head 70–80 %
Free: cropping, background replacement, check
14-day refund if the authority rejects the photo
SourceMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (Cancillería)
Verified
Quick answer: A Colombia visa photo must be 30 × 40 mm. Plain white background. Head occupies 70–80% of photo height. Neutral expression, clear lenses only, no glare. Last verified .
Requirements
| Format | 30 × 40 mmICAO 9303: 35 × 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height | 70–80% of photo height |
| Background | Plain white background. Make photo background white — Colombia visa → |
| Pose | Strictly full face, head without rotation or tilt, shoulders level. |
| Expression | Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. |
| Glasses | Clear glasses only, no reflections; sunglasses prohibited. See full rules → |
| Lighting | Shadows on the face and background not permitted. |
| Head covering | Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. |
| Attire | Neutral clothing, shoulders visible, without uniform or distracting accessories. |
| File format | JPG |
| File size | max 300 KB Compress photo to 300 KB — Colombia visa → |
| Millimetres | 30 × 40 mm |
|---|---|
| Centimetres | 3 × 4 cm |
| Inches | 1.18 × 1.57″ |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 354 × 472 px |
| Pixels at 600 dpi | 709 × 945 px |
The Colombian visa is applied for online in the SITAC system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería), and the photograph goes in as a file: «digital, recent, sharp, of good resolution, JPG format, at most 300 KB, in colour and on a white background». The SITAC user guide gives the size — «a colour photo on a white background, 4 centimetres high by 3 centimetres wide», looking straight at the camera, «the head centred and complete», «both eyes open and the ears visible», «no glare in the photo, and no hair or other accessories covering the face», and warns that SITAC shows an error message if the size or format is wrong; all the documents uploaded together may not exceed 3 MB. A Colombian consulate says the same in its own words — «a colour photo on a white background at a 3 × 4 scale», JPG, at most 300 KB. The other documents are scanned PDF files; documents other than passports must be issued at most three months before the application.
Examples and mistakes
One compliant example next to the six most common rejection causes for Colombia visa applications. These are the differences that most often determine whether a document photo is accepted.
Typical reasons a photo is rejected under the rules Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (Cancillería) publishes: what is wrong and what to change.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| A photo that is not a JPG, is larger than 300 KB, or is not in colour | A colour JPG of at most 300 KB. |
| A background that is not white | A plain white background. |
| A head that is cut off or not centred, ears hidden, eyes not both open | The head centred and complete, both eyes open, the ears visible. |
| Glare in the photo, or hair or accessories covering the face | Even light with no glare, and the face uncovered. |
How to take it
Background: plain white
The tool puts in the required background. Stand half a metre from a plain light wall, face a window and shoot without flash — then there are no shadows on your face or on the wall.
Head: 70–80 % of the photo height
Camera at eye level, about a metre away; head and shoulders in the shot. The tool crops it to 30 × 40 mm.
Clear lenses only, no glare
If you wear glasses, check the shot: no glare on the lenses, eyes clearly visible.
Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open
Look straight into the lens with your head level; keep hair away from your eyes and eyebrows.
An ordinary selfie will do: we fix the background, light and framing ourselves — to this document's rules. The preview is free.
Head straightHold the phone at eye level and your head straightens by itself.
Face uncoveredMove your hair away so your eyes and eyebrows show.
No glare on glassesStand so that no light reflects in the lenses.Printing and submission
| 10 × 15 cm · 4 × 6″ | 10 (5 × 2) |
|---|---|
| A4 · 21 × 29.7 cm | 49 (7 × 7) |
Print at 100% scale, borderless, and turn off fit-to-page so each photo keeps its exact size.
The Colombian visa is applied for online in the SITAC system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, choosing the Colombian consulate of your country of residence (or the Bogotá office if you are in Colombia) and uploading the photograph and the scanned documents.
cancilleria.gov.co — visas, «Abecé de visas»; the consulate of your country of residence
Digital photo: colour JPG of at most 300 KB on a white background, 4 cm high by 3 cm wide.
Authority page| Authority | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (Cancillería) |
|---|---|
| Source | Abecé de visas — solicitud en línea (SITAC) |
| Verified |
Questions
A colour photo on a white background, 4 cm high by 3 cm wide, saved as a JPG of at most 300 KB, looking straight at the camera with the head centred and the ears visible.
The SITAC guide says an error message may be due to the size or format of the photo: use a JPG of at most 300 KB, and keep all uploaded documents under 3 MB together.
Yes: the guide asks for both eyes open and the ears visible, with no hair or accessories covering the face and no glare.
White.
The Colombia visa photo must be 30 × 40 mm. The head must occupy 70–80% of the photo height. Many consulates also require a specific digital file size — see the spec table above for full details.
Plain white background. The background must be evenly lit with no shadow gradients, especially around the head. Consular automated pre-screening rejects photos with any wall texture or off-white shade before the human reviewer ever sees the application.
Visa authorities typically require the photo to be taken within the last three to six months. Submitting an older photo, even one that looks similar to your current appearance, is a frequent cause of immediate consular rejection.
Not always. Tourist, work, student and transit visa categories sometimes specify different dimensions or background rules. Follow the requirements for your specific visa type rather than assuming one photo fits all Colombia visa applications.
Anfas.Pro provides a 14-day full refund if the photo is the cause of rejection and you supply the consular rejection notice. We recommend keeping the consular receipt with rejection reason as proof.
Clear glasses only, no reflections; sunglasses prohibited. Consular automated checks flag glasses glare even when it is invisible to the human eye. Removing glasses entirely is the safest choice unless a medical exception is documented in your visa application.
30 × 40 mm = 3 × 4 cm = 1.18 × 1.57 inches. At 300 dpi that is 354 × 472 pixels; at 600 dpi, 709 × 945 pixels.
Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. The face must stay fully visible from chin to forehead and on both sides, with no shadow across it.
Yes. The same 30 × 40 mm format and head size apply to: residence permit.