Chitchat Trying to renew passport online is so stupid

[johnny333]

Go out, look at the 'miserable' world around you, get some civilisation, eat some food, join the hassle, hustle & bustle of life, get some sunshine, breathe in the polluted air..will do you some good. First, any on line system they design is to befuddle you, it makes their life easier to collect good pay by going through the motion. Just, go take public transport...the MRT Station exit os just at ICA entrance...it is all covered, no need to get wet when it rains...food is plenty around there & while you are there view the display of seized vehicles....

No need to moan about cropping the photo & they will tell you on the spot, if the photo you had brought along is to their standard & look & not...you go to the mini photo kiosk here & take some for some moolah....use the human ones, in case they don't like the machine taken ones...

Why moan...you want the minister & ICA team, come to your place & do the processing for you?

Don't want to go out if possible at least not in that area. Never know if the elevators, buses, trains are actually working or if I will get assaulted or catch some disease from a foreigner because there are so many foreigners hanging around the ICA Offices

 

[nayr69sg]

Don't want to go out if possible at least not in that area. Never know if the elevators, buses, trains are actually working or if I will get assaulted or catch some disease from a foreigner because there are so many foreigners hanging around the ICA Offices

Johnny do you have agoraphobia? Generalized anxiety disorder?

 

[Seee3]

I am not young and also faces difficulty doing online transactions. However, I have to conceit that the problem is me and not the process because my kids can do them with so much ease. For passport renewal, they did it for me using just the phone including the photo taking. They used apps for resizing the photo and everything was done in minutes. So I guess the new technology is for the young and it is tough for folks like me to catch up.

 

[CABcommander]

I don't understand why the online renewal is so difficult for you. I find it damn convenient and good. I have many complaints about pap but this is certainly NOT one of them.

You prefer to go queue up for 1/2 a day like some 3rd world country is it?

to be honest the online system is not stupid. You are.

 

[johnny333]

The most annoying thing about renewing passport online is uploading the photo.
They will reject the photo claiming that "your face is not easily recognizable" even though it seems nothing wrong with it.
The irony is that your photo will be "laser printed" on the passport and you yourself don't even recognize that it's the one you uploaded it.

Anyone having problems getting a photo taken can do so at JB. So far ICA has never rejected the photos I have gotten from this place.

I had mine taken at:
LGEN Digital Sdn Bhd
Lot M1-11 & 11A Level 1
Johore Bahru, City Square

It's just across the Apple store in City Square Mall in JB.

When you get there tell them it is for a passport photo:
They will know then know what type of background to use i.e. it has to be white & how large the physical photo should be.

They will provide you with 4 photos and a mini CD with the digital JPEG image. Only cost RM$20

I've tried getting my photos from those auto machines but the photos always gave me a sun burnt look :o

 

[johnny333]

Johnny do you have agoraphobia? Generalized anxiety disorder?

I recommend you visit the ICA complex at Lavender.
You will get a better picture of how crowded Spore is.

 

[nayr69sg]

I recommend you visit the ICA complex at Lavender.
You will get a better picture of how crowded Spore is.

I did 2 years ago when I went there to renounce my Singapore citizenship. But the floor I went was very quiet. I think we were the only ones there. I did see the section for passport renewals.... ya man crowded!!! And mostly all look like PRC and Indian Nationals.

 

[zhihau]

The most annoying thing about renewing passport online is uploading the photo.
They will reject the photo claiming that "your face is not easily recognizable" even though it seems nothing wrong with it.
The irony is that your photo will be "laser printed" on the passport and you yourself don't even recognize that it's the one you uploaded it.

Bwahahahahahahaa... so bloody annoying right? Bwahahahahahahaa...

 

[apogee]

I'm trying to renew my Spore passport online & finding it so lame.

I only have to do it every 5 years & I don't understand why they make it so difficult. The last time I renewed my passport I didn't need a Singpass & now I am required to provide my Singpass information


I have never found a good reason to use my Singpass. I don't see why I need it now just to renew my passport? If I go down personally to the passport office are they going to ask me for my Singpass? Of course not. Then why do I need to include it just because I'm renew my passport online?

I know that there are many useless civil servants who have to justify their existence but why make life difficult for the "lesser mortals".

Well anyway I find that it is now harder to do things online & I'll probably just have to go personally down twice to immigration just to to renew & get my passport. Bah Spore a smart city

There is nothing to stop you from going to the passport office to renew your passport.

 

[johnny333]

I am not young and also faces difficulty doing online transactions. However, I have to conceit that the problem is me and not the process because my kids can do them with so much ease. For passport renewal, they did it for me using just the phone including the photo taking. They used apps for resizing the photo and everything was done in minutes. So I guess the new technology is for the young and it is tough for folks like me to catch up.

I made the same complaint about online banking system & got criticised for this observation. Many in this forum are from the younger generation & are still working. When you are actively working you are still tied into the system. On a daily basis you still have to interact with all the new changes, so it is not very difficult to adjust because they are exposed to these changes on a daily basis.

Once you get older, you seldom interact with the new systems. The PAP has forgotten that there are older Sporeans in Spore that are not aware of theses changes until they have to do something requiring the new system. You will of course have problems.

Think about driving into a part of Spore where you are not familiar with. You would of course be confused & get lost. That is what is happening with many older Sporeans & actually the PAP is responsible for much of this confusion because they have implemented many changes for the sake of change without properly preparing the people for these changes.

In the old days the PAP would 1st have a campaign e.g. against littering, then they would introduce the laws to enforce the anti-littering behaviour. Nowadays they would just go & implement the law & if you were unaware of the law, that is your problem.

