Singapore passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 400 x 514 px |
| File size | 8 MB |
| File formats | JPEG, PNG |
| Head height, chin to crown | 25-35 mm The face in the photograph should measure between 25 mm and 35 mm from chin to crown. Both edges of the face and the top of the shoulders must be clearly shown. |
| Background | Plain white background; if the applicant's hair is white the background must be light grey |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| Head covering | Only for religious or medical reasons, and the face must be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. |
| Ears | No |
| Photo age | 3 months |
| Also required |
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Singapore is unusual in two ways: the photo must have been taken within the last three months rather than the usual six, and the head range of 25-35 mm on a 35 x 45 mm photo is much lower than the 32-36 mm used by Japan, Korea and Taiwan on the same paper size. The ICA Photo Guidelines web page publishes only the pixel dimension and the file rules; the millimetre size and the chin to crown range come from ICA's own passport application form IMM(E)11, which is the current form linked from the passport page. Heic and heif uploads are accepted by the e-Service but are not represented in the formats list because the schema has no code for them. The same photo is used for the Singapore identity card.
Applying in Singapore
Singapore's photo rule is short, and the deadline buried in it is what catches people. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority asks for a photograph taken within the last 3 months. Almost every other authority on this site allows six, so a picture prepared for a different application in the spring is already too old here by the summer. The rest of the specification is unusually exact: a single upload dimension rather than a range, and a printed size of 35 by 45 without a border.
Two Singaporean rules appear almost nowhere else, and both are about the colour white. The background is plain white, except that if your hair is white the background must be light grey instead. And a head covering worn in accordance with religious or racial custom is permitted, but it must not be white either. Neither rule is about propriety. Both exist so that the outline of the head and the hair stays separable from the backdrop, which is the thing the stored image has to preserve.
The route is digital first and cheaper that way. An online application costs SGD 70.00 against SGD 80.00 over a counter as of September 2026, and it takes an exact pixel size, 400 by 514. Accepted formats now include HEIC and HEIF alongside JPEG and PNG, with a ceiling of 8388608, so there is usually no reason to convert a file your phone already produced.
Why photos get rejected here
A background that is not white
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority names this first among the faults it sees, describing what it wants as a sharper contrast between the background and the face. A cream wall or a pale grey room reads as a fail.
A laterally inverted image
A mirror-flipped photo is the second reason the authority names. Front cameras commonly save the preview image rather than the true one, which puts your parting and any mole on the wrong side of your face. Check a photo against a mirror before you upload it.
A photograph that is not current
The three month window is short and it is enforced. This is the third fault the authority names, and it is the one that catches people reusing a good photo from an earlier application.
Uneven brightness or shadow on the face
Photographs lit from one side, or from above, produce exactly the uneven brightness the guidance excludes. Facing a window rather than a ceiling fitting fixes it.
Glare on spectacles
Frames must not cover any part of the eyes and there must be no flash or reflection off the lenses. Because the reflection comes from the lighting rather than the eyewear, removing the glasses is the reliable fix.
A white head covering
A religious or racial head covering is accepted, but the guidance states it should not be white. A white scarf against a white background leaves no boundary to detect.
What helps
Count three months, not six
This is the shortest photo age window of any country on this site apart from the United Kingdom. If your appointment or application is weeks away, take the photo nearer the time.
Check the photo is not mirrored
Laterally inverted images are one of the three faults the authority names. Hold the photo up beside a mirror: if your parting has swapped sides, the file is flipped.
If your hair is white, switch the background to light grey
This is a published instruction rather than a courtesy. White hair against a white background gives the system no edge to find, which is the whole reason the exception exists.
Choose a head covering that is not white
The covering itself is permitted. The colour is the condition, and it is the part that gets missed when someone dresses carefully for an official photograph.
Do not convert your HEIC file
HEIC and HEIF are accepted alongside JPEG and PNG, and the ceiling is generous. Converting an iPhone photo to JPEG before uploading only loses quality for no gain.
Matte or semi-matte for a counter print
A photograph handed in over a counter must be printed on a matte or semi-matte, non-reflective finish. Glossy paper is a separate failure from anything about the image itself.
Babies and young children
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority publishes no relaxation of the expression, gaze or open-eyes rules for babies and young children, and because we did not find one we are not going to claim it exists. What it does publish is a collection concession: from 1 January 2020, children under six do not need to be present when the passport is collected. A first passport for a newborn is also free if the application is made online on or before the child's first birthday, which is a genuine saving worth planning around.
Glasses
Glasses are permitted with three conditions, and all three have to hold. The frames must not cover any part of the eyes, there must be no flash or reflection off the lenses, and tinted glasses and sunglasses are excluded outright. Contact lenses must be non-coloured. Because the reflection condition depends on the lighting rather than on the eyewear, and because it is often invisible on a phone screen, taking the glasses off satisfies all three at once and is what we would do.
Head covering
A head covering is accepted where it is habitually worn in accordance with a religious or racial custom, which is slightly broader wording than most countries use, since it names racial custom alongside religion. No written declaration is required that we could find. The published condition is one most people would never guess: the covering must not be white. That is a contrast requirement rather than a rule about the covering itself, and it follows from the white background.
Applying online
An online application is the cheaper route and takes an uploaded photograph. Note that a widely quoted figure is now wrong: the JPEG limit of not more than 60 KB belongs to the retired APPLES system and does not appear on the current guidance. The live ceiling is far larger and the accepted formats are jpg, jpeg, heic, heif and png. Processing is one to two weeks locally and four to six weeks overseas, and the authority states it can stretch to four weeks if the photo requirements are not met.
Questions about Singapore photos
Why does Singapore give one exact pixel size instead of a minimum?
Because the guidance states a single dimension for e-Service uploads rather than a range. Most countries publish a floor and let you exceed it. Here the target is fixed, which makes it easier to hit and less forgiving if you miss.
My hair is white. What background should I use?
Light grey. The guidance makes this a published exception to the white background rule, because white hair against a white backdrop leaves no detectable boundary around the head.
Is the 60 KB file limit still correct?
No. That figure comes from the retired APPLES system and is not on the current guidance page. The live limit is 8 MB, and heic, heif and png are accepted alongside jpg and jpeg.
Can my headscarf be white?
No. A head covering worn for religious or racial custom is permitted, but the guidance states it should not be white. Choose any other plain colour.
What does applying at the counter cost compared with online?
SGD 80.00 at an ICA Services Centre or an overseas mission against SGD 70.00 online, as of September 2026. Replacing a lost or damaged passport adds SGD 50.00 the first time and SGD 100.00 after that, on top of the passport fee.
What does laterally inverted mean on a rejection notice?
Your photo is mirrored. Front-facing cameras often save the flipped preview rather than the true image, so the side your hair parts on is reversed. It is one of the three faults the authority names most often.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Photo Guidelineschecked September 2, 2026
- Application for a Singapore Passport, form IMM(E)11 (overseas)checked September 2, 2026
- Apply for a Singapore passportchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers