Singapore Visa Photo: Photo Requirements & Guidelines [And a Hassle-Free Visa Photo Tool]

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What is a Singapore visa?

A Singapore visa is a pre-entry permission you can apply for before you cross the Singaporean border. It does not guarantee your entrance to this country, you will be checked by the immigration officers and they will make the final decision about it.

There is a large list of countries whose citizens are allowed to come to Singapore without a visa.

Anyway, if your country is not on the free-entrance list you need the visa if you want to travel there, also you need to meet some requirements of the Singaporean government. 

But the application process is simple and fast. You can apply online, at any time, but not later than 30 days before your planned arrival to Singapore.

Singapore tourist visa requirements

The most commonly asked Singaporean visa is a Visit Pass (tourist visa) valid up to 30 days within a 90 days period. The candidate can do it online, through a local Singaporean contact or a strategic partner, using ICA’s e-Service or at a Singaporean diplomatic mission.

In order to get your visa, you need to fill in a Singapore visa application form and sign it yourself. You also must prepare:

• passport valid at least 6 months after the planned date of leaving Singapore
• copy of a passport’s bio data in an A4 format
• copy of the airline ticket or travel itinerary in A4 format
• passport-size visa photo meeting indicated requirements
• credit card (only VISA or MasterCard)
• letter of introduction from your Singapurean contact
• Yellow Fever vaccination proof if you were in the country from the list published on Singapore government sites

Before applying, check if your country is on the freely entered list. Submit the application only if not.

Types of visas for Singapore

Basically, there are two types of Singapore visas: Multiple and Single Journey Visa. There are  also different types of Passes as below:

• Short Term Visit Pass ( for a short visit, for tourism, or medical reasons)
• Work Passes and Permits
• Dependent’s Pass for the family members of the Employment Pass holder
• Long-Stay Visit Pass
• Student Pass
• Visa-Free Transit Facility – a Singapore transit visa allowing citizens from the specified countries list to leave the transit area of the airport and stay in Singapore for up to 96 hours while they wait for a connecting flight

Remember that if you enter via a Singapore tourist visa, you are not allowed to take up any work there.

Other visas category are: multiple and single journey visas. What is the difference between them? The Single Journey Visa can only be used once. After leaving Singapore, you cannot travel there with that visa again as is not valid any more. If you want to come back to Singapore, you must apply for a new entrance document.

The Multiple Journey Visa can be used multiple times for as long as it is valid. You can enter and leave Singapore without any limits till the visa expiration date.

Singapore tourist visa for the US citizens

The United States citizens can enter Singapore without a visa as a via-exempt national. Americans can stay in Singapore without a visa for a maximum of 90 days. If you want to stay longer, you need to apply  for a Singapore tourist visa extension before your valid visa expires. Or you may ask for another type of visa. Please keep in mind that staying more than 90 days in Singapore without an appropriate travelling document will be punished.

Who does need to apply for a Singaporean visa?

Singapore is a very open country and the majority of citizens of the world’s countries can cross its border without a visa. 

The countries whose citizens need a Singaporean visa are categorized into two groups. Check on which group is your country, because a part of the application process and the visa processing time depends on it. The groups are:

• The Assessment Level I Countries (it takes about one day for your visa to be processed) 
• The Assessment Level II Countries (your visa should be processed within three days)

Generally speaking, all the process should not take more than 5 days for any type of visa.

The Assessment Level I countries are:

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Democratic, People’s Republic of Korea, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, The People’s Republic of China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The Assessment Level II Countries are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Sudan, Syria,Tunisia and Yemen.

Every other country who was not mentioned above is visa-free. Their citizens can stay in Singapore up to 30 days without a visa. Moreover, there are some countries, which citizens are allowed to stay in Singapore for up to 90 days. There are:

• European Union countries
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Norway
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• United States

As mentioned above, if you are the US citizen, you can go to Singapore without a visa and stay there for a maximum for 90 days. 

Submission of a Singapore Visa Application

If you are a citizen of one of the countries of I or II Level, you need to submit your visa application. Anyway, you cannot do it on your own, only an authorized visa agent, strategic partner or local contact in Singapore is able submit the application form for you.They will submit an application on your behalf. You can look for the nearest Singaporean mission and ask about the information on how to get in touch with a strategic partner or find the agency via the Internet and contact an agent by email.

If you know in Singapore somebody you trust (must be a citizen or permanent resident and be at least 21 years old), this person can register on SingPass and submit an application for you.

Remember about the visa processing fee you are obliged to pay.

You receive your Singapore visa - what’s next?

After one or three days of waiting (in general) you receive your Singapore visa. At this moment you or your partner can print a paper copy of the e-Visa.

Now you can travel to Singapore! When you are crossing the border, an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer determines whether you should be allowed to enter and issue you a Pass. As mentioned above, your entrance is not guaranteed even if you have been granted a visa previously. At the end, the final decision will be taken by an immigration officer.