The Singapore passport is a travel document and passport issued to citizens and nationals of the Republic of Singapore. It enables the bearer to exit and re-enter Singapore freely, travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements, facilitates the process of securing assistance from Singapore consular officials abroad, if necessary, and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.
All Singapore passports are issued exclusively by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Only Singapore citizens are eligible for this passport. The passport is valid for ten years. The Singapore passport is one of the most powerful passports in the world, having been placed as the most powerful passport itself on numerous occasions. In 2023, the Singapore passport has been ranked the most powerful passport in the world, with visa-free or visa on arrival access to 194 countries and territories.
Subsequently, the Singapore passport is a popular target for counterfeiters due to the relatively liberal visa requirements for Singaporeans and the tendency for immigration officials to clear Singapore passport holders more quickly. In response, the ICA has thus adopted several measures to foil forgers, including adding digital photos and special ink since October 1999, and converting to a biometric passport from August 2006.
History
The first version of the modern Singapore passport was introduced on 20 June 1966, replacing the Singapore Provisional Passport issued from 17 August 1965. Between 1963 and 1965, Malaysian passports were issued to residents of Singapore when it formed part of Malaysia, and CUKC British passports were issued prior to 1963. The Straits Settlements, of which Singapore was its capital from 1832 until 1946, also issued its own passports prior to World War II.
Singapore Restricted Passport (blue cover) Between 1967 and 1999, Singapore also issued a Restricted Passport with a blue cover mainly for travel to West Malaysia. The Restricted Passport was conceived due to the fact that many Singaporeans would regularly travel to West Malaysia for business and leisure purposes. The Restricted Passport ceased to be issued after 1999 due to a lack of demand and the red Singapore Passport was deemed to be the only valid travel document for overseas travel by Singapore citizens from 1 January 2000.
Validity
The Singapore passport is valid for a period of ten years for passports issued since 1 April 2005 and ten years for passports issued before said date. Before biometric passports were issued on 15 August 2006, passports for male citizens between 11 and 18 were only valid for two years, and had to be renewed or replaced every two years. Biometric passports cannot be modified due to the "write once" policy by ICAO. A new passport is valid for a total period of five years. For the renewal of a passport that has a validity of nine months or less, the new one will have a validity of five years plus the remaining validity in the old passport. However, if a passport is being renewed with a validity of more than nine months, it will be valid for five years and nine months. To travel overseas, a passport must be valid for at least six months.
New passports issued on or after 1 October 2021 for people aged 16 or above will again have a validity of 10 years, with the government citing improved confidence in the security of biometric passports.
Biometric passport
Since 15 August 2006, all newly issued Singapore passports contain biometric features (BioPass). A major reason for this addition is to comply with the requirements for the US Visa Waiver Program. The features also help to prevent forgery and minimise the abuse of Singapore passports. The biometric passports contain 64 pages, unlike the machine readable passports, which contain 96 pages. It costs S$70 for a passport. One can apply for the passport on the Internet, by post or by deposit box with applicants having to collect the passport personally. However, if the application is made in person at a Singaporean overseas mission, it will cost S$80 in foreign currency equivalent.