“Due to overwhelming response, passport renewal can take up to three months” but there’s a way ‘you can still get your “Passport” in a few days time’

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, as reported by The Straits Times earlier this month, the minimum wait is a month or more.

“Due to overwhelming response, passport renewal can take up to three months,” wrote The Pine Garden in a clever Facebook post highlighting their marketing stunt.

The ICA had said earlier on that an unprecedented number of applications had been received in March, with about a million passports having expired or about to expire. At that time, some 6,000 applications were flooding in every day, at triple the rate before the Circuit Breaker shut down travel in 2020.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced on March 29 that passport applications would take more time to process due to high demand as border restrictions are lifted.

ICA also shared a post by Sembawang GRC MP Amrin Amin, who got his new passport.

“Surge in passport applications this month with easing border restrictions. About 6,000 daily passport applications, triple pre-Covid-19 daily average two years ago,” wrote Mr Amin, thanking ICA officers for their hard work.

“For those yearning to travel, don’t be demoralized. You still can get your ‘Passport’ in a few days’ time,” the bakery in Ang Mo Kio said, showcasing its version of the Singapore passport in the form of a birthday cake, while reassuring customers of the quick cake delivery time.

Although the cake passport is more of a one-time use that comes with startlingly thick “pages”, netizens savoured the humour.

“Good job! Great idea! A great topic to talk about on your birthday,” wrote Facebook user Victor JL Wong.

“Use it for travelling, and it will get eaten by the customs officers,” said another netizen jokingly.

Ongoing passport-related scams

In other news, wannabe’ travellers waiting for new passports are advised to be cautious against ongoing passport-related scams.

“ICA has recently received feedback from members of the public that they have received calls from numbers starting with “+65″ relating to passport issues,” said ICA on Wednesday.

Some calls included an automated voice message informing the recipients that their passport applications had been rejected, or their passports had been cancelled.

Other calls involved the would-be scammers asking for the recipients’ personal details, such as their NRIC numbers, said ICA.

“ICA would like to clarify that these calls were not made by our officers. If there is a need to clarify passport matters with applicants, our officers will use landlines (without +65 prefix) to contact them.” /TISG

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