ICA publishes this one in pixels: 400 x 514 for the e-Service upload, which is exactly 35 x 45mm printed. Photos must be under three months old — not the six months most countries allow.
exactly 400 x 514px, taken within the last 3 months — not the 6 months most countries allow. ICA says a photo that fails pushes processing from one or two weeks to as much as four
ICA states the size in pixels, allows HEIC, and gives you three months instead of six — three things that differ from almost every other country here.
The exact figure ICA publishes for e-Service uploads.
Upload straight from an iPhone without converting.
Not the six months most countries allow.
A visible frame or white margin gets the photo rejected.
Weeks, not a retry.
ICA states that a passport application is processed in around one to two weeks, but that processing "may be up to four weeks if your photograph does not meet the requirements". A non-compliant photo does not bounce straight back for a quick fix — it moves your application into a slower queue.
Applying from overseas is slower still, around four to six weeks, so the cost of a rejected photo compounds if you are abroad.
400 x 514px, which happens to equal 35 x 45mm.
ICA publishes "400X514 pixels for upload of photos via e-Services". That ratio is 0.778, exactly the same as 35 x 45mm, so one image satisfies both the online upload and a printed copy. This tool renders at 290 dpi specifically so the millimetres land on those pixel numbers.
Printed photos, where they are still used, must be on matte or semi-matte paper — a glossy print reflects and can fail the scan.
Unusually permissive, and worth knowing.
ICA accepts "jpg, jpeg, heic, heif and png" up to 8MB. HEIC is what an iPhone produces by default, and almost every other authority covered on this site takes JPEG only — so the usual advice to convert before uploading does not apply here.
The 8MB ceiling is generous by the standards of government portals; several e-visa systems cap uploads at 250KB or 1MB.
The most common avoidable rejection.
The photograph must have been taken within the last three months. Most countries allow six, so reusing a photo from a previous application or an older ID is a habit that fails specifically in Singapore.
Because passports run for ten years for adults, the previous photo is almost always far too old to reuse.
S$70 online against S$80 at a counter.
Citizens apply through the ICA e-Service using Singpass, whether they are in Singapore or overseas. Online costs S$70; a counter application at ICA or an overseas mission costs S$80.
Adult passports are valid for ten years, five years for under-16s, and up to nine months of unused validity carries over from the previous passport. Losing a passport adds a penalty of S$50 for the first replacement and S$100 thereafter.
Printed at 35 x 45mm, 400 x 514px, JPG/PNG, under 8MB. Computed from this photo's own specification, not typed by hand.
Requirements verified · Source: ica.gov.sg
Watch out — At least exactly 400 x 514px, taken within the last 3 months — not the 6 months most countries allow. ICA says a photo that fails pushes processing from one or two weeks to as much as four
ICA publishes this requirement in pixels. Make the exact 400 x 514px file the e-Service accepts — free, instant and 100% private.
Straight from your phone — ICA accepts HEIC, so no conversion needed.
We export exactly 400 x 514px, which is 35 x 45mm printed.
Attach it to the ICA e-Service application.
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