 

[nayr69sg]

Also there is this strange culture where they say there must be constant "improvement". Every head keeps trying to cook up some change as a means of "improvement". Good systems working well have to be changed to "improve" otherwise it will look like they are not "doing" anything. So sometimes A working well change to B which is a disaster then change back to A again.

Dumb culture in Singapore. Change for the sake of changing.

That's how the entire SAF ended up ISO certified. All the CO want to show and get promoted.

 

[johnny333]

I did 2 years ago when I went there to renounce my Singapore citizenship. But the floor I went was very quiet. I think we were the only ones there. I did see the section for passport renewals.... ya man crowded!!! And mostly all look like PRC and Indian Nationals.

Shows that there is really very little work needed to look after Spore citizens. The bulk of the effort is looking after foreigners. Wonder who is paying for all this

I don't like crowded places because you never know what is going to happen & would of course prefer to avoid the place. I'll try to reactivate my Singpass & see how it goes:(

 

[nayr69sg]

I don't like crowded places (

Singapore is mostly crowded everywhere. It has the population of the entire province of Alberta squeezed into Calgary. And people in calgary say it is already crowded with a population of 1.4 million!

PRCs and Indians come from cities with tens of millions of people. So they say Singapore is nice. It is all relative.

 

[halsey02]

Don't want to go out if possible at least not in that area. Never know if the elevators, buses, trains are actually working or if I will get assaulted or catch some disease from a foreigner because there are so many foreigners hanging around the ICA Offices

That place is safe, unless you interact with the 'natives'....used to have a lot of 'tigers', hanging around there....you can see the 'floatsam & jetsam' of humanity there at ICA...can oogle at the China Ladies, Vietnamese, Myanmar, Kampuchea, Pinay...etc...

Just don't touch them, if you think they spread things to you, wear a surgical mask....& bring plenty of hand lotion to sanitise your hands etc....the train is working fine, elevators there seldom breakdown & so are the lifts...in your case best , use the elevators....for you will be sandwiched with the "F&J" of humanity...

In short....go out & see the world, once in a while....on-line systems are never programmed to make life easier for you....it is the other way round...they don't KISS...ahh!..Keep It Simple Stupid!..

 

[Froggy]

I have to renew my passport once every 2-3 years depending on my travels. I do find renewing passports for myself and wife a breeze however I do share the same sentiment with Dark Knight & Debonerman the photo uploading process can be challenging and annoying. For us living overseas collecting new passport is a trip to the embassy as for me it's at Sathorn, very simple and convenient.

 

[Bonut]

I have to renew my passport once every 2-3 years depending on my travels. I do find renewing passports for myself and wife a breeze however I do share the same sentiment with Dark Knight & Debonerman the photo uploading process can be challenging and annoying. For us living overseas collecting new passport is a trip to the embassy as for me it's at Sathorn, very simple and convenient.

For the Chinese nationals, it's even more convenient as they can collect from Ratchada. After that, R&R liao !

 

[Seee3]

I don't understand why the online renewal is so difficult for you. I find it damn convenient and good. I have many complaints about pap but this is certainly NOT one of them.

You prefer to go queue up for 1/2 a day like some 3rd world country is it?

to be honest the online system is not stupid. You are.

Yes the online system is way superior to queuing at ICA and should be embraced. However, older folks having difficulty with electronic transactions are not stupid. They have limitations.

1. Lack of exposure
2. Slow in action due to poor eye sight and dexterity.

Aging is a scary process. I used to be able to type very fast. However, unknowingly, I lose that ability as I aged. So it is more frustrating for me to key in the details of 6 persons only to have the system hanging on me when making payment. My kids will simply key the details all over again, which is a breeze to them.

Sorry to go off tangent. It is harsh to label old folks stupid simply because they cannot keep up with the change. I used to think the same way too when I was young. Now that I get to face old age, we do know that the system is not stupid and neither are we.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

For the Chinese nationals, it's even more convenient as they can collect from Ratchada. After that, R&R liao !

China embassy is so huge. Sg One is tiny

 

[Papsmearer]

Singpass is for online security. Actually Singapore having the Singpass as a one password that covers many govt organizations is quite good.

You can use Singpass to access CPF online also. CDP. HDB.

Singpass is used to track all your activity, like this also u don't know? Simi lancheow is online security. MINDEF cannot even protect its own date, talk cock here about online security?

[h=1]Singapore defence ministry reports cyber breach[/h] [h=5]February 28, 2017[/h] Singapore's defence ministry said Tuesday that hackers had stolen the personal details of hundreds of staff and soldiers in what appeared to be a "targeted" cyber attack on its computer systems.



Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-02-singapore-defence-ministry-cyber-breach.html#jCp


[h=1]MINDEF Internet system breached; data stolen from national servicemen, employees
[/h] No classified military data was stolen in the attack, the Ministry of Defence says.



Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...ched-data-stolen-from-national-servic-7617146

Officials said hackers had not collected any classified data earlier this month when they breached the ministry's "I-net system", which provides internet access to employees and young army conscripts undergoing national service, at dedicated computer terminals.
"The real purpose may have been to gain access to official secrets, but this was prevented by the physical separation of I-net from our internal systems," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was probing the extent of the breach.
Hackers were able to steal the identity card details, telephone numbers and dates of birth of around 850 employees and people on military service.
The defence ministry said the attack "appeared to be targeted and carefully planned" and added it was braced for further assaults on the computer system.


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-02-singapore-defence-ministry-cyber-breach.html#jCp

 

[Bonut]

China embassy is so huge. Sg One is tiny

Sathorn is a pain in the ass. Chinese have great foresight and located their embassy at the famous Rachadaphisek Road.