Passport and Visa Photo Requirements Checker

How to use the photo checker

1. Pick your country and document. Printed photos and digital uploads have different rules, so choose the exact one you’re applying for, for example “US visa / DS-160” rather than “US passport”.
2. Add a photo. Use Upload a photo for a JPG, PNG or HEIC file (or drag one onto the box), or Take a photo to shoot one with your phone or laptop camera. Stand in front of a plain wall, face the light, and leave space above your head and around your shoulders.
3. Read the report. Each check shows Pass, Check or Fix, a plain reason, and the official rule it comes from. Head height and eye position are measured on the corrected photo, not the original.
4. Download. Digital documents get a file at the exact pixel size and inside the file-size limit. Printed documents get a single 300 dpi photo plus a 4×6 in and a 10×15 cm print sheet.

What happens to your photo: nothing leaves your device. The face detection runs in your browser using models hosted on boardinggate.io, and there’s no upload step anywhere. Once the checker has loaded, it keeps working with your internet connection switched off.

Passport photo size and requirements by country

These passport photo requirements come straight from each issuing authority. Print sizes are width x height; head height is measured from the chin to the top of the head unless the row says otherwise.

Every value links to its official source in the checker above (pick the document to see the link). Specs last verified 2026-10-18. Where an authority doesn’t publish a value, the table says so instead of guessing.

Digital photo sizes for online applications

For an upload, a request like “2×2 inches” tells you nothing. A digital file has no physical size until it’s printed; what the portal checks is the pixel dimensions, the aspect ratio, the file format and the file size in kilobytes. Get one of those wrong and the upload fails or the photo is rejected later.

The tightest limits are China’s online form (exactly 354 x 472 px and 40 to 120 KB) and the Saudi eVisa (200 x 200 px and 5 to 100 KB). Phone photos are several megabytes, so they need both a crop and heavy compression. The checker crops to the exact pixel size first, then tries JPEG quality settings until the file lands inside the window, and only then offers the download. It also strips all metadata, including GPS location, because re-encoding the image writes a fresh file.

China publishes two readings of its pixel rule: the English FAQ says the image “cannot exceed 354*472”, while the Chinese version says it must not be smaller than 354*472. A file of exactly 354 x 472 px satisfies both, so that’s what the checker exports. India’s passport portal for applicants abroad (Global Passport Seva 2.0) asks for 630 x 810 px on a white background, but the mission notices we checked don’t publish a file-size limit, so the checker doesn’t invent one. India’s OCI and e-Visa portals set their own limits on the upload screen; check them there.

Rules that differ between countries

Most authorities follow the same ICAO baseline, then add their own rules. These differences cause most of the rejections that catch people by surprise.

Background colour: white, light grey, cream or light blue

There is no single “passport photo background”. The US (passports and visas) wants plain white or off-white. China wants white or close to white, and India’s passport uploads abroad want white. The UK asks for cream or light grey on printed photos, Ireland accepts light grey, white or cream, and Australia accepts white or light grey.

France goes the other way: its rules for passports and ID cards ban a white background outright and ask for a plain light colour such as light blue or light grey. A photo that’s perfect for a US visa is rejected in France. The checker reads the background colour and compares it with the list for your document, so a white wall fails for France and a blue one fails for the US.

Glasses: banned, allowed or “only if you must”

• Not allowed: US passports and US visas (only with a signed medical statement when they can’t be removed), Australia (medical reasons only; vision impairment alone isn’t accepted), and India’s passport uploads abroad.
• Allowed without glare or tint: Canada (clear lenses only; tinted prescription lenses aren’t accepted), Ireland, New Zealand (not tinted or thick-framed), the Schengen standard used by German missions, and China (no thick rims, tint or glare, though some missions ask you to remove them).
• Allowed, but avoid: the UK says don’t wear glasses unless you have to. France says you don’t have to wear them.

The checker flags “possible glasses” from the edges across the bridge of your nose. Where glasses are banned it tells you to remove them; where they’re allowed it reminds you to check for glare.

Smiling and expression

The US passport photo page allows a natural smile with your eyes open and mouth closed, but the US online renewal page asks for a neutral expression, and US visa photos need a neutral expression too. The UK, Ireland and New Zealand ask for a neutral expression with no smiling. Japan’s missions reject an exaggerated smile. If in doubt, keep a relaxed, closed-mouth neutral face: every authority accepts it. The checker warns on a visible smile and fails an open mouth.

Ears, hair and head coverings

France and China require both ears to be visible, and France also requires a bare head (no hat, scarf or headband). Religious head coverings are accepted in many places if your face is fully visible: the US accepts one worn daily for religious purposes, Poland accepts one with a certificate, the Saudi eVisa allows religious exceptions if the face shows from chin to forehead, and German missions accept religious coverings. Medical exceptions usually need a signed statement. For documents that require visible ears, the checker looks for skin at ear height and warns if hair seems to cover it.

