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Planning to travel at the end of the year? Renew passports now, says ICA

This article is more than 12 months old

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans with year-end travel plans should apply for new passports now if they are holding passports with fewer than six months' validity or expired ones.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in an advisory on Thursday (Aug 18) that doing so will help to avoid another surge in applications for passports towards the end of the year.

"(This will) provide sufficient time for ICA to meet the demand for year-end travels," added ICA. "Singaporeans who submit their applications late will risk not being able to collect their passport in time for their travel."

The ICA advisory comes after a surge in passport applications earlier this year, when travel resumed after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At that time, Singaporeans had to wait for at least six weeks for their new passports to be ready.

In May, ICA said the number of passport applications had increased to more than 7,000 a day, compared with 2,000 daily before the pandemic.

ICA now produces about 6,500 new passports daily.

Applicants can submit their application online via the ICA website or the MyICA Mobile app.

To avoid further delays, ICA said travellers should ensure that the photograph they submit meets ICA's photo guidelines.

Photos must be taken with even brightness, within the last three months and with a neutral facial expression. The shoulders and hair must be fully visible and the photo background must be white.

Applicants who would like to check on their passport application status can do so by logging on to the MyICA website.

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