm is free of VEP in 2026 and costs the full S$50 on a weekday in 2027.

The fines rule from 2 November 2026

Until now, a Malaysian car with unpaid Singapore fines was only stopped at the checkpoint. MHA's 15 May 2026 statement moves that check earlier: from 2 November 2026, cars with outstanding fines for traffic, parking or vehicular emissions offences committed in Singapore cannot apply for or renew a VEP with LTA.

MHA's advice is to check for fines at axs.com.sg and pay them before you apply. Payments can take up to two calendar days to reach the agencies' records, so do it before the two-week application window, not the night before.

What to do now

  • Use any free VEP days before 31 December 2026. They do not carry into 2027.
  • Check your fines at axs.com.sg before 2 November if you plan to renew.
  • If you drive in on weekdays often, compare the S$158.70 OBU against the S$10 flat ERP fee. A car that crosses on more than about 16 ERP days a year pays more in flat fees than the unit costs, before installation.
  • Weekend-only drivers are least affected: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays stay VEP-free.

Everything here comes from LTA's OneMotoring pages for Malaysia-registered cars, its Autopass card and fee pages, LTA's 6 February 2026 news release, MHA's 15 May 2026 press release and MOE's 2026 academic calendar. LTA's online calculator gives an indicative figure for any trip you plan.

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*Cover image: Johor-Singapore Causeway, August 2024, by ZKang123, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).*