Passport application fees for newborns will now be waived as a gesture of support for families, announced Minister for Manpower & Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo.

This will apply to all children born on or after Jan. 1, 2020.

Waiving fees part of measures to support parenthood

In a joint ministerial media conference, Teo, who oversees population matters, addressed several issues, including enhanced measures to support marriage and parenthood.

Some of these measures include having more preschool subsidies for all families, and increasing the number of government supported preschools.

Teo also announced that ICA will waive the S$70 passport application for all Singapore Citizen children.

This was due to an increasing number of Singaporeans travelling overseas and seeing the world together as a family.

Many of these Singaporeans even bring along their very young children.

According to Teo, about four in five Singaporean children apply for a passport before they turn one year old.

Applies to all Singaporean children

This move means that the first passport for every Singaporean child will have its application fees waived.

To enjoy these waivers, parents must submit passport applications online for these children before their first birthday.

More details on the application process will be provided later this year.

Top image by Jason Fan.