Singapore passports will be valid for 10 years, up from the current five. This will be the case for citizens over 16 years old who apply for their passports on or after Oct 1. The fee remains unchanged at $70.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said yesterday that this will reduce the frequency of passport renewals and offer more convenience to Singaporeans.

The 10-year validity cap is set in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation's recommendation, added ICA.

For citizens below 16 years of age, the passport validity period will remain at five years, as children's facial features continue to change as they grow.

This means that the photograph on their passport needs to be more frequently updated.

The Singapore passport used to be valid for 10 years until April 2005, when the validity period was reduced to five years because of the introduction of the biometric passport system. It was reduced for ICA to monitor the stability of the technology, the authority said.

In explaining the change back to a validity period of 10 years, ICA said: "It has been 15 years since the introduction of the biometric passport. There is now widespread use of biometrics screening technology by immigration authorities around the world."

ICA added that biometric passport technology has now stabilised and that it has greater confidence in the durability of the microchips embedded in such passports.

"In view of these developments, ICA has assessed that it is now viable to increase the validity of the Singapore passport to 10 years without compromising security or global confidence in the Singapore passport," it said.

Singapore's passport continues to rank well internationally, amid a global slowdown in air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last month, an index put together by global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners ranked Singapore's passport second, with Japan clinching the top spot.

The firm ranks passport power according to the number of destinations their holders can travel to without needing to obtain a visa before arrival.

The application process for passports remains unchanged, said ICA.

Applications can be done online through ICA's e-Service.

"Those who are unfamiliar with or have difficulty accessing the e-Service can get their family members or friends to assist with their passport application online, or to apply on their behalf," said ICA.