How recent the photo must be

The UK is the strictest: the photo must have been taken in the last month. Most others, including US passports and visas, Canadian passports, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, China and Japan, allow 6 months, and some German missions ask for no more than 3 months for Schengen visas. Canada’s PR card allows 12 months. A computer can’t tell when a photo was taken, so the checker lists the age rule under “rules a computer can’t check”.

Who must take it and what goes on the back

• Canada: the passport photo must be taken by a commercial photographer or studio and must not be altered in any way, including filters or AI tools. You submit 2 identical prints, and your guarantor signs one. For online renewal, the studio’s original file is the only acceptable upload.
• UK: printed photos need countersignature text on the back when your application requires a countersignatory.
• Ireland: you send 4 photos and write the form number on the back of two; your witness signs them.
• Australia: prints must be dye-sublimation (not inkjet) on glossy paper of at least 200 gsm.
• China: glossy photo paper only, not matte or plain paper.
• Singapore: printed photos must be matte or semi-matte.

For Canada’s passport the checker still runs every test, but it doesn’t offer a home-print download, because the rules don’t allow one.

Why passport photos get rejected

The US State Department says unacceptable photos are the number one reason it puts passport applications on hold. These are the problems the checker looks for, with the fix for each:

1. Shadows on the face or behind the head. Face a window or a soft light, and stand a step or two away from the wall. The checker compares the two sides of your face and the background on each side of your head.
2. Head too small or too large. Each document sets a head-height band. The checker crops so your head sits in the middle of that band and measures it on the final photo.
3. Glare on glasses. Remove them, or tilt the lenses slightly down. See the glasses rules above.
4. Blur. Hold the camera steady and tap your face to focus. The checker scores sharpness on the face itself.
5. Edited or filtered photos. The US, Canada, New Zealand, India and the German missions all reject altered photos. The checker only crops and resizes; it never smooths skin, swaps the background or changes lighting.
6. Wrong background colour. White for the US, not white for France. The checker reads the colour and compares it with your document’s list.
7. Wrong size or file limits. Fixed automatically for digital uploads and print sheets.
8. Old photo. Check the age rule for your document; the UK allows only one month.
9. A scan of a printed photo. Upload the original digital file. The US online renewal rules reject scans.

Baby and child passport photos

Lay a baby on a plain, light-coloured sheet and take the photo from directly above: both the UK and New Zealand describe this method, and it avoids shadows from a wall. Make sure no hands, toys or dummies are in the frame; in the UK you can support the head with your hand as long as the hand doesn’t show. A car seat covered with a plain white sheet works for older babies who can sit.

Some authorities relax the rules for very young children. In the UK, children under one don’t need their eyes open, and children under six don’t need to look straight at the camera or keep a plain expression. Australia lets children under 3 have their mouth open. New Zealand still asks for a baby’s eyes to be open. Tick Photo of a baby in the checker to relax the eyes-open check for UK passports, the mouth check for Australia and the expression warning; the other measurements still apply.

Brazil works differently: for children under 5 you bring a recent 5×7 photo to the passport appointment, while everyone older is photographed on the spot.

Printing your photo at home or a print shop

The print sheets are made for standard photo paper. A 4×6 in sheet fits 8 photos at 35 x 45 mm or 2 at 2 x 2 in; a 10×15 cm sheet is the metric equivalent. Each sheet has thin grey lines on the photo edges as cut guides.

• Print at 100% or “actual size”. Turn off “fit to page” and borderless enlargement, or every photo shrinks or grows by a few millimetres and the head-height measurement is lost.
• Use photo paper. China asks for glossy, Singapore for matte or semi-matte, and Australia for dye-sublimation prints on glossy 200 gsm paper, which means a photo lab rather than a home inkjet.
• Cut on the inside edge of the grey line with a ruler and a sharp blade, then measure one photo before you cut the rest.
• Print shops and kiosks print a single 4×6 in photo for far less than a pharmacy charges for a passport photo package. Upload the JPG sheet and ask for a 4×6 print with no cropping.

Home prints aren’t an option for every document: Canada requires a commercial photographer, and Australia’s paper rules rule out most home printers.

Countries where you don’t need to bring a photo

Before you pay for prints, check whether the office takes the photo itself:

• Brazil: the Federal Police photograph everyone aged 5 and over at the passport appointment, at no extra cost.
• Mexico: the photo printed in your passport is taken at the SRE office or consulate on the day of your appointment.
• Philippines: the DFA captures your photo and biometrics at the appointment.
• Germany: since 1 May 2025, paper photos aren’t accepted for passports and ID cards applied for in Germany. A certified studio sends the photo digitally, or the office takes it on site. German missions abroad may still accept 35 x 45 mm prints.
• UK online applications: you can upload your own digital photo, or use a photo booth or shop that gives you a photo code to enter instead.

This page is only about photos. To check how long your passport must be valid for a trip, use the passport validity checker; to see whether you need a visa at all, use the visa checker.

More tools for your application

• Visa Requirement Checker
• Passport Validity Checker
• Schengen 90/180 Day Calculator
• International Driving Permit Checker (an IDP application usually needs passport-style photos)
• All travel tools