Does the wall behind me need to be white?

No — the tool replaces the background. It does need to be plain enough for the face to be found cleanly; a busy pattern behind your head can confuse the cut.

Can I use a photo from last year?

No. ICA requires the photo to be taken within the last 3 months.

What if I have nobody to take it?

Prop the phone at eye level 1.5 m away and use the timer. Arm's length is the problem, not the absence of a photographer.

Can I take my own Singapore passport photo with my phone?

TL;DR With your phone, yes. As a selfie, ICA advises against it. ICA's own FAQ recommends using a dedicated passport-photo app and asking someone else to take the picture, because an arm's-length selfie distorts the face and "will cause delay to your application".

ICA's two answers, quoted

A1: "We recommend that you download and use mobile apps that are specifically designed to take photographs for passport or identity card applications."

A2: "We do not recommend selfie as the result is usually not ideal and will cause delay to your application. We recommend that you ask someone to help you take the photo if you are using your mobile phone camera."

Why a selfie fails when a phone photo passes

A phone at arm's length is close enough to enlarge the nose and forehead and pull the ears back — the distortion ICA's guideline image shows under "photo must not be distorted". The same phone held by someone standing a metre and a half away, at eye level, produces a normal face. The camera is not the problem; the distance is.

New Zealand's passport office says the same thing more bluntly: selfies are rejected; the photographer should stand 1.5 m away.

How to do it with this site

Have someone take the photo from about 1.5 m, at your eye level, against any plain wall, with your shoulders in frame. Upload that. The tool crops to 400 × 514, replaces the background with white, and leaves your face as it was. Do not use a phone's beauty or portrait mode — that is the alteration rule 13 forbids.

Two authorities that say the same thing about distance

Document	Size	Head in frame (as we compose it)	Background	Max age	Source
Singapore passport	35 × 45 mm	56–78%	pure featureless white	3 months	www.ica.gov.sg
New Zealand passport	51 × 68 mm	65–80%	plain, light-coloured, strongly contrasting with your face	6 months	www.passports.govt.nz

A real case

Two attempts, same phone, same person. The first — arm's length, front camera — was rejected with no reason given. The second — the phone propped on a shelf across the room, timer on — was accepted. The only thing that changed was the distance.

Common questions

Does the wall behind me need to be white?: No — the tool replaces the background. It does need to be plain enough for the face to be found cleanly; a busy pattern behind your head can confuse the cut.
Can I use a photo from last year?: No. ICA requires the photo to be taken within the last 3 months.
What if I have nobody to take it?: Prop the phone at eye level 1.5 m away and use the timer. Arm's length is the problem, not the absence of a photographer.

Sources

Read on the issuing authority's own pages on the dates shown on each document page:

Singapore passport: www.ica.gov.sg (read 2026-09-06)
New Zealand passport: www.passports.govt.nz (read 2026-09-06)

SGfoto is independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by any government or issuing authority — and does not guarantee acceptance. Requirements change; the authority's page is the one that counts. Rebuilt 2026-09-06.