What the visa governs
Validity marks the span within which the visa can be used for travel and an entry attempt.
🇦🇫Tourist visa information for Afghan travel-document holders
Singapore Visa for Afghan Citizens
This guide follows ICA’s Afghanistan requirements closely on the points that shape a Singapore tourist visa file: the document set, the letter of introduction route, translations and the timing advice. It also separates a visa from entry and from the stay granted on arrival.
From $130 USD
Prices per applicant
Each price is in US dollars and includes both the government visa fee and our service charge.
5–7 working days · 3–5 days
Two service estimates
Our normal and express estimates appear in the processing section, apart from ICA’s own published figure.
Entry type you request
Pick single, double or multiple entry; the Singapore authorities settle what is actually issued.
Letter of introduction
Some applicants need Form V39A. This guide explains the local-contact and Embassy routes.
Does a travel document issued by Afghanistan need a Singapore visa?
ICA’s visa-required list includes Afghanistan, and ICA’s country page says that a visa is needed to enter Singapore for anyone holding a travel document issued by Afghanistan. The requirement follows the document you travel on, so the first step is to confirm which document that is and where it was issued.
The Afghanistan page gives no route around the visa for diplomatic, official or service passports, and it lists no further restrictions specific to Afghan travel documents. If you hold a document of another kind, check its status with ICA before depending on this guide.
We put the file together and send it on through whichever route ICA permits for the case. Visa decisions are not ours to make, and we do not promise entry. Immigration decisions belong to the Singapore authorities.
What our preparation service covers
Document list
ICA’s requirements come first; our own standards follow, labelled so each item shows its origin.
File comparison
We compare names, dates and document numbers across the travel document, the translations and the form before submission.
Submission
The completed, checked file goes out through the route suited to it.
Outcome
An approved e-Visa is delivered electronically to the address on your file.
The points ICA sets out in writing are the ones to settle first: the validity of the travel document, the translations, and the letter of introduction where it applies. Settling them early keeps the file ready when you decide to submit.
Who this guide applies to
This guide covers travel documents issued by Afghanistan. ICA applies the visa requirement to the document you hold. The groups below describe how the rules apply to different situations. They do not predict an outcome.
Holders of an Afghan travel document
The visa requirement attaches to the document. ICA does not accept collective travel documents, so the document must be issued to you as an individual.
Applicants with a local contact
A letter of introduction (Form V39A) may be issued by a local contact. ICA’s page states that the local contact must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, at least 21 years old, with a Singpass account.
Applicants without a local contact letter
ICA’s Afghanistan page says a letter issued by the Embassy can be accepted if a local contact letter cannot be secured. Confirm whether that route applies to your case before you depend on it.
Adults and children
Each traveller, adult or child, has an individual application and an individual travel document.
Set by Singapore (ICA)
- ICA’s position: a travel document issued by Afghanistan needs a visa for entry.
- The travel document behind the biodata copy must still have six months to run past the day you enter Singapore.
- ICA advises applying within 30 days before arrival in Singapore.
- ICA’s stated timing is three working days, not counting the day of submission, with some cases taking longer.
Set by our service
- Our hotel and travel-booking standard, within the wider checklist.
- The fee and estimate information on this page.
- The file review and submission routine described below.
- Our cancellation and refund terms.
Good preparation makes review faster, but we do not decide the visa and nothing here promises entry.
The file ICA asks for, and what we add to it
ICA’s list for a business or social visit comes first, followed by our own standards, which are marked separately. The conditional items depend on your circumstances.
ICA requirement
Form 14A, signed by you
You complete and sign the form. The application is based on the information declared in it, so every answer must match your travel document and your plans.
ICA requirement
Copy of the biodata page
A photocopy of the biodata page. The document must still have six months of validity beyond your entry date.
ICA requirement
Recent colour photograph
Passport-sized, colour, and taken in the last three months. The photograph section explains our checks.
Conditional · ICA requirement
Official translations
Originals and official translations are needed for any document not in English, for example records written in Dari or Pashto. ICA’s page accepts translations by the embassy of the issuing country or by a notary public in Singapore or that country, and privately created translations attested by that embassy or notarised by such a notary.
Conditional · ICA procedure
Form V39A letter of introduction
Requested case by case. A local contact may issue it. If no local contact letter is obtainable, ICA’s page allows an Embassy-issued letter.
