Debated in Parliament on 10 May 2021.
Mr Abdul Samad asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many requests for renewal of Singapore passports have been made during the COVID-19 pandemic period; (b) whether ICA has the number of passports that expire during this period or will be expiring soon; and (c) whether there will be a waiver or review of passport renewals in view of the non-travel period during this pandemic.
About 673,000 passports expired in 2020. As at end March 2021, close to 70%, or about 464,000, of these passports have been renewed. The validity of a passport cannot be extended after it has been issued. This is a requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which does not allow any changes to a passport once issued.
While the validity of an existing passport cannot be extended, ICA has recently announced the issuance of 10-year validity passports from October 2021. This is double the validity of the current five-year passports, but the passport application fee remains the same at $70.
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