Singapore Passport Photo

Singapore passport photo guidelines

If you are a Singapore citizen, from the day of your birth, you have the right to hold a Singaporean passport. If you are an adult, you may apply for this document in person. For children under 16, parents, or legal guardians must fill out the application. In each case, one passport-sized color photo taken in the last 3 (three) months is required. If the attached photo does not comply with the standards of the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs, the entire process of getting a passport is delayed.

That is why it is so important to know all the requirements a photo for a Singaporean passport must fulfill.

Singaporean passport photo requirements

According to the ICA, the most important thing about your application is to have a correct picture that follows official requirements. ICA's automated immigration gates employ a face recognition technology that allows you to avoid presenting your fingerprints and passport when arriving and leaving the country. What you need to do is just present a perfect photo enabling an easy identification of your facial features.!

Here you can find all the ICA’s specifications for your passport photo:

1. the photo must be in color, sharp and clear;
2. it needs to be a recent photo (no more than 3 months old);
3. the photo background must be plain and white (or light grey if your hair is white); the correct size is 35x45 mm, with your face between 25mm and 35mm.

Moreover, these are other requirements to know how to pose perfectly:

1. look directly at the camera so your facial features are perfectly visible: your head must be straight;
2. your face and the top of your shoulders must be clearly visible;
3. your expression is important: mouth closed, no smiling, and a relaxed face;
4. your eyes must be open and visible: this means no hair or accessories covering your eyes;
5. you can wear glasses (if you usually do), but their frame must not cover your eyes and they must not create flash reflections or shades;
6. no colored glasses or sunglasses allowed;
7. avoid wearing headgear or head coverings except for religious or cultural reasons (they must not be white if you choose a white background).

You need to know also about the demanded size and crop, background color, and items that are forbidden in this type of photo. You will find all the needed information in our Singapore passport photo guidelines. 

Passport Photo Online app for your Sinraporean passport photo 

You can take a passport image at home, at the office, or wherever you want. You no longer have to track down photo studios or photo booths, and you can save money and time. All you need to get your own passport photo is:

• a smartphone, tablet, or digital camera,
• someone’s help, because selfies are not recommended,
• a tripod if you prefer to do it on your own,
• a specification list for a Singapore passport photo,
• an online passport photo editor.

Singapore passport photo - validity, quality, and originality

The validity of your taken photo is 3 (three) months. If you print your picture, the paper must be photo-quality, matte, or semi-matte.

In terms of quality, make sure that the photo is clear, focused, and not pixelated. It must be properly exposed and sharp too, not distorted or flipped.

Your Singapore passport photo must be original,. this means that you can’t cut it out of a larger image and alter it using software or snap filters. Use of Photoshop and other graphic programs is not allowed.

Singapore passport photo - dimensions

As we mentioned above, the photo must represent your natural skin tones and eye color, so the image cannot be black and white or filtered. The colors must be fresh and real, the picture must not be washed-out, either overexposed or underexposed.

The required Singaporean passport photo dimensions are 45 mm in height and 35 mm in width (1,38’’ x 1,7’’ in inches). Your head must cover 80% of the picture. The maximum size of a digital Singapore passport photo is 60 KB, and you must save the image as a JPEG file with the resolution of 827x1063 pixels.

You don’t need to cut your photo or count inches or millimeters - trust our Passport Photo Online resizer. Follow these rules: 

• select the document you’re applying for and upload your passport-style photo in any size,
• our program does the rest automatically and in 3 seconds you’ll get your perfect photo meeting the required dimensions, ready to print, or upload to the application form.

Lighting in a Singaporean passport-style photo

Our recommendation is to use daylight as it shows your skin tone and eye color naturally. The good idea is to take a picture facing a window during the day. Additionally, it lets the light evenly illuminate your face. This is important, because the image must be free of shadows.

The next advantage of daylight is that it does not provoke the effect of “red eyes” as the flash lamp might do. Take this under consideration, because when the “red eye” effect appears in the photo, it will be rejected automatically.

Background in the Singaporean passport photo 

The background must be plain and white, free of patterns or shadows. No other people or objects must be seen with you in the picture.

Many candidates claim that obtaining the pure white color in a picture is difficult. Use the dedicated Passport Photo Online editor, which removes the incorrect background and changes it into a uniform white one.

Head coverings in Singapore passport photos 

Generally speaking, you’re not allowed to cover your head in passport photos. But there is an example: if you wear a head covering for religious or medical reasons, you may keep it on for the photo, but it should be dark against a white background. The next rule is that a head covering must not drop a shadow or obscure any part of your face, including the forehead. 

Fashion headgears such as hats, caps, or headbands are not allowed.

Singapore passport photo - pose and facial expression

There is a required pose in Singaporean biometric photos. You also must have a natural and neutral facial expression, so don’t smile, just relax your facial muscles and don’t blink in order to get the perfect shot. While capturing the photograph, remember to:

• keep your head straight and face the camera,
• look straight at the lens,
• not smile or frown,
• keep your mouth closed, but not tightened.

Glasses in the Singapore passport photo

It is highly recommended to take off your everyday eyeglasses while capturing the Singapore passport picture.

If you need or want to keep them on you can, but make sure that their frames don’t obscure your eyes and don’t drop shadows on your face. The glasses must be transparent - sunglasses and tinted glasses are prohibited. 

Singapore passport photos - common mistakes

Be aware that if you fail to meet ICA’s specifications about Singapore passport photo, your application process will be delayed and you may even have to start over. The cardinal errors are:

• photos altered or enhanced by Photoshop or any other computer software,
• smiling and making grimaces,
• tilted head,
• open mouth or not fully open eyes,
• sunglasses or tinted glasses in the image,
• not central position of the head,
• wearing everyday glasses which cover your eyes or give a glare,
• looking sideways.

Singapore passport photos at home

Many candidates ask themselves “where to get a passport photo near me”? The simplest answer is: wherever you want. You can do it on your own, just with your digital camera or smartphone. You may ask somebody to help you or use a self-timer. The smart Passport Photo Online maker will be your best assistant in this challenge: the application can resize, crop, change the background, and help you save money and time.

The Passport Photo Online maker has been specifically designed for making your task easier. Get your picture automatically cropped and adapted to Singapore passport photo requirements.

Singapore passport photo - online editor

With this online passport and ID photo editor, you can take the perfect shot and prepare your passport photo at any time and in any place. Your photograph will be automatically cropped and resized in 3 seconds, the wrong background will be removed and replaced by a plain white one. At the end Artificial Intelligence will verify if the image meets all of ICA’s specifications.

If you want to be sure that the picture attached to your application form is correct, just let our validating Passport Photo Online app verify it!

How does Passport Photo Online work?

Passport Photo Online is definitely one of the best passport photo apps you can find on AppStore and Google Play Store: you can edit and resize your photos, and get a perfectly cropped picture, even with a changed background color. You will just need your smartphone and a tripod or someone who can help you take the picture. Pose and take however many photos you want, you will also have the possibility to choose the one you like the most. 

Singaporean passport photos - prints 

If you are satisfied with the photo, all you have to do is print it. 

• You can choose to pay just $9.95 to download the photos that have been previously edited and checked by our experts, and then go to your nearest digital photocopy and print center, or you can even print them at home if you have a professional printer.
• You can have your photos delivered to your doorstep with the premium printing option for only $13.55: an expert will check that your passport photos meet the official requirements and will proceed to print the template that will be sent by post.

Last update: 4/10/23