Our submission standard
Hotel booking and travel plans
We expect a three-night minimum at a hotel rated three stars or better, with confirmed arrival and departure bookings. An Airbnb listing or a private invitation does not count as the hotel booking under our standard.
Our requirements page has annotated examples of a biodata page and a correctly framed photograph.
Open the full requirements checklistAdditional papers can be requested on a case basis, and no single document settles the outcome.
What our service costs
Prices are US dollar amounts per applicant. Each covers the ICA government visa fee and our professional service charge, and the government fee is not shown separately. The table lists the normal and express options for each entry type.
| Requested entry type | Normal service5–7 working days | Express service3–5 days |
|---|---|---|
| Single-entry | $130 USD | $180 USD |
| Double-entry | $140 USD | $190 USD |
| Multiple-entry | $170 USD | $220 USD |
USD per applicant
Reading the fee table
- Each applicant is priced individually, and children are included.
- You name the entry type; the authorities determine what they grant, including validity and conditions.
- The amounts are final prices for our service. They are not a government fee schedule.
Two timings: ICA’s and ours
These are separate figures. ICA’s published statement describes government processing after an application is submitted. Our normal and express estimates describe our own preparation and service, starting once your file is complete and verified. Neither is a guaranteed completion date.
Normal service
Our estimated processing time
5–7 working days
Suits applicants with time to assemble translations and letters first.
Express service
Our estimated processing time
3–5 days
A quicker estimate at a higher price. It changes our pace, not ICA’s timetable.
ICA’s published figure
ICA’s stated timing is three working days, not counting the submission day, and some files take longer.
Plan around the 30-day advice
ICA advises applying within 30 days before arrival. Letters and translations take time to obtain, so start them before the submission window opens.
Requests for more information
If ICA or our review asks for more information, the overall time extends by the time that takes.
From the first document to the e-Visa
This is the sequence we follow. ICA allows submission through its e-Service with a strategic partner or local contact, or at a Singapore Overseas Mission or through its authorised visa agent.
Step 1
Confirm the travel document
Check that it is an individually issued travel document issued by Afghanistan, and note its expiry date.
Step 2
Gather translations and letters
Arrange official translations for every record not in English, and decide whether a local contact letter is possible.
Step 3
Complete your application
Each traveller completes their own form. Names and dates must match the travel document exactly.
Step 4
Upload and review
We review the file and email you about any correction. Keep those reference emails with your travel papers.
Step 5
Pay for the chosen service
The amount depends on the service option you choose, and the application displays it.
Step 6
Submission and the e-Visa
When the checked file is complete, it goes out through the applicable route. ICA’s page notes that a local contact, strategic partner or authorised visa agent can print a copy of the e-Visa through the e-Service.
Keep copies of every document you send, and keep correspondence about the file with your travel papers.
Apply OnlineTravel document and photograph checks
The validity rule and the photograph requirement are the two points ICA sets out directly for this file. Check them before anything else.
ICA requirement
The travel document
The biodata page is the page ICA asks you to copy. Check the expiry date against six months from your planned date of entry, not from the day you apply.
Send a legible copy of the biodata page in which the document number, the dates and the photograph can all be read.
ICA does not accept collective travel documents. Keep the original document for travel and keep copies for the file.
ICA requirement
The photograph
ICA asks for a recent passport-sized colour photograph taken within the last three months. Our checklist adds these points:
- Taken within the last three months.
- Colour and passport-sized, with the full face visible.
- A plain background, with no other person or object in view.
- A natural appearance, with no filters or digital retouching.
- Even lighting and sharp focus, so that facial features are not obscured.
Visa, Visit Pass and the decision to admit you
A visa, a Visit Pass and an admission decision are three separate steps, and it helps to keep them apart when you plan a trip.
What the Visit Pass governs
At the checkpoint, an immigration officer fixes the permitted stay, which is recorded on your electronic Visit Pass. The visa’s own validity dates do not determine it.
Admission is a separate decision
Immigration officers decide at the checkpoint whether to admit a traveller. An approved visa allows you to travel and seek entry, but it does not guarantee admission.
Transit through Singapore
ICA’s published Visa-Free Transit Facility does not name Afghanistan. This guide therefore does not describe a transit arrangement for Afghan travel-document holders. Check with ICA before reserving a stopover.
