As many Singaporeans now head for the airport, I think many may have found obtaining the correct photo for the passport as frustrating as I did.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will refuse the photo if the background is not a pure featureless white.

I used my phone to take five different photos around the house and even against a sunlit white wall outside. None was accepted.

In the end I went out and found a photo booth, where I took four photos with a white background, then used my phone to take a digital picture of the photo to submit with my passport application.

This seems like a waste of time, expense and trouble.

In contrast, getting an Electronic Travel Authority to travel to Australia was a breeze. An app scans my passport, reads the microchip to fill in details, and prompts me to take a nice selfie with my phone, any plain light background will do.

Singapore is an outstanding leader in digital public services, one example being the efficient system for collecting passports. I hope ICA can extend the same efficiency to the submission of passport photos.

Stella Kon