Passport Photo Requirements: The Rules That Get Photos Rejected

Passport and visa photos are a strange kind of photograph. They are not meant to look good; they are meant to pass an inspection. A smiling face, a shadow on the wall, a slightly tilted head or a photo printed at 98 % of the required size can get an application sent back.

The rules differ by country and sometimes by the office handling the application. There is no single “international passport photo”. There are common principles, a handful of standard sizes, and a lot of local detail. This guide covers the principles and the mistakes that show up again and again. Always check the official requirements for the document you are applying for.

The common rules

Most authorities want a recent photo, usually taken within the last six months. The face should be centred, looking straight at the camera, with a neutral expression and the mouth closed. Both eyes should be open and visible.

The background should be plain and light, usually white or off-white. There should be no shadow behind the head and no object visible in the frame. The light should be even across the face, without a bright spot on the forehead or a dark side.

The photo should be in colour, sharp, and printed on good-quality paper if a print is required. Filters, beauty modes, red-eye correction and heavy retouching are usually forbidden. The photo should look like the person on an ordinary day, not a portrait for a magazine.

Head coverings are accepted for religious reasons in many countries, provided the face is fully visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. Sunglasses are not accepted. Ordinary glasses may be allowed if the eyes are clearly visible and there is no glare, but several countries now ask you to remove them.

The standard sizes

The size is the first thing to check. A photo that is one or two millimetres off can be rejected by a strict office.

• 35 × 45 mm: much of the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Australia and several other countries.
• 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm): the United States, India and some other applications.
• 4 × 6 cm: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, among others.
• 4.3 × 5.5 cm: the United Arab Emirates.
• 50 × 70 mm: Canada.
• 3 × 4 cm: Indonesia and some other national documents.

The head size matters as much as the paper size. In many European photos, the head should occupy 70–80 % of the photo height. The US has a different measurement, based on the distance from chin to the top of the head and the position of the eyes. Canada specifies a head height range in millimetres. Do not assume that cropping to the right paper size is enough.

Digital photos and print photos

A digital upload and a printed photo have different requirements. A portal may ask for a JPEG of a certain pixel size and file size. A consulate may ask for two printed copies on photo paper.

For print, the image needs enough resolution. At 300 DPI, a 35 × 45 mm photo is about 413 × 531 pixels. A 2 × 2 inch photo is 600 × 600 pixels. A 50 × 70 mm photo is about 591 × 827 pixels. These are the sizes OpenToola uses for its presets.

For a digital upload, a larger image can be useful, but the portal may reject a file that is too large. Check the maximum dimensions and file size before uploading. Do not send a screenshot of a photo; use the original image.

Taking the photo with a phone

Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera if possible. The rear camera is usually sharper and has less distortion. Ask someone to take the photo, or use a tripod and a timer.

Stand in front of a plain wall, about an arm’s length away. The light should come from the front, not from a window behind you. Avoid direct flash; it creates a hard shadow and can cause red eye. A cloudy day near a window often gives the most even light.

Hold the phone at eye level. A photo taken from below distorts the chin and nose; a photo taken from above makes the forehead too large. Keep the head straight, shoulders relaxed, and look into the lens.

Tie long hair back if it covers the eyebrows or ears. The rules on ears vary; if the authority requires ears visible, make sure they are. Remove hats, headphones and large earrings. Keep a neutral expression; do not smile, frown or tilt the head.

Glasses, makeup and editing

Glasses are a common cause of rejection. The frames should not cover the eyes, and there should be no reflection on the lenses. If you can remove the glasses without changing your appearance significantly, do so; several countries prefer or require it.

Heavy makeup, coloured contact lenses and beauty filters can change the face enough to cause a rejection. The photo should match you at the border, not an enhanced version. Some offices explicitly prohibit filters and retouching.

Do not edit the face shape, remove a mole or change the eye colour. Cropping, rotating and adjusting the background are normal; changing the person is not. If the photo is rejected because it does not look like you, the application may face more scrutiny.

Babies and children

Babies are difficult. The photo should show the face clearly, with eyes open if possible, and no toys, dummies or hands in the frame. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet and photograph from directly above, or sit the child on a parent’s lap with the parent covered by a white cloth.

Do not use a photo where the baby is crying, looking away or leaning on someone. A neutral expression is not always possible, but the face should be visible and unobstructed. For older children, the same rules as adults apply.

Some countries have specific rules for children, including a smaller head size or a different background. Check the authority’s guidance; a photo that works for an adult may not work for a child.

Printing at home

Print on photo paper, not ordinary office paper. Set the printer to “actual size” or 100 %, not “fit to page”. A photo scaled to 98 % can be a millimetre or two too small, and a strict office may notice.

Use a photo lab if you can. Their printers are calibrated and the paper is thicker. If you print at home, check the size with a ruler after printing. Cut with a sharp blade or scissors, leaving no white border unless the requirements ask for one.

Do not laminate the photo, staple it to the form or write on the front. Some offices allow a signature on the back; check before doing it.

Common reasons for rejection

• A smile or an open mouth.
• A shadow behind the head or on one side of the face.
• A background that is not plain.
• The head too small or too large for the frame.
• A photo printed at the wrong size.
• Glare on glasses or hair covering the eyes.
• A filter, beauty mode or heavy retouching.
• An old photo that no longer looks like the applicant.
• A blurred or pixelated image.
• A photo with a visible border, staple or tape.

Most of these are easy to avoid. The expensive ones are the old photo and the wrong size, because they are only discovered after the application is submitted.

Digital upload checklist

Before uploading a digital photo, check the portal’s requirements: format (often JPEG), minimum and maximum dimensions, file size, and whether the background must be a specific colour. A photo that meets the physical size but is saved as a 5 MB PNG may still be rejected.

Open the image at 100 % and check the eyes, the chin and the background. A photo that looks fine in a small preview can have a shadow or a stray hair when viewed at full size. Crop to the required proportions, but leave a little margin around the head; do not crop so tightly that the chin or hair touches the edge.

If the portal offers a cropping tool, use it after uploading rather than guessing the exact crop in advance. If it does not, use the Passport Photo tool to set the format, then upload the exported file.

Privacy

A passport photo is an identity document image. OpenToola crops and formats it in the browser; the photo is not uploaded to a server and is not stored in an account. That is useful, but it does not make a shared computer safe. Delete the downloaded file after printing or uploading, and avoid taking identity photos on a public machine.

Do not send your passport photo to a random website that promises to check it. Use the official authority’s guidance, and if you use a third-party tool, read its privacy policy first.

Tools mentioned

• Passport Photo
• Resize Image
• Compress Image
• OpenToola Guides