Children and shared travel
Every traveller needs an application and a travel document of their own. A shared document does not meet ICA’s requirement, so family plans should start from individual files.
One application each
Adults and children each complete their own application and provide their own details.
Individual documents
ICA does not accept collective travel documents, so a child needs a travel document issued to them as an individual.
Letters for each applicant
A letter of introduction, where one is needed, is prepared for the applicant it concerns. The local-contact conditions apply in the same way to every traveller.
Cancellation is counted per application
Three travellers means three applications when a cancellation is calculated, so the amounts are worked out separately for each.
Discrepancies that cause problems
These are the points we check before submission. ICA does not publish its reasons for individual decisions, so this list is about preparation only.
Names that differ between records
Compare each name with the travel document, including the order of names and any transliteration used in a translation.
A translation that does not match its original
Check that dates, numbers and names in each translation agree exactly with the original record.
A letter of introduction that is not ready
If Form V39A is needed, request it early and check that its details match your application.
A travel document too close to expiry
Count six months from your date of entry. Renew the document first if it falls short.
Dates that disagree
Hotel nights, travel bookings and the dates on the form should describe the same trip.
Reading an approved visa as a guarantee of entry
The e-Visa allows you to travel and seek entry. The decision at the checkpoint remains with immigration officers.
If plans change before or after submission
These are our tourist visa refund rules, summarised here. The full policy is on our Refund Policy page.
Before submission to ICA
Cancelling before we submit
If you cancel before we submit your application to ICA, a cancellation fee of USD $50 applies per applicant and application.
The fee is deducted from the amount you paid, and the remaining eligible amount is refunded, subject to applicable law.
After submission to ICA
Once the application is submitted
After submission to ICA, the paid visa service fee is non-refundable, subject to applicable law.
A refusal does not by itself make a submitted application refundable.
If you believe a payment was duplicated or charged incorrectly, contact us so that we can review it. Legally required refunds and billing errors are handled separately.
Nothing in these rules limits statutory consumer rights that cannot be waived.
Questions about Afghan travel documents
Answers drawn from ICA’s Afghanistan page and from our own process. Where a point is our practice rather than ICA’s rule, the answer says so.
Does an Afghan travel document need a visa?
ICA’s Afghanistan page says a visa is needed to enter Singapore for anyone holding a travel document issued by Afghanistan.
Nothing on the page offers a diplomatic, official or service passport exemption. Check other document types with ICA.
Can an Embassy letter stand in for a local contact letter?
ICA’s Afghanistan page says a letter of introduction issued by the Embassy can be accepted if you cannot secure one from a local contact.
Whether that route applies to your case should be confirmed with ICA before you rely on it.
Which translations does ICA accept?
For documents not in English, ICA’s Afghanistan page accepts translations provided by the embassy of the country that issued the document or produced by a notary public in Singapore or that country, and privately created translations attested by that embassy or notarised by such a notary.
ICA does not endorse private translation companies.
How long does processing take?
ICA’s stated timing is three working days, not counting the day of submission, with some cases taking longer.
Our normal and express estimates are separate from that statement and are not guaranteed.
How is the six-month validity counted?
Six months are measured from the day you enter Singapore. The biodata copy has to come from a document that still has that run remaining.
Can an Afghan passport holder use a transit facility?
ICA’s published Visa-Free Transit Facility does not name Afghanistan, so this guide does not describe a transit arrangement. Check with ICA before booking.
Is the SG Arrival Card required in addition?
The arrival card requirement reaches every traveller, with narrow exemptions. Filing it costs nothing and does not create a visa.
Who decides how long I may stay?
The immigration officer at the checkpoint. It appears on your electronic Visit Pass and does not follow the visa’s validity dates.
Does an approved visa guarantee entry?
No. The visa lets you travel to Singapore and seek entry. Immigration officers decide whether to admit you at the checkpoint.
What photograph is required?
Colour, passport-sized, taken in the last three months, on a plain background, with your full face showing.
What happens if I cancel?
Before submission to ICA, a USD $50 cancellation fee applies per applicant and application, and the remaining eligible amount is refunded, subject to applicable law. After submission, the paid visa service fee is non-refundable, subject to applicable law.
Ready to start your file?
Confirm the travel document, arrange translations and any letter of introduction, and check the fee table and estimates before you begin.
Review the document requirementsApply Online